The Star Wars Celebration was held from April 30 to May 2, 1999, at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver, Colorado, just three weeks before the release of The Phantom Menace.

"[9] The first Star Wars convention since 1987, the Celebration held activities including actor panels, THX theater demonstrations, behind the scenes footage from Episode I, and the world premiere of the "Duel of the Fates" music video.

The grounds boasted a vendors tent, and the museum hosted an exhibition consisting of props from the official LucasFilm archives, including a full-scale model of Anakin Skywalker's podracer and a life-size X-wing model (a 3/4 scale replica made in 1996 for the Special Edition release, and still residing at Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum).

[12] The initial projection of 15–20,000 people per day based on advance ticket sales was well surpassed and reached critical mass on Saturday.

Highlights of the event included the Rick McCallum Spectacular and the Star Wars 25th Anniversary Concert on Saturday night, performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Indianapolis.

[13] The Star Wars Celebration returned to Indianapolis from April 21 to 24, 2005, to commemorate the release of what was then thought to be the final film in the saga, Revenge of the Sith.

[18] The convention offered a record number of celebrities in the autograph hall, multiple exhibitors, a Star Wars art show, a Darth Vader helmet and Lucasfilm archive exhibits and many fan oriented activities.

In addition, there were collector and costuming panels, including sneak peeks of the upcoming Clone Wars animated series.

[23] But on November 22, 2006, StarWars.com announced due to Advance interest in Celebration Europe the event would be moved to the larger venue located at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre[24] in London.

[25] The event also had on display some of the largest restored Star Wars Arcade collection, estimated at around 30 to 40 machines,[26] many of them now rarely seen in the USA or in other parts of Europe.

[21] On February 23, 2008, Lucasfilm Ltd. and the Lewis Daniel Group announced a three-day event known as "Celebration Japan", to be held at the Makuhari Messe Convention Center near Tokyo from July 19 to 21.

In July 2008, Steve Sansweet, director of content management and head of fan relations for Lucasfilm, announced that Baltimore, Minneapolis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Orlando, Florida were competing to host this event.

[30] Lucas also made an appearance at the nearby Disney's Hollywood Studios to take part in the "Last Tour to Endor Event", which provided special entertainment for those individuals who attended "Celebration V".

StarWarsCelebration.com announced on June 2, 2011, that Celebration VI would be held in Orlando, FL at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) from August 16 to 19, 2012.

The Celebration closed out its fourth and final day with fans being shown an exclusive teaser trailer for Rogue One, which was released in December 2016.

He made an appearance during the opening panel celebrating the 40 years of Star Wars held on April 13 which also included other stars and people important to the franchise including Kathleen Kennedy (president of Lucasfilm) and a surprise appearance by George Lucas and John Williams with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, who performed parts of the soundtrack.

A teaser trailer and title reveal for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker occurred on April 12;[42] a franchise mural including art from the upcoming film was also unveiled.

This celebration promoted several new Disney+ series including Ahsoka, The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew, and upcoming video game sequel, Jedi: Survivor.