Comic Con Northern Ireland
Comic Con Northern Ireland | |
---|---|
Status | Active |
Genre | Multigenre, covering popular culture elements including sci-fi, horror, fantasy, mainstream, wrestling and more |
Venue | Eikon Exhibition Centre |
Location(s) | Lisburn, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Inaugurated | 17–18 September 2022 |
Most recent | 7–8 September 2024 |
Next event | 6–7 September 2025 |
Attendance | 18,000k+ (September 2023 event) |
Organised by | Monopoly Events |
Website | www |
Comic Con Northern Ireland is a fan convention held once a year in the city of Lisburn, near the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom attracting 18,000+ attendees across the large venue Eikon Exhibition Centre situated in Lisburn, that celebrates films, cult television, video gaming, anime, cosplay and comic books and which is organised by UK based events company Monopoly Events.
History and organisation
Comic Con Northern Ireland began its annual run of events in 2022 when the obvious need for a large pop culture convention in the Northern Ireland area arose. Monopoly Events CEO Andy Kleek sourced a venue large enough to not only launch a first event from, but also house future expansion plans for the event to make a substantial event for the people of Northern Ireland to be proud of and to bring economic drive into the community. The first event which took place in September 2022 sold over half it's entry tickets more than a year before the event itself took place.[1]
2023 SAG-AFTRA Strike
The SAG-AFTRA Strike of 2023, affected many fan conventions worldwide. During the strike, SAG guidelines for appearances at fan conventions had to be followed by both guests and the convention organisers. While appearing at any event, guests were unable to discuss any past, present or future work projects as they would normally do when meeting fans, they were also unable to answer questions regarding work projects while on stage during Q&A panels.[2]
Show features
Celebrity guests
Often guests will choose to visit famous landmarks or attractions in the hosting city, in 2023 Comic Con Northern Ireland guests Elijah Wood, Sean Astin and Bernard Hill visited the famous Titanic Belfast museum as Hill previously portrayed Captain John Smith in the 1997 film Titanic.[3]
Cosplay
A large part of the event is devoted to the cosplay hobby where members of the public are allowed, and encouraged, to take part in dressing up as characters from popular genres such as film and television. Cosplaying has become one of the most popular parts of many fan conventions around the world and can be used as a platform to showcase the costumer's latest handywork, to show devotion to their favourite characters or engage in role-play with other cosplayers in the same series, as well as to meet new people with mutual interests as themselves.[4]
Location, dates and notable guests
See also
References
- ^ Deighan, Emma (11 June 2021). "Comic Con NI sells half its tickets over a year before show". Belfast Telegraph. Mediahuis UK. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ^ Elder, Kirsten (11 September 2023). "Comic Con brings the stars to NI, but no shop talk due to ongoing Hollywood strike". Belfast Telegraph. Mediahuis UK. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ^ McLaughlin, Sophie (11 September 2023). "Lord of the Rings actors spotted visiting Titanic Belfast". Belfast Live. MGN Ltd. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ^ Murray, Amy (9 September 2023). "Comic Con NI returns to Lisburn with crowds of thousands". BBC. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
External links