Eurofurence

Last updated

Eurofurence
Eurofurence 2014 fursuiting.jpg
Fursuiters at Eurofurence 2014
StatusActive
Genre Furry
FrequencyAnnually
VenueCongress Center
Location(s)Hamburg, Germany
Coordinates 53°33′42.47″N9°59′9.36″E / 53.5617972°N 9.9859333°E / 53.5617972; 9.9859333
CountryGermany
Inaugurated30 June 1995 (1995-06-30)
Attendance5241 (Eurofurence 28)
Organised byEurofurence e.V.
Website www.eurofurence.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Eurofurence (commonly abbreviated EF) is a furry convention, initially held in changing places in Europe every year, but staying in Germany since 2004. It was originally started in 1995 as a private gathering by nineteen European furry fans who met on the Internet. Attendance has been steadily rising since then, to 5,241 at Eurofurence 28 (held in 2024), making it the largest furry convention outside the United States and seventh largest worldwide [1] . The name of the convention derives from its then-contemporary American counterpart ConFurence, emphasising the European nature of the gathering.

Contents

Since the year 2000, Eurofurence is no longer organized by individual persons but rather by the German Verein Eurofurence e.V., which serves as an administrative body for the convention.

Contrary to most American furry conventions, Eurofurence traditionally took place at youth hostels. In 2007, Eurofurence was first held at a hotel (the Hotel Ringberg in Suhl).

Graph of attendees at Eurofurence by year Eurofurence attendance by year (1995-2024).png
Graph of attendees at Eurofurence by year

Eurofurence by year

Below is a table of statistics regarding each year Eurofurence has been held. Since 1999 (possibly except for 6 and 9), the convention has had at least one guest of honour yearly. Since 2002, the convention has had a "theme" every year, with T-shirt designs and venue "dressing" to reflect the theme.

ConventionDatesLocationAttendance [2] ThemeGuest(s) of Honour
Eurofurence 130 June–3 July 1995 Kaiser-Wilhelm-Koog, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany19N/AN/A
Eurofurence 218–22 July 1996 Linköping, Östergötland, Sweden35
Eurofurence 321–24 August 1997Bodstedt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany [3] 59
Eurofurence 41–5 August 1998 Heeze, North Brabant, Netherlands94
Eurofurence 522–25 July 1999 Berlin, Germany 112 Lisanne Norman, author of the Sholan Alliance series of books
Eurofurence 610–13 August 2000 Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany160Unknown
Eurofurence 722–25 July 2001 Kirchen (Sieg), Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany230Lisanne Norman; Lee "Chairo" Strom, Fursuiter, Puppeteer, and member of the Further Confusion organising team since 2003; Mark Merlino, co-founder of ConFurence, the original Furry Convention
Eurofurence 815–18 August 2002Oberbernhards, Hesse, Germany260The F.I.A. (Furry Intelligence Agency) Dr Samuel "Uncle Kage" Conway, Chairman of Anthrocon
Eurofurence 921–24 August 2003 Samopše, Středočeský kraj, Czech Republic165Cunning Little Vixens Dr Samuel "Uncle Kage" Conway, Chairman of Anthrocon
Eurofurence 10 [lower-alpha 1] 26–29 August 2004 Olpe, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany295EFX : The MovieTimothy Albee, Creator of Kaze: Ghost Warrior
Eurofurence XI21–24 July 2005 Nürnberg, Bavaria, Germany380Songs of the Old Ages Heather Alexander, Celtic Folk/World Rock Musician
Eurofurence 1223–27 August 2006405The Hounds of Blackwhite Castle Dark Natasha, furry artist, winner of Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration at the Ursa Major Awards in 2002
Eurofurence 135–9 September 2007 Suhl, Thuringia, Germany [4] [5] [6] 585The Unlucky Thirteen Lance Ikegawa, costume designer and Steve Gallacci, Creator of Albedo. [lower-alpha 2] Alexander James Adams appeared as musical guest. [7]
Eurofurence 1427–31 August 2008777From Dusk till Dawn Watts Martin, writer and fanzine editor/publisher, and Steve Gallacci. [8]
Eurofurence 1526–30 August 20099551001 Arabian Nights Jimmy Chin, furry artist and fursuiter
Eurofurence 161–5 September 2010 Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany973Serengeti Stan Sakai, comic author, creator of Usagi Yojimbo
Eurofurence 1717–21 August 20111,066Kung Fur Hustle Jim Martin, a distinguished Puppeteer
Eurofurence 1829 August–2 September 20121,278Animalia Romana Peter S. Beagle, novel and fantasy fiction author, creator of The Last Unicorn [9]
Eurofurence 1921–25 August 20131,376Aloha Hawaii! Warrick Brownlow-Pike, Andy Heath and Iestyn Evans from the BBC comedy "Mongrels" [10]
Eurofurence 2020–24 August 2014 Berlin, Germany 2,015CSI Berlin [11] Kyell Gold, Ursula Vernon, Sofawolf Press and Sardyuon [12]
Eurofurence 2119–23 August 20152,095Greenhouse World [13] Rhubarb the Bear and Cosmik [14]
Eurofurence 2217–21 August 20162,573Back to the 80s [15] Dorothy Hearst, [16] Author of The Wolf Chronicles book trilogy
Eurofurence 2316–20 August 20172,853Ancient Egypt [17] Pepper Coyote (Musician) and Clockwork Creature (costume and design studio) [18]
Eurofurence 2422–26 August 20182,911Aviators - Conquer the Sky [19] Joaquin Baldwin (Animator, photographer) [20]
Eurofurence 2514–18 August 20193,414Fractures in Time [21] Claudya 'AlectorFencer' Schmidt, [22] Author of Myre
Eurofurence 2624–28 August 2022
(Originally 19–23 August 2020 [23] )
3,495Welcome to Tortuga [24] Fox Amoore and JoJoe [25]
Eurofurence 273–7 September 2023 Hamburg, Germany 3,408Black Magic [26] Pechschwinge [27]
Eurofurence 2818–21 September 20245,241Cyberpunk [28] Iris Schleuss [29]
  1. commonly called EFX by the organisation committee
  2. Steve Gallacci was unable to attend the convention due to family matters.

Main events

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References

  1. "List of in-person furry conventions by attendance". en.wikifur.com. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  2. "Eurofurence Archive". Eurofurence. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  3. Staff writer (23 August 1997). "Internet-Fans treffen sich in Bodstedt". Ostsee-Zeitung (in German).
  4. Frank Hommel (8 September 2007). "Mit 'nem Tiger im Fahrstuhl". Freies Wort (in German). p. 2. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009.
  5. Heike Hüchtemann (8 September 2007). "Rollenspiele abseits des wirklichen Lebens". Freies Wort (in German). p. 13. Archived from the original on 7 July 2009.
  6. Staff writer (8 September 2007). "Eine Welt für sich". Thüringer Allgemeine (in German).
  7. Conference Guests Archived 8 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine page (2007).
  8. Conference Guests Archived 14 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine page (2008).
  9. Guest of Honor Archived 26 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine (2012).
  10. Guests of Honor Archived 13 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine (2013)
  11. "Eurofurence 20 - Crime Scene Berlin - Aug. 20. - 24., 2014". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  12. "Guests of Honor". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  13. "Eurofurence 21 - Greenhouse World (Aug. 19 - 23, 2015)". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  14. "Our Guests of Honor - Eurofurence 21". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  15. "Eurofurence 22 - Back to the 80s". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  16. "Guests of Honor - Eurofurence 22". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  17. "Eurofurence 23 - Ancient Egypt". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  18. "Guests of Honor - Eurofurence 23". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  19. "Eurofurence 24 »Aviators - Conquer the Sky!«". Eurofurence 24 - Aviators - Conquer the Sky!. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  20. "Guest of Honor: Joaquin Baldwin". Eurofurence 24 - Aviators - Conquer the Sky!. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  21. "Welcome". Eurofurence 25 - Fractures In Time. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  22. "EF25 Hella Lots to Talk About!". Eurofurence 25 Schedule. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  23. @Eurofurence (30 April 2020). "Friends, it is with deep regret that we must announce the cancellation of Eurofurence for 2020. We did not come to this decision lightly: the safety of our attendees, staff, hotel personnel and many others is paramount..." (Tweet) via Twitter.
  24. "Welcome". Eurofurence 26 - Welcome to Tortuga. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  25. "Guests of Honor". Eurofurence 26 - Welcome to Tortuga - On the High Seas. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  26. "Eurofurence 27: Home". Eurofurence 27 - Black Magic. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  27. web@eurofurence.org. "Eurofurence 27: Guests of Honor". Eurofurence 27 - Black Magic. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  28. "Eurofurence 28: Home". Eurofurence 28 - Cyberpunk. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  29. "Eurofurence 28: Guests of Honor". Eurofurence 28 - Cyberpunk. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.