Fan Expo

Last updated

FAN EXPO is a group of fan conventions operated by FAN EXPO HQ, the world's largest comic con producer [1] , a unit of the Informa Connect division of Informa plc. The majority of its events are run under the FAN EXPO brand, which stems from its namesake, the Toronto-based FAN EXPO Canada.

Contents

History

In 2013, Informa announced its acquisition of Hobby Star Marketing, organizer of FAN EXPO Canada—a Canadian comic and entertainment convention held annually at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. [2] In 2014, Informa acquired the Dallas Comic Con. [3] In 2015, Informa acquired MEGACON in Orlando. [4] [5]

In August 2016, Informa acquired Boston Comic Con, [6] which was rebranded as FAN EXPO Boston in 2018. [7] In October 2017, Informa acquired the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo and Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo. [8] [9] In March 2021, Informa acquired Denver Pop Culture Con, which was rebranded as FAN EXPO Denver. [10]

In August 2021, Informa acquired Wizard Entertainment's conventions; all of its remaining events for 2021 were cancelled, barring Wizard World Chicago (which was held in October 2021 as the final Wizard World-branded event). All six of its conventions in Chicago, Cleveland, New Orleans, St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Portland were rebranded as FAN EXPO beginning in 2022. [11] [12] [13]

Events

EventsLocationVenueAttendanceUpcoming Dates
FAN EXPO Chicago Rosemont, IllinoisDonald E. Stephens Convention Center75,000+August 16-18, 2024
FAN EXPO Canada Toronto, OntarioMetro Toronto Convention Centre135,000+August 22-25, 2024
EDMONTON EXPOEdmonton, AlbertaEdmonton Expo Centre40,000+September 20-22, 2024
Dallas FAN FESTIVALIrving, TexasIrving Convention Center15,000+October 19-20, 2024
FAN EXPO San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaMoscone Center West35,000+November 29-December 1, 2024
FAN EXPO New OrleansNew Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center30,000+January 10-12, 2025
FAN EXPO PortlandPortland, OregonOregon Convention Center30,000+January 24-26, 2025
MEGACON Orlando Orlando, FloridaOrange County Convention Center180,000+February 6-9, 2025
FAN EXPO VancouverVancouver, British ColumbiaVancouver Convention Centre35,000+February 21-23, 2025
Toronto Comicon Toronto, OntarioMetro Toronto Convention Centre35,000+March 14-16, 2025
FAN EXPO ClevelandCleveland, OhioHuntington Convention Center of Cleveland25,000+March 21-23, 2025
CALGARY EXPO Calgary, AlbertaStampede Park100,000+April 24-27, 2025
FAN EXPO PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania Convention Center50,000+May 16-18, 2025
FAN EXPO Dallas Dallas, TexasKay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center60,000+May 30-June 1, 2025
FAN EXPO Denver Denver, ColoradoColorado Convention Center100,000+July 3-6, 2025
FAN EXPO Boston Boston, MassachusettsBoston Convention & Exhibition Center55,000+August 8-10, 2025

Former events

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wizard Entertainment</span> Producer of multi-genre fan conventions

Wizard Entertainment Inc., formerly known as Wizard World, was a producer of multi-genre fan conventions across North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MegaCon</span> American speculative fiction convention

MegaCon, short for Mega Convention, is a large speculative fiction convention that caters to the comic book, sci-fi, anime, fantasy, RPG, and gaming communities, often occurring in spring at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The convention is the largest fan convention event in the Southern United States and second largest in North America with an attendance of 190,000 recorded in 2024.

Fan Expo Canada is an annual speculative fiction fan convention held in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded as the Canadian National Comic Book Expo in 1995 by Hobby Star Marketing Inc. It includes distinctly branded sections, including GX and SFX, and formerly CNAnime. It is a four-day event typically held the weekend before Labour Day during the summer at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Comic Con</span> Annual New York City fan convention

The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. With an attendance of 200,000 in 2022, it is North America's most attended fan convention.

Informa plc is a British publishing, business intelligence, and exhibitions group based in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Apple Comic Con</span> New York City comics & pop culture convention

The Big Apple Comic Con is a New York City comic book convention, the longest-running comic book/speculative fiction/pop culture convention in New York City. It was started by retailer Michael "Mike Carbo" Carbonaro in March 1996 in the basement of the St. Paul the Apostle Church. During its heyday from 2001 to 2008, the Big Apple Comic Con often featured multiple shows per year, with a large three-day "national" convention held in November, usually held at the Penn Plaza Pavilion. The show was owned by Wizard Entertainment from 2009 to 2013, but was reacquired by Carbonaro in 2014.

Fan Expo Dallas, previously known as Dallas Comic Con, is a three-day speculative fiction, fan convention held annually in the Dallas, Texas area. Larger in scale than the Dallas Fan Days events under the same management, Fan Expo Dallas focuses on comic book artists, writers, and publishers. These events usually also feature question and answer sessions, a large dealers room, and autograph-signing with a number of famous comic and media guests. The event is produced by Informa doing business as Fan Expo HQ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MCM Comic Con London</span> Multi-genre fan convention held in the London Borough of Newham twice yearly

The MCM Comic Con London is a speculative fiction fan convention held at the ExCel London twice yearly since 2002, usually on the last weekend in May and October. The convention primarily focuses on comic books, video games, sci-fi, cosplay, anime and popular media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fan Expo Chicago</span>

Fan Expo Chicago, is a comic book convention held during the summer in Rosemont, Illinois, United States, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. It was traditionally a three-day event, but in 2006, it expanded to four days. It was founded in 1972 as Nostalgia '72, Chicago Comic Con and later as the Chicago Comic and Nostalgia Convention by a local dealer named Nancy Warner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio Comic Con</span>

The Wizard World Columbus Comic Con, formerly known as Mid-Ohio Con and then the Wizard World Ohio Comic Con, was a comic book convention held during the fall in Columbus, Ohio, United States, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Initially held in early November, from 1994–2007 the Mid-Ohio Con took place on the first weekend after Thanksgiving. Normally a two-day event, in 2012 it expanded to three days.

Fan Expo Denver is a speculative fiction fan convention held annually in Denver, Colorado, in the United States. The event is a celebration of comics, books, movies, TV, gaming, and other pop culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calgary Expo</span> Annual fan convention in Alberta, Canada

Calgary Expo, known in full as the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, is an annual fan convention held at Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Fan Expo Boston, formerly Boston Comic Con, is a multigenre convention held annually in Boston, Massachusetts. Primarily focused on comic books, the convention later featured media guests from film and television, cosplayers, an art auction, a tabletop/CCG/RPG gaming room, and an annual costume contest. After its acquisition by Informa as part of their Fan Expo line, the 2017 edition retired the Comic Con name and was therefore renamed Fan Expo Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comic book convention</span> Event with a primary focus on comic books

A comic book convention or comic con is a fan convention emphasizing comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels, or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels, with a larger number of attendees participating with cosplay than for most other types of fan conventions. Comic book conventions are also used as a method by which publishers, distributors, and retailers represent their comic-related releases. Comic book conventions may be considered derivatives of science-fiction conventions, which began during the late 1930s.

Saskatchewan Entertainment Expo is an annual fan convention held at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, typically in mid-September.

References

  1. Salkowitz, Rob. "Fan Expo Acquires 6 Wizard World Events Including Chicago, Building Global Fan Con Juggernaut". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  2. "Informa Acquires Fan Expo Canada". Archived from the original on 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  3. Wilonsky, Robert (February 13, 2014). "British-Swiss company buys Dallas Comic Con on eve of move to Dallas Convention Center". The Dallas Morning News . Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  4. "Dallas Comic Con Gets a New Owner and Home". Dallas Observer. 18 February 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  5. Dineen, Caitlin (7 April 2015). "Orlando's MegaCon sold to Informa". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  6. "Boston Comic Con, Officially Sold To Informa As Part Of FanExpo". Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News. 2016-08-14. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
  7. "BOSTON COMIC CON NOW FAN EXPO BOSTON? |". www.starwarsautographcollection.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-16. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  8. "Big News Super-Fans!". Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. Informa Canada, Inc. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  9. "Calgary, Edmonton Expos less accessible after policy change, say fans with mobility concerns". CBC News. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  10. "Denver Pop Culture Con Changes its Name to FAN EXPO Denver". 303 Magazine. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  11. "Fan Expo Takes Over Six Wizard World Conventions". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  12. Chris Arrant (2021-08-10). "Wizard World closes its convention business, selling all cons off to Fan Expo". gamesradar. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  13. Terror, Jude (2021-08-10). "Wizard World No More? Fan Expo Takes Over Wizard World's Conventions". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  14. Melnychuk, Mark (2019-05-02). "How two men saved Saskatchewan's geek conventions". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  15. "Calgary, Edmonton Expos less accessible after policy change, say fans with mobility concerns". CBC News. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  16. Arrant, Chris (19 April 2023). "Fan Expo St. Louis quietly canceled after nine-year run". Popverse. Retrieved 19 April 2023.