Fan Expo

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Fan Expo is a group of fan conventions operated by Fan Expo HQ, a unit of the Informa Connect division of Informa plc. Most 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. [1] In 2014, Informa acquired the Dallas Comic Con. [2] In 2015, Informa acquired MegaCon in Orlando. [3] [4]

In August 2016, Informa acquired Boston Comic Con, [5] which was rebranded as Fan Expo Boston in 2018. [6] In October 2017, Informa acquired the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo and Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo. [7] [8] In March 2021, Informa acquired Denver Pop Culture Con, which was rebranded as Fan Expo Denver. [9]

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. [10] [11] [12]

Events

Events held as part of the Fan Expo family include:

Former events

See also

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 and generating an economic impact of 205 million 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

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Toronto Comicon is an annual comic book and pop culture convention held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre since 2001. It is owned and operated by Informa's Fan Expo HQ.

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

Now in its 28th year the Big Apple Comic Con is 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. Having grown out of the church, between 1999 to 2008, the Big Apple Comic Con often featured multiple shows per year, with a large three-day "national" convention held in November, at the Metropolitan Pavilion and later at the Penn Plaza Pavilion. The show was sold to Wizard Entertainment in 2009 but was reacquired 2014 by Big Apple CC Corp in 2014. Mr. Carbonaro says Wizard could not produce a successful show in NYC.

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

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<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.

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.

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Pop Con YXE is an annual fan convention held at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

References

  1. ↑ "Informa Acquires Fan Expo Canada". Archived from the original on 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ "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.
  6. ↑ "BOSTON COMIC CON NOW FAN EXPO BOSTON? |". www.starwarsautographcollection.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-16. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
  7. ↑ "Big News Super-Fans!". Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. Informa Canada, Inc. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  8. ↑ "Calgary, Edmonton Expos less accessible after policy change, say fans with mobility concerns". CBC News. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  9. ↑ "Denver Pop Culture Con Changes its Name to FAN EXPO Denver". 303 Magazine. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  10. ↑ "Fan Expo Takes Over Six Wizard World Conventions". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  11. ↑ Chris Arrant (2021-08-10). "Wizard World closes its convention business, selling all cons off to Fan Expo". gamesradar. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ "Everything you need to check out at FAN EXPO Vancouver 2022 | Listed". dailyhive.com. 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.
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