MCM London Comic Con | |
---|---|
Status | Active |
Genre | Speculative fiction |
Venue | ExCeL London |
Location(s) | One Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London Docklands, London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Inaugurated | May 2002 |
Most recent | 25–27 October 2024 |
Next event | 23–25 May 2025 |
Attendance | 133,156 in May 2016 [1] |
Organized by | ReedPop [2] |
Website | https://www.mcmcomiccon.com/london/en-us/home.html |
The MCM Comic Con London (formerly known as the London Movies, Comics, and Media Expo, London MCM Expo, and MCM London Comic Con) 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.
The London Movies, Comics, and Media Expo was founded in early 2001 by Paul Miley (ScifiShows) and Bryan Cooney (Wolf Events). [3]
The convention is held twice each year, usually on the last full weekend of May and October. There have occasionally been exceptions to this, such as May 2009.
The event started as a single day and expanded to run across three days, attracting attendance and involvement of representatives from Universal Studios, Twentieth Century Fox, MVM Entertainment, Manga Entertainment, All the Anime, Marvel Comics, and NEO magazine.
The Movie Comic Media (MCM) Expo Group organises the London, Birmingham, the Midlands, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool, Scotland, Stockholm, Malmö, Copenhagen, Belgium, and Hannover MCM Comic Cons. On 23 October 2017, ReedPop acquired MCM and all of its events throughout the UK. [4]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the October 2020 MCM London Comic Con was cancelled. [5] It returned on 22–24 October 2021 with new safety measures in place. [6]
The MCM London Comic Con has a large floor-space for dealer stands and exhibitors which include media companies such as film studios and TV stations. There is also a theatre space that includes a large stage with projection monitors on either side and seating for approximately 1,000.
Guests from popular media are commonly invited to the show. They take part for a variety of reasons. Often, this is to promote their latest product or production whether it be movie, TV or print. Sometimes it can be to raise awareness and funds for a charity or cause important to them. It is common to see television and film personalities selling autographs and interacting with their fans both in person and on stage during question and answer sessions. Along with panels, seminars and workshops with comic book professionals, there are previews of upcoming television and feature films, and portfolio review sessions with video game companies.
The event also includes an autograph area where big names in movies and TV sign items for the public.
Ticket holders are allowed, and in many cases encouraged, to take part in cosplay. Cosplaying has become one of the most popular parts of the show. This can be to show off the costumer's latest work, 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. The show also hosts the EuroCosplay championships which take place every October with one of the UK qualifying entries being decided at the May event.
Comic Village is an area of the show that is co-ordinated by Gary "Wheels" Howe, a member of the MCM Expo Group. This area has approximately 200 tables, where amateur as well as professional artists, writers and publishers sell their comics as well as prints. It also has a signing area where big names in the comic industry come and sign for members of the public. Previous guests include Gail Simone, Kevin Eastman, Frazer Irving and Antony Johnston.
In 2010, MCM Fringe Festival was re-vamped and given a new logo. The main purpose of Fringe is to allow cosplayers to organise photoshoots, meet-ups, picnics and get-togethers. Organisers are more easily able to create their own event within the Expo and broadcast it. At the same time, the rest of the Expo attenders can search the website and decide to go to it. Photoshoots will be more successful and likely to attract more people from the same anime or game to take part. Previous events have included picnics, dances and video gaming tournaments.
The Eagle Awards were founded in 1977 and were the longest-running fan-voted awards for the comic industry. They were held at the MCM London Comic Con each May from 2010 until 2012, after which they were renamed the MCM Award in 2013. [7] In the following year, 2014, the Eagle Award was presented under its new name – first The Stan Lee Eagle Award [8] and then the True Believer Comic Awards [9] – at the London Film and Comic Con. [10] They have not been awarded since.
VidfestUK is an area of the expo dedicated to online visual media, such as animations, vlogs and various web series. Notable guests include YouTube partners such as TomSka and MrWeebl.
Now defunct MyM magazine does not have a presence at the event.
Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, and a broader use of the term "cosplay" applies to any costumed role-playing in venues apart from the stage. Any entity that lends itself to dramatic interpretation may be taken up as a subject. Favorite sources include anime, cartoons, comic books, manga, television series, rock music performances, video games and in some cases, original characters.
San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California. It is held at the San Diego Convention Center. Originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fantasy media, Comic-Con has grown to include a large range of pop culture and entertainment elements across virtually all genres.
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.
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. The New York Comic Con is a for-profit event produced and managed by ReedPop, a division of RX and Reed Elsevier, and is not affiliated with the long running non-profit San Diego Comic-Con, nor the Big Apple Convention, later known as the Big Apple Comic-Con, owned by Wizard Entertainment.
WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and film convention held in the San Francisco Bay Area (1987–2011), then—under the name WonderCon Anaheim—in Anaheim, California, and WonderCon Los Angeles in 2016. The convention returned to the Anaheim Convention Center in 2017 after a one-year stint in Los Angeles due to construction at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Armageddon Expo is a New Zealand owned and operated pop culture convention that holds multiple events around New Zealand in cities including Auckland, Wellington, Tauranga and Christchurch. The event, run by Beyond Reality Media Premier Event Management, has been running continuously since 1995. It has evolved from its roots of comics and trading cards to showcase computer and video gaming, animation, film and television, cosplay, comics, live wrestling, and retailers selling pop-culture merchandise.
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.
London Film and Comic Con is a fan convention held annually in London that focuses on films, cult television, gaming, anime, cosplay and comics. It is organised by Showmasters Ltd.
The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) is fan convention dedicated to comics, pop culture, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television held annually in Chicago. The inaugural event was held April 16–18, 2010 at the McCormick Place in Chicago.
Comic Con India (CCI) is a series of annual comic-based conventions held in India. The first edition was held in New Delhi in 2011 and over the years has expanded to other major cities in India such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmadabad. There are annual comic cons now in all these cities. Cumulatively these five cities attract over 200,000 visitors with over 1200 exhibitors. Jatin Varma, the founder & managing director of Comic Con India, launched the first comic con in India in Delhi in 2011. Since 2014, Comic Con India has been conducted in collaboration with ReedPop, the organisers of the New York Comic Con and the MCM London Comic Con.
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.
L.A. Comic Con is a three-day multi-genre convention held annually in downtown Los Angeles, California. L.A. Comic Con is one of the largest independent conventions in the United States and encompasses several categories, including comic, horror, sci-fi, anime, gaming, and pop culture, with a particular focus on the local Los Angeles community.
The Pittsburgh Comicon, later known as Wizard World Comic Con Pittsburgh and since succeeded by Steel-City Con, was a comic book convention held in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1994 by Michael and Renee George. It was traditionally a three-day event and featured a fan-friendly experience that allowed the fans to interact with comic professionals at all levels.
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.
London Super Comic Convention was an annual comic book convention dedicated to comics that was mounted from 2012 to 2017.
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ACME Comic Con is a bi-annual fan convention held at the Scottish Events Campus in Glasgow, Scotland. It is organised by Attic Convention and Media Events.
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