CONSUMER SHOW SPOTLIGHT

Comic Con Africa 2024 draws 70,000 visitors

Comic Con Africa, which took place from 26-29 September, drew 70,000 visitors to the Johannesburg Expo Centre, making it one of the biggest pop culture and gaming festivals on the continent.

Carol Weaving.

“When you break Comic Con Africa down by the numbers, you can really appreciate the scale of the event,”said Carol Weaving, managing director of RX Africa. “This year was the 5th live iteration of Comic Con Africa, and it took 21 weeks of planning and over 70 hours of set-up to pull it off — not to mention a full 48 hours to breakdown.”

The four-day event offered fans interactive experiences, on-site and virtual gaming opportunities, eSports tournaments, cosplay, shopping, and the opportunity to meet like-minded fans, cosplayers, influencers, and celebs.

“In addition to the main stage, we also had a pop culture content stage, Otaku Town (celebrating anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture), an outdoor stage, and the Telkom VS Gaming Stage, where seasoned eSport enthusiasts competed for R300,000 in prizes,” Ms Weaving explained. “This year saw over 32 hours of gaming available, with 23 winners across various categories.”

Comic Con hosted three film and series celebrities (Lou Ferrigno, Joe Manganiello, as well as Brenton Thwaites), three international cosplayers (CutiePieSensei, Wynter Phoenix, as well as Har_Fir), and twelve comic book artists.

For Ms Weaving, the highlight of the show remains cosplay, which ‘dazzled attendees with its creativity’. The Comic Con Africa Championships of Cosplay crowned Blu Rohbot Studios the overall winner, earning them the chance to represent Africa at C2E2 in Chicago. Meanwhile, the fan-favourite cosplay vote went to a remarkable portrayal of Groot, who captivated the crowd and reinforced the festival’s celebration of creativity.

“We are proud to welcome fans to Comic Con Africa each year,” said Carla Massmann, show director of Comic Con Africa.

“Comic Con Africa is a happy place in a world that can be quite daunting. For four days, anyone and everyone is able to celebrate their passions in a self-expressive and judgement-free environment. We hear such incredible stories on how people were able to connect with like-minded people, as well as make new connections,” Ms Massmann added.

“We saw representation from the X-Men and MCU, including Spider-man, Deadpool, and Wolverine, an array of video game characters, like Princess Peach and Lara Croft, inflatable costumes, and more. The cosplay this year really impressed,” Ms Weaving said.

Equally impressive was the array of content on offer. “We had 90 hours of stage content, with approximately 9.07 TB of data used on the free fan Wi-Fi — and it’s only going to get bigger and better next year!”

Ms Weaving explained: “For many visitors, Comic Con is a bucket-list experience, and it takes an enormous effort to ensure that 70,000 visitors can park, eat, shop, mingle, and navigate the stands. We have a core team of 26 people,”Ms Weaving said.

“But, the behind-the-scenes support is immeasurable. Every single person involved –including those in all the side events – puts in a massive effort. We cannot thank our partners, sponsors, and staff enough. Only 50 weeks until Comic Con Africa 2025,”she concluded.