“We were already looking at ways to integrate digital technology more closely with our shows, and that took a big step forward.” “We’ve learned a lot from the digital/virtual shows we did in 20,” said Gupta. “We expect everyone to abide by the law: our fans, our talent, everyone,” said Gupta.Īs the industry bounces back from the pandemic, Gupta is eying the future, particularly innovations that might affect the fan experience and help evolve fan events from the standard format they’ve been using for the past three or four decades. Gupta says Fan Expo provides support for exhibitors to navigate the US-Canada regulations. One issue for Fan Expo as an international company is navigating customs and border issues for events that feature a lot of exhibitors selling expensive items and celebrities running cash-based photo and autograph sales at the shows. They’re expecting big crowds in Toronto this weekend, although Gupta says there is still room to grow in the city and the venue. The scale nearly overwhelmed the infrastructure in the Florida home of Disney World. “Our show in Orlando, MegaCon, surprised us this year with a huge turnout, over 140,000,” he said. With new organizational heft and capital, Fan Expo built some of its shows into international destination events. “I saw their vision and wanted to be part of it.” “They put the deal together and it clicked really well,” he said. Gupta says discussions with ReedPOP ended up falling through, but then Informa came calling. I didn’t have the stomach to deal with the stress.” The Toronto show was getting 75-80K attendees, which gave us a lot of exposure and liability. “I had scaled up a bit, but it was getting difficult. “Around that time, we had a crazy expansion,” Gupta recalls. In 2013, as San Diego Comic-Con was hitting its peak and Reed Exhibitions was striking gold with its ReedPOP fan convention brand, Fan Expo was caught in the updraft. Though Fan Expo’s approach has drawn mixed reviews from purists who prefer more focused events, it has certainly proven popular with the mainstream audiences drawn into geek culture from the avalanche of movies and media.
In fact, we used to market just to those niches, and only consolidated everything into one brochure in the mid 2000s.” Any one of our verticals could be its own standalone show. If you’re into anime, we have screenings and special guests. “If you’re a comic fan, we have comic creators, signings, panels and workshops. Gupta says Fan Expo’s goal is to give every genre fan a complete experience, with guests, dealers and programming catering to their specific interests. In the late 90s, it started branching into comics-adjacent genres like anime, science fiction and horror, reflecting the widening gyre of fan culture.
#Fan expo hq series
Collectively it hosts over 340,000 fans annually at its series of events including: FAN EXPO CANADA™, FAN EXPO VANCOUVER™, FAN EXPO DALLAS™, Toronto ComiCon, Dallas Comic Con, and MegaCon Orlando.“Canada didn’t have a national comic convention, so we started Fan Expo as a way to represent fans here,” said Gupta. FAN EXPO HQ is one of the largest entertainment convention groups in the world. Widera added, "We are excited to join Informa and FAN EXPO HQ and become a part of their international family of events, while continuing to grow MegaCon within a culture of entrepreneurship that will empower our team to keep improving our show and the fan experience."įAN EXPO HQ produces a series of all-ages pop culture conventions for fans of comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, and gaming. I have tremendous admiration for what they have built and everyone at FAN EXPO HQ looks forward to the opportunity to work alongside them as we continue to grow MegaCon," said Brian Powers, President of FAN EXPO HQ. "Beth and Christine have proven they are amongst the most successful entrepreneurs in the pop culture convention industry. For over 23 years this well-respected, fan favourite convention has united sci-fi to comic fans of all ages. MegaCon, led by the management team of Elizabeth Widera and Christine Algar, is the largest pop culture convention in the South, hosting over 90,000 fans in 2014.
Informa Exhibitions is proud to announce the addition of MegaCon Orlando to its FAN EXPO HQ portfolio of experiential pop culture exhibitions.įAN EXPO H Q, an operating division of Informa Exhibitions is one of the premiere producers of pop culture exhibitions in North America. Informa Exhibitions Expands Pop Culture Convention Portfolio With MegaCon Orlando
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