EnglishConvention - Paris Fan Festival 2023: A second successful edition
By Mulder, 18 april 2023
Fans, cosplayers, Pop Culture lovers and families, 27,000 festival-goers - almost double the number of the previous year - mingled this weekend at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center.
The Paris Fan Festival kept its promise: it was the first event to bring together all the great universes of Pop Culture through experiences capable of entertaining, surprising and enchanting visitors. From manga to Harry Potter, Star Wars to DC and Marvel superheroes, the Paris Fan Festival brought all these universes to life through a particularly rich and original content proposal. Visitors were able to climb aboard an X-Wing straight out of Star Wars, discover the unique pieces exhibited by the Lyon Museum of Cinema and enjoy a dozen other exhibitions of costumes, vehicles and accessories from the most famous franchises of the big and small screen. Some people lingered in the board game areas offered by Hasbro and Mattel or in front of the "Toy photos" workshops, these sets that put figurines in comic situations for the photographer's pleasure.
Many festival-goers also attended the Festival's rich program of conferences, which brought together internationally renowned artists, producers, journalists and influencers. While on the Festival's main stage, the public could applaud dancers, singers, cosplayers and real thematic shows orchestrated by experts in manga, comics or gaming. Finally, many came to meet international stars such as Teri Hatcher (Lois and Clark, Desperate Housewives), Charisma Carpenter and James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Garth Ennis (The Boys) or Timothy Zahn (Star Wars).
The first challenge of the Fan Festival was to make the fan communities of different universes coexist. The second was to offer a program that would interest and entertain several generations. The Paris Fan Festival wants to address the youngest as well as those who grew up with George Lucas' Star Wars, Tim Burton's Batman and who discovered Dragon Ball Z on Club Dorothée.
Objective achieved: the first generations of Pop Culture fans responded by coming with their children. They all found happiness in an event designed as a transgenerational theme park. Reflecting this ability to federate, the Festival's gaming area, where retrogaming, arcade terminals and the latest generation of consoles and PCs cohabited, was never empty. Similarly, the outdoor food court and its Viking village were particularly appreciated by all the festival-goers who wanted to enjoy the sunshine with their families or friends.
"We are proud to have succeeded in gathering almost twice as many fans as in the first edition. "Our bet to gather all the universes of Pop culture around a premium offer that highlights the creation has paid off," enthuses Jonathan Dumont, president of the Paris Fan Festival. "On the one hand, it allowed us to bring together major brands (Hasbro, Mattel, Sony...) and publishers who no longer or rarely attend mainstream events. On the other hand, it allowed to satisfy several audiences who came looking for different experiences but motivated by a common passion for the imaginary. All have hailed it as a uniquely rich experience."
The first charity tournament of the biggest French streamers of the Minecraft scene is a success
This weekend also marked the return of the famous CoopTeam of the 4 Minecraft youtubers: Siphano, Frigiel, Zelvac and Leozangdar for the Fallen Kingdoms Tournament by OMEN and AMD Ryzen. This charity tournament took place on a stage dressed in the colors of the famous game and was won by TheGuill84 (420 000 followers on Twitch). The live streaming was followed by tens of thousands of fans and the funds raised will be donated to the 8 associations represented by each of the 8 participating teams.
The Paris Fan Festival is an event organized by New Vega, the media communication group specialized in Entertainment. After a successful first edition in 2022, the event is back for a second edition that will take place at the Porte de Versailles on April 15 and 16, 2023. Bringing together all the universes of Pop Culture in one place, fans will be able to discover an offer of animations and activities around their favorite universes: cinema and series, manga and comics, gaming and board games, lifestyle and fooding. More information on the festival website.
You can discover our numerous photos on our Flickr page and our videos on our Youtube page as well as many online articles about the panels we covered.
Photos and videos : Boris Colletier
(Source : press release)