With the return of Comic Con Africa this September in Johannesburg, the festival is excited to bring some news to their fans in Cape Town. Capetonians, dust off your superhero costumes, review your wish list of collectables, and get your gaming on – Comic Con Cape Town is headed your way from 27 April 2023 to 29 April 2023 at the world-class DHL Stadium, Cape Town.
Comic Con Africa, Africa’s largest multi-genre pop-culture and gaming festival, with full support from Host City Partner, The City of Cape Town, will be bringing Comic Con Cape Town to the Mother City in full force.
Exciting news for the industry is that Comic Con Cape Town and FanCon, Cape Town’s long-standing pop-culture convention will be joining forces. The two events agree it’s important to form a strategic partnership after the pandemic to re-ignite the events industry and to host a sustainable event that meets fan expectations.
The announcement of this collaboration is innovative as well as exciting because each partner brings a wealth of pop culture and event experience. Together, they plan to create a combined event in 2023 that will be a celebration unlike anything Cape Town has ever seen, bringing community and pop culture fans together at a festival.
“FanCon has grown from strength to strength since its launch in 2016. Partnering with Comic Con Cape Town enables us to create a bigger, and an even more awesome event that will reinvigorate the pop culture community in the province. Together, we aim to build a unique festival that offers something for everyone, and hope to exceed all fan expectations. FanCon will be focusing especially on managing the already hugely popular artist alley at the show, and we will continue our role of bringing top class international and local comic creators to our shores.” said Nizar Abrahams, event organiser at FanCon.
After only getting a taste of what Comic Con Cape Town has to offer in 2021, attendees can look forward to a mind-blowing weekend filled with fun and excitement that will cater to enthusiasts, newcomers, and families alike. The festival will host an exhibition floor featuring the latest and greatest in pop culture merch, comics and collectables, the best of the best in the Artist Alley as curated by FanCon, an exciting panel programme of talks and presentations, gaming activations, tournaments, plus the latest in gaming gear and accessories, and the show will of course host the fan-favourite Cosplay Regional Championship competition, among other cosplay activities.
“Following all the chaos caused by the pandemic over the past few years, we simply cannot wait to treat the Western Cape with the mother of all events that celebrate geek and pop culture. We are excited to work with FanCon, who are passionate about the community and have the same vision for the growth of a Cape Town pop culture festival. We are looking forward to creating something truly memorable that people in the province will talk about for a long time to come,” said Rene Staack, Comic Con Africa General Manager.
Sharing the new additions to Comic Con Africa, Cape Town will also feel the flair and heartbeat of StreetCon, a celebration of urban and pop culture, and StreamerCon, which will bring together content creators, streamers and everything related to the making, watching, promoting, and creating of online video content in real life. Taking place alongside Comic Con Cape Town, The Cape Town International Animation Festival will captivate Capetonians with talks, workshops, networking opportunities and skill sharing – all to exhibit the incredible talent of local animators within the ever-growing local scene.
Having worked collaboratively before, the Host City Partner, The City of Cape Town is giving its full commitment to supporting the organisers in making this a truly world-class event.
“After a very successful one-day pop-up event in 2021, it is really thrilling to be welcoming a full on Comic Con Cape Town. For the City of Cape Town, supporting such an internationally recognised event is really is a no brainer.
The impact of such a big event coming to town is that it will benefit fans of the genre, but most importantly, it gives ordinary citizens an opportunity to gain access to jobs and is an opportunity highlight the limitless potential of the creative sector. Our city is an undisputed DigiTech hub and we are looking forward to showcasing what sets us apart from many other cities,” said JP Smith, the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security.
More exciting announcements will follow, leading up Comic Con Cape Town. For more information, head on over to the Comic Con Cape Town Web site or follow Comic Con Cape Town on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Tickets will be available on Howler from September, so be sure to save the date to avoid disappointment!
