‘Official Press’ thanks to Showmasters !!!!
Held at the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena the home of South Wales geekery – during the 29th & 30th of October.
Guests that attended this weekends event included:-
- Clare Higgins (Hellraiser),
- Tom Hopper (Black Sails),
- Sophie Aldred (Doctor Who),
- Paul Freeman (Raiders of the Lost Ark),
- Kae Alexander (Game of Thrones),
- Anna Shaffer (Class).
This event also had dedicated ‘zones’ for specific interests such as;-
- ‘Unplugged’ Gaming Zone – In partnership with Dark Cleo Productions, this area included board & card games of all types, some for the hardcore gamers, others for those who have never played them before!
- Video Gaming Zone – The Gaming Zone at Cardiff Film and Comic Con was curated by Replay Events to bring attendees the greatest classic retro gaming as well as what current gaming has to offer.
- Cosplay Zone – The Cosplay Zone was the area to visit to see all the amazing costumed visitors and featured parades, cosplay ‘Blind Date’, cosplay ‘Lip Sync Battle’, fantastic competitions and some great photo opportunities.
Cosplay Blind Date – Yes it’s a thing!!!!!!
As in previous years this weekend event offered autograph & photo opportunities with stars from TV & Film covering a wide variety of interests and genres.
There were also specialist talks and Q&A panels with the stars –
These included:-
- Sophie Aldred (Ace – Doctor Who),
- Hellraiser Panel with; Clare Higgins (Julia), Sean Chapman (Frank) & Oliver Smith (Frank the Monster).
- Tom Hopper (Merlin, Black Sails, Doctor Who).
- Raiders of the Lost Ark panel with Wolf Kahler, Paul Freeman & Anthony Higgins.
For more panels and interviews for the event head over to the Gallifrey Stands Podcast !!!!
And of-course here were also many stalls selling a variety of merchandise for all attendees geeky needs!
There was also ‘iconic movie vehicle’ and prop replicas for attendees to snap a photo with. These included:-
- Jurassic Park Raptor Green-screen Shoot,
- Doctor Who: The Moment Prop Shoot,
- The Jurassic Park Jeep.
Overall;
This was one of the biggest turnouts for Cardiff we have seen.
This in our opinion was due to the higher calibre of guests this year.
The Halloween aspect of the show was helped with horror specific guests and marketing – however it would of been nice to see this Halloween spin pushed further at the con – i.e decorations.
The cosplay and gaming zones at this years event have increased in size with the main cosplay events being put on a larger stage. However there was no comic zone this year which many attendees were saddened by.
The crew (who are mainly volunteers) were friendly and helpful as always. The con seemed to run very smoothly and efficiently.
Overall a great event and we can’t wait for the next one !!!!
