The comic convention began as a fans' meeting in a hotel ballroom and became one of the entertainment industry's load-bearing structures: the rooms where studios launch franchises, publishers take the temperature of their readers, and — in Tokyo — three hundred thousand people a day buy comics from the artists who drew them. This guide maps 27 conventions in 14 countries.
For each convention: its organising body — nonprofit, commercial portfolio, or, in Comiket's case, a committee of the doujin circles themselves — and its leadership where the body publishes it; its venue and calendar; who exhibits and who attends; and its scale, stated with a discipline this field rarely gets: every figure carries its year and its basis, because a "turnstile" count, a tickets-sold count and a unique-attendee count are three different numbers wearing the same costume. Where an organiser publishes no usable figure, the entry says so.
NORTH AMERICA
1. COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: SAN DIEGO (SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON) — SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
Founded 1970 · Pop-culture convention — comics, film, television, publishing
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 4 days plus Preview Night, in July. Next edition as officially published: July 23-26, 2026, Preview Night July 22, 2026
Organizing body: Comic-Con International (San Diego Comic Convention) — California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation, 501(c)(3) nonprofit
Organizer leadership: President of the Board of Directors: Robin Donlan, as listed in the Comic-Con 2026 Souvenir Book staff list; Chief Communications and Strategy Officer: David Glanzer
Venue: San Diego Convention Center, plus Gaslamp Quarter and off-site venues
Scale (as published, with basis): More than 135,000 attendees in 2025, as stated by the City of San Diego / San Diego Convention Center (organizer-aligned official source). Basis: capacity-capped attendance, generally reported as unique attendees; CCI itself does not publish a separate audited unique-vs-turnstile breakdown — see notes
Who exhibits & attends: Marvel Comics, DC Comics and other comics publishers, Hollywood film and television studios, streaming services, games and toy companies, Artist Alley creators, literary and academic programming; attendees are fans, professionals, retailers and press from more than 20 countries
Media / press: Press badges by application and verification through Comic-Con International; press must register in advance and meet CCI credentialing requirements as published on comic-con.org
Distinctiveness: The reference pop-culture convention worldwide; home of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards and the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park; Hall H first-look Hollywood presentations define the summer publicity calendar
Access / entry: Fans: a free Comic-Con Member ID account is required before any badge sale; badges are sold online in announced returning-registration and open-registration sales and sell out. Companies: exhibitor, Artist Alley and publisher applications through CCI's exhibitor portal during published windows
Website: https://www.comic-con.org · Contact: Via contact forms and Member ID account messaging on comic-con.org; no general public contact email is published
Attendance is capacity-limited by the Convention Center and has been reported at about 135,000 since about 2010; figures above that level in secondary sources usually add off-site activation visitors and are not CCI attendance. Long-serving president John Rogers (1986-2018) died in 2018; do not cite him as current leadership
2. NEW YORK COMIC CON (NYCC) — NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
Founded 2006 · Pop-culture convention — comics, anime, film, television, gaming
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 4 days, in October, preceded by a Retailer Day. Next edition as officially published on newyorkcomiccon.com
Organizing body: ReedPop, part of RX (RELX) — commercial organizer
Organizer leadership: RX Chief Executive: Hugh Jones; ReedPop US Comics Portfolio Vice President and NYCC show lead: Kristina Rogers, as quoted in RX releases for NYCC, C2E2 and ECCC 2024-2025. ReedPop group leadership was reported by Publishers Weekly in 2023 as Mike Kisken and Simon Maxwell after Lance Fensterman's departure
Venue: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Scale (as published, with basis): Organizer-reported: more than 200,000 attendees in 2024 (RX, October 21, 2024). Basis AMBIGUOUS / FLAGGED: ReedPop confirmed in 2014 and again in later reporting that NYCC counts tickets sold, not unique individuals, so a 4-day buyer counts multiple times — this is a turnstile-type total, not a unique-attendee count, and is not directly comparable with San Diego's capped figure
Who exhibits & attends: Marvel, DC and other publishers, Hollywood studios and streamers (HBO, Netflix, Disney and others in 2024), anime and toy companies, more than 500 Artist Alley participants (650+ exhibitors cited by ReedPop for a later edition), retailers on Retailer Day
Media / press: Press badges by advance application through ReedPop / NYCC press registration, with editorial verification; separate creator, professional and exhibitor credentials as published on the show site
Distinctiveness: Largest pop-culture convention in North America by organizer-reported ticket total; the East Coast counterpart to San Diego, with a dedicated Retailer Day from 2024 and a large professional programme
Access / entry: Fans: badges sold online through NYCC's ticketing system after a published on-sale date, with fan verification used in recent editions; single-day and multi-day badges. Companies: exhibitor and Artist Alley applications through ReedPop's exhibitor portal
Website: https://www.newyorkcomiccon.com · Contact: Via the contact / enquiry forms on newyorkcomiccon.com and RX / ReedPop corporate enquiries on rxglobal.com
The 'bigger than San Diego' claim depends entirely on counting method: NYCC = tickets sold (turnstile-type), San Diego = capped unique attendance. LIKE must never rank the two on headline numbers without stating the basis. A 250,000+ figure was reported by ReedPop for the October 2026 edition in secondary coverage after this file's main verification pass — treat as organizer-reported tickets-sold on the same basis
3. ANIME EXPO (AX) — LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
Founded 1992 · Anime and Japanese pop-culture convention
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 4 days, over the July 4 weekend. Next edition as officially published: Anime Expo returns to the Los Angeles Convention Center in early July 2027 (July 2-5, 2027, per SPJA's 2026 wrap announcement)
Organizing body: Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) — 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable and educational organization (status changed to 501(c)(3) in 2020)
Organizer leadership: Chief Executive Officer of SPJA: Ray Chiang, quoted as SPJA CEO in Anime Expo's own 2026 wrap release; SPJA appointed Ray Chiang COO and Mark Manansala CEO in 2016 — the CEO title in the organizer's current releases is Ray Chiang
Venue: Los Angeles Convention Center and L.A. LIVE venues
Scale (as published, with basis): Organizer-reported TURNSTILE: over 410,000 turnstile attendance in 2025 (SPJA / anime-expo.org, July 7, 2025), from more than 65 countries; 2024 was reported at about 407,000 turnstile (estimate) and 2023 at more than 392,000 turnstile. Basis is explicitly turnstile (each day's entry counted), NOT unique attendees. SPJA historically published uniques alongside turnstile (e.g. about 110,000 uniques in an earlier edition); no unique figure was published for 2025 — do not convert turnstile to uniques
Who exhibits & attends: Japanese anime studios and production companies, Aniplex, Bandai Namco, Kadokawa and other Japanese industry, US anime publishers and streamers (Crunchyroll and others), games companies, manga publishers, Artist Alley; industry, creators and fans
Media / press: Press badges by advance application through anime-expo.org with outlet verification; separate industry / professional badges as published by SPJA
Distinctiveness: North America's largest Japanese pop-culture celebration; world and North American anime premieres, Anisong concerts and a full industry marketplace; the turnstile-vs-unique gap is the textbook example of convention counting differences
Access / entry: Fans: credentials (badges) sold online from early in the year, shipped or collected on site; the show sells out. Companies: exhibitor, Artist Alley and industry registration through SPJA's published exhibitor programme
Website: https://www.anime-expo.org · Contact: Via contact forms on anime-expo.org and SPJA at spja.org
FLAGGED BASIS: every headline Anime Expo number since 2023 is turnstile. A turnstile total of 410,000 over 4 days implies roughly 100,000 people per day, not 410,000 different people. Secondary listicles that rank AX as 'larger than San Diego and New York combined' repeat the turnstile figure without the basis and must not be followed
4. MEGACON ORLANDO — ORLANDO, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES
Founded 1993 · Pop-culture convention — comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, gaming
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 4 days, in winter / spring. Editions as officially published: February 6-9, 2025; March 19-22, 2026
Organizing body: FAN EXPO HQ, part of Informa (Informa Markets / Informa Connect) — commercial organizer
Organizer leadership: President, FAN EXPO HQ: Aman Gupta, as named in FAN EXPO HQ company announcements; Vice President, FAN EXPO HQ: Andrew Moyes, quoted for FAN EXPO shows in 2024. No separate MEGACON-only show director is named in the organizer releases checked
Venue: Orange County Convention Center
Scale (as published, with basis): More than 160,000 attendees in 2025, as reported in Orlando trade / convention press (Exhibit City News, February 2025) citing the show. Basis NOT STATED by the organizer in a published release located for this file — FLAGGED as ambiguous (unique vs turnstile / tickets not specified). Pre-show material expected over 180,000, which is a forecast, not a result, and must not be used as attendance
Who exhibits & attends: Comics publishers and creators, film and television celebrities, anime voice actors, gaming, horror and cosplay programming, more than 1,000 exhibitors (2025, per trade reports), Artist Alley and tattoo / collectibles vendors in earlier editions
Media / press: Press passes by advance application through FAN EXPO HQ / MEGACON Orlando press registration, with verification as published on megaconorlando.com
Distinctiveness: The Southeast's largest fan convention and, in 2025, operator of the largest single exhibition-hall footprint of any North American fan convention (the full North/South Concourse, about 950,000 sq ft, per show reporting); noted for after-hours theme-park events at Universal Orlando
Access / entry: Fans: tickets sold online in advance (4-day, single-day, VIP / Ultimate packages), with advance pricing tiers. Companies: exhibitor, Artist Alley and sponsorship applications through FAN EXPO HQ
Website: https://fanexpohq.com/megaconorlando/ · Contact: Via contact and exhibitor enquiry forms on fanexpohq.com / megaconorlando.com; FAN EXPO HQ corporate contact via Informa
Attendance sourcing is weaker here than for RX shows: no organizer post-show release with a figure and basis was located on fanexpohq.com. The 160,000+ figure is trade-press reported; a claim of over 200,000 for 2026 in tertiary sources is unverified against an organizer release and is not used as the headline figure
5. FAN EXPO CANADA — TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
Founded 1995 · Pop-culture convention — comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, gaming
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 4 days, in late August. Next edition as officially published on fanexpocanada.com
Organizing body: FAN EXPO HQ, part of Informa — commercial organizer. Founded as the Canadian National Comic Book Expo; acquired into the Hobby Star / FAN EXPO lineage and then Informa
Organizer leadership: President, FAN EXPO HQ: Aman Gupta; Vice President, FAN EXPO HQ: Andrew Moyes, quoted as FAN EXPO HQ VP in 2024 preview interviews
Venue: Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Scale (as published, with basis): Over 125,000 attendees in 2024, as reported in Toronto coverage of the August 22-25, 2024 edition; FAN EXPO's own exhibitor material lists more than 135,000 attendees and more than 1,000 exhibitors as its standing claim. Basis NOT STATED in either source — FLAGGED as ambiguous; the 135,000 figure is a standing organizer claim reused across years, not a dated audited result
Who exhibits & attends: Comics publishers and creators, film and television celebrities, anime and gaming guests, horror programming, more than 1,000 exhibitors per organizer material, Artist Alley and retailers
Media / press: Press passes by advance application through FAN EXPO Canada press registration with verification, as published on fanexpocanada.com
Distinctiveness: Canada's largest pop-culture event and, per the organizer, the third-largest in North America; the flagship of the FAN EXPO portfolio, with the Masters of Cosplay Grand Prix
Access / entry: Fans: tickets sold online in advance (multi-day, single-day, premium and VIP packages). Companies: exhibitor, Artist Alley and sponsorship applications through FAN EXPO HQ
Website: https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpocanada/ · Contact: Via contact and exhibitor enquiry forms on fanexpohq.com; Informa corporate contact for FAN EXPO HQ
Discrepancy flagged: 125,000+ (2024 dated reporting) vs 135,000 (undated standing claim in exhibitor / preview material, also used for a later edition's preview). LIKE uses the dated 2024 figure as headline and records the standing claim separately
6. EMERALD CITY COMIC CON (ECCC) — SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES
Founded 2003 · Pop-culture convention — comics-led
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 4 days, in late February / March. Next edition as officially published: March 5-8, 2026 (announced in RX's 2025 wrap release)
Organizing body: ReedPop, part of RX (RELX) — commercial organizer. Founded independently by Jim Demonakos; acquired by ReedPop in 2015
Organizer leadership: RX Chief Executive: Hugh Jones; Vice President, ReedPop US Comics Portfolio and Star Wars Celebration: Kristina Rogers, quoted as show lead in RX's ECCC releases
Venue: Seattle Convention Center (Summit and Arch buildings)
Scale (as published, with basis): Organizer-reported: over 90,000 fans in 2025 (RX Global release headline, 'Emerald City Comic Con Draws Over 90,000 Fans'); ICv2 reported the 2024 edition was expected at about 85,000 over 4 days. Basis NOT STATED by RX — FLAGGED as ambiguous (presumed tickets / admissions, not certified uniques)
Who exhibits & attends: Comics publishers (Penguin Random House, Mad Cave Studios and others in 2025), 450+ Artist Alley participants (2025, RX), Writers Block literary guests, film and television guests, gaming and cosplay, including the Cosplay Central Crown Championships qualifier
Media / press: Press badges by advance application through ReedPop / ECCC press registration with editorial verification, as published on emeraldcitycomiccon.com
Distinctiveness: The Pacific Northwest's flagship show, comics-led within the ReedPop portfolio, with a major literary Writers Block and a two-building downtown footprint across Seattle's old and new convention centres
Access / entry: Fans: badges sold online through ECCC's ticketing system after a published on-sale; 4-day badges sell out first. Companies: exhibitor, Artist Alley and Writers Block applications through ReedPop
Website: https://www.emeraldcitycomiccon.com · Contact: Via contact and exhibitor enquiry forms on emeraldcitycomiccon.com; RX / ReedPop corporate enquiries on rxglobal.com
RX releases give rounded 'over 90,000 fans' without a counting basis or an exhibitor-audited total; LIKE records the figure as organizer-reported with basis unstated, not as unique attendance
7. C2E2 (CHICAGO COMIC & ENTERTAINMENT EXPO) — CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES
Founded 2010 · Pop-culture convention — comics and entertainment expo
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 3 days, in spring (April in 2024). Next edition as officially published on c2e2.com
Organizing body: ReedPop, part of RX (RELX) — commercial organizer
Organizer leadership: RX Chief Executive: Hugh Jones; Vice President, ReedPop US Comics Portfolio: Kristina Rogers, quoted as show lead in RX's C2E2 2024 release
Venue: McCormick Place
Scale (as published, with basis): Organizer-reported: over 85,000 fans in 2024 (RX Global, April 2024, for April 26-28, 2024) and a record over 100,000 attendees in 2025 (RX, April 2025, as cited in show records). Basis NOT STATED by RX — FLAGGED as ambiguous
Who exhibits & attends: Comics publishers and creators, nearly 500 Artist Alley participants in 2024 (RX), film and television guests, gaming, literary guests and the Cosplay Central Crown Championships (global cosplay competition hosted at C2E2)
Media / press: Press badges by advance application through ReedPop / C2E2 press registration with editorial verification, as published on c2e2.com
Distinctiveness: The Midwest's ReedPop flagship, launched by the NYCC team in 2010; home final of the Cosplay Central Crown Championships in the years cited and a strong comics-retailer presence for the direct market
Access / entry: Fans: badges sold online through C2E2's ticketing system (3-day and single-day, VIP tiers). Companies: exhibitor and Artist Alley applications through ReedPop
Website: https://www.c2e2.com · Contact: Via contact and exhibitor enquiry forms on c2e2.com; RX / ReedPop corporate enquiries on rxglobal.com
As with ECCC and NYCC, RX's rounded totals carry no published basis. The 2025 'record' claim rests on the organizer's own release headline; no independent count was located
8. DRAGON CON — ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES
Founded 1987 · Multi-genre fan convention — science fiction, fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, film
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 5 days, over the US Labor Day weekend (Thursday to Monday). Next edition as officially published: September 3-7, 2026 (40th anniversary)
Organizing body: Dragon Con, Inc. — commercial, fan-founded convention company; organized for fans, run with a large volunteer staff (not a nonprofit). Parent has traded as Dragon*Con / Dragon Con, Inc.
Organizer leadership: President: Pat Henry; Vice President: Sherry Henry, as identified in Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau coverage of the 2026 40th-anniversary banner reveal ('Pat and Sherry Henry, president and vice president of Dragon Con')
Venue: Five downtown host hotels (Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Hilton Atlanta, Westin Peachtree Plaza, Courtland Grand Hotel) plus AmericasMart Buildings 2 and 3
Scale (as published, with basis): About 75,000 attendees in 2025, up from more than 72,000 in 2024, as reported by the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau / Exhibit City News and Dragon Con's own releases. Basis: memberships sold (Dragon Con sells memberships, capped by badge sales in 2025 reporting) — treated as unique members for the edition, not daily turnstile, but the organizer does not publish an audited methodology — see notes
Who exhibits & attends: Some 300 authors, artists, game designers, scientists and experts and major film / television guests across 38+ programming tracks (2025); exhibitors and dealers in AmericasMart, fan tracks run by volunteers; attendees from all 50 states and overseas
Media / press: Press / media badges by advance application through dragoncon.org media registration, with verification and published media policies
Distinctiveness: A city-within-a-city hotel convention and a fan-run counter-model to the commercial expo: 3,500+ hours of programming, the Dragon Con Parade through downtown Atlanta, a major charity programme and blood drive, and the Dragon Awards
Access / entry: Fans: memberships (badges) sold online at tiered prices that rise toward the show, for the full 5 days or single days; host-hotel rooms are allocated separately and are notoriously scarce. Companies: dealer / exhibitor tables in AmericasMart by application through Dragon Con
Website: https://www.dragoncon.org · Contact: Via contact forms on dragoncon.org; media relations through the Dragon Con Media Relations team as published on the site
One Dragon Con-published retrospective in 2026 described 2025 as 'more than 80,000 people' / an '85,000-attendee mega-con' in quoted commentary, against the 75,000 figure in ACVB and post-show reporting — discrepancy flagged; LIKE uses 75,000 (2025) as the dated, sourced figure. Dragon Con is frequently misdescribed as a nonprofit; it is a for-profit company with charitable programmes
9. WONDERCON — ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
Founded 1987 · Pop-culture convention — comics, film, television
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 3 days, in late March / early April (Easter weekend in 2024: March 29-31, 2024). Next edition as officially published on comic-con.org / wondercon
Organizing body: Comic-Con International (San Diego Comic Convention) — California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation, 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Founded in the San Francisco Bay Area; moved to Anaheim in 2012
Organizer leadership: President of the Board of Directors, Comic-Con International: Robin Donlan; Chief Communications and Strategy Officer: David Glanzer (see San Diego entry for sourcing)
Venue: Anaheim Convention Center
Scale (as published, with basis): Not published. Comic-Con International does not publish an annual attendance figure for WonderCon in the releases checked. Secondary sources routinely cite '60,000+' from pre-2020 reporting (Popverse: 'regularly has 60,000+ attendees') — that is not a dated organizer-published result and is not used as a current figure
Who exhibits & attends: Comics publishers and creators, film and television presentations, Artist Alley and small press, gaming and masquerade; the spring, comics-forward sister show to San Diego Comic-Con
Media / press: Press badges by application and verification through Comic-Con International, on the same credentialing basis as San Diego, as published on comic-con.org
Distinctiveness: CCI's second convention: the accessible, comics-centred alternative to the sold-out San Diego show, in the Anaheim resort district opposite Disneyland
Access / entry: Fans: a free Comic-Con Member ID is required; badges sold online in an announced sale and, unlike San Diego, have historically remained available closer to the show. Companies: exhibitor and Artist Alley applications through CCI
Website: https://www.comic-con.org/wondercon/ · Contact: Via contact forms and Member ID account messaging on comic-con.org
NAMED GAP: no current official attendance. Any WonderCon total in listicles traces to mid-2010s figures (about 60,000 in 2016 is the last widely confirmed number in the sources checked)
10. LOS ANGELES COMIC CON (L.A. COMIC CON) — LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
Founded 2011 · Pop-culture convention — comics, gaming, sci-fi, anime
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 3 days, in autumn (December in 2023; autumn dates in later editions). Next edition as officially published on lacomiccon.com
Organizing body: Comikaze Entertainment, Inc. — independent commercial organizer. Launched as Comikaze Expo, later Stan Lee's Comikaze and Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con, now Los Angeles Comic Con
Organizer leadership: Chief Executive Officer, Comikaze Entertainment: Chris DeMoulin, quoted as CEO in the show's own post-show releases (2023) and company materials
Venue: Los Angeles Convention Center
Scale (as published, with basis): Organizer-reported: about 122,000 fans in 2023 (12th annual edition, December 1-3, 2023, per Comikaze Entertainment's post-show release as published in entertainment press; one account gives 122,300+). Company materials in 2024-2025 claim 'over 126,000 fans annually'. Basis NOT STATED — FLAGGED as ambiguous
Who exhibits & attends: Comics, anime, gaming and collectibles exhibitors, more than 1,000 artists and vendors and a 400+ Artist Alley in 2023 (organizer release), film and television celebrities, indie creators; a deliberately broad, locally rooted Los Angeles fandom audience
Media / press: Press / media passes by advance application through lacomiccon.com with verification, as published by the organizer
Distinctiveness: Los Angeles' independent home-grown pop-culture convention — the commercial, fan-founded alternative in the same building as Anime Expo, with one of the largest Artist Alleys at a US convention by its own count
Access / entry: Fans: badges sold online (multi-day, single-day and premium tiers), positioned by the organizer as accessibly priced. Companies: exhibitor, Artist Alley and sponsorship sales through Comikaze Entertainment
Website: https://www.lacomiccon.com · Contact: Via contact and exhibitor enquiry forms on lacomiccon.com; Comikaze Entertainment corporate information in its public company materials
The 126,000 'annually' figure in crowdfunding / company materials is a standing company claim, not a dated audited result; LIKE headlines the dated 2023 organizer figure (about 122,000) and flags the basis as unstated
11. PLANET COMICON KANSAS CITY — KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, UNITED STATES
Founded 1999 · Comic and pop-culture convention
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 3 days, in March. Edition as published: March 21-23, 2025 (26th anniversary)
Organizing body: Planet Comicon Kansas City — independent commercial organizer; founded and organized by Chris Jackson (show founder), per the convention's published history
Organizer leadership: Founder / organizer: Chris Jackson. No president, CEO or show director beyond the founder is published on planetcomicon.com in the materials checked; convention spokesperson in 2025-2026 reporting: Chris Phelan
Venue: Kansas City Convention Center (Bartle Hall)
Scale (as published, with basis): More than 70,000 attendees in 2025, per the convention spokesperson (Chris Phelan) in Kansas City reporting of the March 21-23, 2025 edition; other organizer statements around the same edition expected about 75,000. Basis NOT STATED — FLAGGED as ambiguous, and the 70,000 vs 75,000 expectation / result must not be conflated
Who exhibits & attends: Comics retailers and creators (a notably comics-centred dealer room), national comic guests and local creators (Jason Aaron, Ande Parks and others historically), film and television celebrities, Artist Alley, RPG and tabletop gaming, cosplay
Media / press: Press / media credentials by advance application through planetcomicon.com, as published by the organizer
Distinctiveness: The Midwest's longest-running large comic convention and, by vendor testimony in local reporting, a 'real comic book convention' that keeps comics at the centre while running a full celebrity programme; the largest annual pop-culture event in Kansas City, with about $14 million in claimed local economic impact in 2025 (spokesperson figure)
Access / entry: Fans: tickets sold online (3-day and single-day; Saturday the premium day). Companies: exhibitor and Artist Alley applications through the organizer
Website: https://planetcomicon.com · Contact: Via contact forms on planetcomicon.com
Attendance rests on spokesperson statements to local media, not a published post-show audit; the pre-show 'expected 60,000' (2025 preview) vs 'over 70,000' (post-show spokesperson) vs 'around 75,000 expected' (economic-impact statement) spread is flagged in the research notes
EUROPE
12. LUCCA COMICS & GAMES — LUCCA, ITALY
Founded 1966 · Comics and games festival — city-wide festival
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 5 days, late October to early November, around All Saints' Day. Edition as officially published: October 29-November 2, 2025 (59th edition)
Organizing body: Lucca Crea S.r.l. — municipally owned company of the Comune di Lucca (publicly owned commercial organizer). Festival founded as the Salone Internazionale dei Comics (first held in Bordighera in 1965, in Lucca from 1966)
Organizer leadership: Director of Lucca Comics & Games and General Director of Lucca Crea: Emanuele Vietina (festival director since 2017, as published by Lucca Crea / the festival). President of Lucca Crea is named inconsistently across years in secondary releases (Francesca Fazzi was named President in 2020-2021 releases; Vietina was described as President of Lucca Crea in 2023 reporting) — see notes; the consistently published operational leadership is Vietina as Director
Venue: Historic centre of Lucca — pavilions, palazzi, churches and squares inside and outside the Renaissance walls (no single convention centre)
Scale (as published, with basis): Tickets sold (organizer-reported, via festival records as cited in reference and press sources): 314,220 tickets sold in 2023 (November 1-5, 2023); record 319,926 tickets sold in 2022; about 275,000 tickets sold in 2024 per post-show reporting. Basis: TICKETS SOLD over 5 days — a turnstile-type total, NOT unique visitors. A person attending 5 days sells / uses 5 daily tickets or a multi-day pass counted in ticket totals as published; unique attendance is not published
Who exhibits & attends: Italian and international comics publishers, manga publishers, games publishers (Wizards of the Coast and Italian games houses), film and streaming presentations, fantasy literature, Artist and self-publishing areas, cosplay; the whole Italian comics and games industry treats Lucca as its annual market and showcase
Media / press: Press accreditation by advance application through Lucca Crea / the festival press office, as published on luccacomicsandgames.com
Distinctiveness: Europe's largest comics festival by tickets sold, staged not in a hall but across a walled Renaissance city — exhibitions in churches and palaces, games on the walls, pavilions in the piazzas; home of the Gran Guinigi awards (successor to the historic Yellow Kid Awards lineage)
Access / entry: Fans: daily and multi-day tickets / passes sold online in advance, with capped daily availability; many city exhibitions are included with the ticket while the city itself remains open. Companies: exhibitor stands and pavilions contracted through Lucca Crea's exhibitor office
Website: https://www.luccacomicsandgames.com · Contact: Via Lucca Crea S.r.l. contact and press-office channels on luccacrea.it and luccacomicsandgames.com
FLAGGED BASIS and common error: '319,000 participants' (2022) in English-language coverage is tickets sold, not 319,000 different people. Lucca's 5-day ticket total, Anime Expo's turnstile and San Diego's capped uniques are three different measures. Leadership title discrepancy (President of Lucca Crea) is flagged rather than resolved by assertion
13. JAPAN EXPO — PARIS (VILLEPINTE), FRANCE
Founded 1999 · Japanese pop-culture festival — manga, anime, music, traditional culture
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 4 days, in early July. Next edition as officially published on japan-expo-paris.com
Organizing body: SEFA Event (Groupe SEFA / JTS Group lineage) — commercial organizer. Founded by Jean-François Dufour, Sandrine Dufour and Thomas Sirdey
Organizer leadership: Leadership not published by name (no president / CEO / show director named) on the official japan-expo-paris.com / SEFA Event materials checked in October 2026. Founders as published in festival histories: Jean-François Dufour, Sandrine Dufour and Thomas Sirdey — do not present the founders as current executives without a current source
Venue: Parc des Expositions de Paris-Nord Villepinte
Scale (as published, with basis): Organizer-reported: 200,000 visitors in 2024 (July 11-14, 2024), down from 255,259 visitors in 2023, per the organizers' post-show figures as reported in French press coverage. Basis: visitors over 4 days (turnstile-type total); unique attendance is not published. The drop was attributed by the organizers to the exceptional summer of 2024 in France (Olympic Games period and the political context)
Who exhibits & attends: 900 exhibitors in 2024 and 2,861 accredited professionals (organizer figures), manga publishers (French manga is a major market), anime studios and streamers, Japanese music acts, video games, traditional-culture pavilion WABI SABI, martial arts, fashion and cosplay; 487 artists and 579 events in 2024 (organizer figures)
Media / press: Press accreditation by advance application through Japan Expo / SEFA Event press registration, as published on the official site; 2,861 professionals accredited in 2024 includes press and industry as reported
Distinctiveness: The largest Japanese-culture festival outside Japan and Europe's window on Japan: it mixes manga and anime commerce with traditional arts, live music and Japanese regional promotion at a scale no other European show attempts
Access / entry: Fans: daily and 4-day tickets sold online in advance, with premium / Zen tiers. Companies: exhibitor stands and professional accreditation through SEFA Event
Website: https://www.japan-expo-paris.com · Contact: Via contact and accreditation forms on japan-expo-paris.com; organizer SEFA Event
NAMED GAP: current named leadership. The precise 255,259 figure for 2023 (against the rounded 200,000 for 2024) suggests certified counting for 2023; the organizers said certified 2024 figures would follow — LIKE records the published rounded figure with its basis and flags the asymmetry
14. ANGOULÊME INTERNATIONAL COMICS FESTIVAL (FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DE LA BANDE DESSINÉE D'ANGOULÊME, FIBD) — ANGOULÊME, FRANCE
Founded 1974 · Comics festival — auteur and publishing festival with rights market
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 4 days, in late January. The January 2026 edition was CANCELLED (see notes); a successor international comics festival in Angoulême was in preparation for the first half of 2027 under a new organizer, per ADBDA process reporting — no next FIBD edition is officially published
Organizing body: Association FIBD (nonprofit association, owner of the festival) — owner body; operations were delegated for many years to 9e Art+, the company of General Delegate Franck Bondoux (commercial operator under contract to the Association). Status in 2026: see notes — the January 2026 edition was cancelled and a successor festival was in preparation
Organizer leadership: IN TRANSITION — FLAGGED. General Delegate (to 2025): Franck Bondoux, head of operator 9e Art+. After the 2025 crisis (author and publisher boycott, withdrawal of public funders), 9e Art+'s position collapsed in court and mediation passed to the ADBDA (Association pour le Développement de la Bande Dessinée à Angoulême); no successor general delegate had been confirmed in the sources checked in October 2026. Do not list Bondoux as current leadership without that context
Venue: City-wide across Angoulême — publisher marquees ('bulles'), museums, theatres and public spaces in the old town
Scale (as published, with basis): About 200,000 visitors in 2024, as reported in festival coverage citing General Delegate Franck Bondoux ('closer to 2020 figures'); peak-year coverage cites more than 250,000 visitors and the 50th-anniversary 2023 edition drew record crowds above the 2024 level. Basis: visitors to a largely open, city-wide festival over 4 days — not ticketed uniques; no certified unique figure is published. FLAGGED as an estimate basis
Who exhibits & attends: Franco-Belgian and international comics publishers (mainstream, alternative and manga), about 2,000 authors and illustrators in peak-year descriptions, a professional rights marketplace where publishers and agents buy and sell translation rights, exhibitions of original art, schools and the French national press and political class
Media / press: Press accreditation by advance application through the festival; national French media cover the festival and its Fauve awards as a major cultural event — accreditation posture as published by the organizer for each edition
Distinctiveness: The Cannes of comics: the Grand Prix de la Ville d'Angoulême (whose winner presides over the following year's jury) and the Fauve d'Or for best album shape the year in Franco-Belgian and world comics; the festival remade its host city, with a comics museum, art schools and painted walls
Access / entry: Fans: much of the city festival is open or day-pass based, with ticketed exhibitions and events sold through the festival. Companies / professionals: publisher marquees and the professional rights market (Marché des Droits / International Rights Market) by registration and contract with the organizer
Website: https://www.bdangouleme.com · Contact: Via Association FIBD / festival contact channels on bdangouleme.com (subject to the 2026 reorganization — see notes)
MAJOR STATUS FLAG (October 2026): following a January 2025 exposé, an author boycott and the withdrawal of funders covering about half the budget, the January 2026 festival was cancelled, the Association FIBD 'went dark' in coverage, and the ADBDA ran a selection process for a new festival (decision reported for April 2026, first new-concept edition expected in the first half of 2027). LIKE must present Angoulême as a historic festival in reorganization, not as a normally scheduled 2027 FIBD, until a successor organizer and dates are officially published
15. MANGA BARCELONA — BARCELONA, SPAIN
Founded 1995 · Manga, anime and Japanese-culture festival
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 4 days, in December (5-8 December 2024 for the 30th edition). Next edition as officially published: 32nd Manga Barcelona in December 2026, per manga-barcelona.com
Organizing body: Ficomic (Federació d'Institucions Professionals del Còmic / Federation of Professional Comic Institutions) — nonprofit federation / association founded in 1988 by Catalan publishers, booksellers and distributors; Ficomic also organizes Còmic Barcelona
Organizer leadership: Director General of Ficomic: Meritxell Puig, quoted as Ficomic's director general in Ficomic releases and Catalan press in 2024 (including the 30th Manga Barcelona presentation)
Venue: Fira de Barcelona Gran Via, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Halls 4-7 in 2024)
Scale (as published, with basis): Not published. Ficomic does not publish a single certified attendance total for Manga Barcelona in the press dossier / releases checked (the 32nd-edition dossier details programming without a headline certified total). Secondary and partner sources cite more than 160,000-167,000 people over 4 days for recent editions — those figures are not traced to a dated Ficomic post-show release in this verification pass and are therefore NOT used as the scale figure; see notes
Who exhibits & attends: Spanish manga and anime publishers and distributors, Japanese guests (Naoki Urasawa and Kamome Shirahama among 30th-edition guests), anime screenings in the Manga Barcelona Auditorium, games, cosplay, Japanese traditional and popular culture, a large family and schools audience (Manga Kids)
Media / press: Press accreditation by advance application through Ficomic / Manga Barcelona press registration, as published on manga-barcelona.com
Distinctiveness: Spain's largest Japanese-culture event and one of Europe's oldest manga festivals (founded 1995 as the Saló del Manga), run by the comics profession's own federation rather than a commercial expo group; multigenerational, with parents who attended as teenagers now bringing their children
Access / entry: Fans: tickets sold online in advance (daily and multi-day), with published capacity management. Companies: exhibitor stands and publisher participation contracted through Ficomic
Website: https://www.manga-barcelona.com · Contact: Via Ficomic contact and accreditation channels on manga-barcelona.com and ficomic.com
NAMED GAP: certified attendance. The '167,000+' figure appears in a venue-services partner's description ('brings together more than 167,000 people over four days') and the 'exceeds 160,000' figure in Japanese promotion material — both plausible, neither is a Ficomic post-show release, so the scale field stays 'Not published' under house discipline
16. MCM COMIC CON LONDON — LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Founded 2002 · Pop-culture convention — film, TV, games, comics, anime
Calendar / next edition: Twice annual, 3 days each, in May and October at ExCeL London. Next edition as officially published: May 22-24, 2026 (announced by ReedPop, October 30, 2025)
Organizing body: ReedPop, part of RX (RELX) — commercial organizer. Originated as the London MCM Expo (Movies, Comics, Media) under MCM Expo Group; acquired by ReedPop in 2017
Organizer leadership: RX Chief Executive: Hugh Jones; ReedPop event leadership for MCM as published in ReedPop releases: Event Director Teresa Heitor was quoted as MCM Event Director in 2024 releases. No MCM-specific president is published; portfolio leadership sits with ReedPop (see NYCC entry)
Venue: ExCeL London
Scale (as published, with basis): Organizer-reported: over 100,000 fans at the October 2025 edition (ReedPop announcement, October 30, 2025, for the show 'this past weekend'). ReedPop also states it welcomed 'hundreds of thousands of dedicated fans across three shows throughout 2024' (London May, London October and Birmingham combined) — that is a portfolio total, NOT a London single-show figure. Basis for the 100,000 figure NOT STATED — FLAGGED as ambiguous
Who exhibits & attends: Film and television guests and panels, games publishers and playable titles, comics creators and Artist Alley, Writers Block authors, Pop Asia (anime and Asian pop culture), cosplay (Cosplay Central), tabletop and family areas (The Treehouse, Forest Glade)
Media / press: Press / creator passes by advance application through ReedPop / MCM press registration with verification, as published on mcmcomiccon.com
Distinctiveness: The United Kingdom's largest fan convention and, per ReedPop, Europe's largest fan convention by its own description; a twice-yearly ExCeL fixture since 2002 that anchors the UK pop-culture calendar, with the Cosplay Central Crown Championships moving its focus to London in May 2026
Access / entry: Fans: tickets sold online (weekend, single-day, priority-entry and premium tiers). Companies: exhibitor, Artist Alley and sponsorship applications through ReedPop
Website: https://www.mcmcomiccon.com · Contact: Via contact and exhibitor enquiry forms on mcmcomiccon.com; RX / ReedPop corporate enquiries on rxglobal.com
Do not use 'hundreds of thousands across three shows in 2024' as MCM London attendance — it aggregates two London shows and MCM Birmingham. The single-show dated figure located is October 2025: over 100,000 (organizer-reported, basis unstated)
17. POLYMANGA — LAUSANNE (HISTORICALLY MONTREUX), SWITZERLAND
Founded 2005 · Pop-culture festival — manga, Japanese culture, video games
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 4 days, over Easter (Good Friday to Easter Monday). Editions as published: April 18-21, 2025 (20th anniversary, Beaulieu Lausanne); April 3-6, 2026
Organizing body: Polymanga — Swiss commercial / independent festival organizer (Polymanga organisation, Lausanne). Legal form and parent are not stated on the official polymanga.com materials checked
Organizer leadership: Leadership not published by name (no president, director or showrunner named) on the official polymanga.com site in the materials checked in October 2026
Venue: Beaulieu Lausanne (in recent editions; the festival was long held at the 2m2c in Montreux and is still widely described as 'Polymanga Montreux' in older sources)
Scale (as published, with basis): 51,000 visitors in 2024, as published by Switzerland Tourism (myswitzerland.com) in its official event listing ('51,000 visitors in 2024') and consistent with the festival's own positioning. Basis: visitors over the 4-day Easter edition; unique vs turnstile is not specified — FLAGGED as basis-unspecified, but the figure is a dated, named-source total, not a standing claim
Who exhibits & attends: Manga and anime guests and publishers, video-games publishers and tournaments, concerts (anisong and K-pop in 2025), web and streaming creators, a free-of-charge curated Artist Village (110 selected artists in recent editions), cosplay including the Polymanga Global Easter Cosplay world final
Media / press: Press accreditation by advance application through polymanga.com, as published in the festival's press / accreditation pages
Distinctiveness: Switzerland's leading pop-culture event for 20 years, distinctive for its Artist Village model — booths and infrastructure provided free to 110 portfolio-selected artists — and for hosting a world-final cosplay competition at Easter
Access / entry: Fans: day and multi-day tickets sold online (about CHF 30 day / CHF 50 multi-day in 2025 listings). Artists: Artist Village places are free but competitively selected on a 3-illustration portfolio. Companies: exhibitor stands through the organizer
Website: https://www.polymanga.com · Contact: Via contact forms on polymanga.com (separate published routes for artists, cosplay via Cospop, exhibitors and press)
VENUE FLAG: the brief for this guide listed Montreux, and Polymanga's heritage venue is Montreux, but the 2025 (20th) and 2026 editions in the sources checked were / are at Beaulieu Lausanne. LIKE lists Lausanne as the current city with the Montreux history stated, rather than repeating the historic venue as current
18. FACTS (YOUR BELGIAN COMIC CON) — GHENT, BELGIUM
Founded 1993 · Pop-culture convention — movies, series, games, comics, anime
Calendar / next edition: Twice annual, 2 days each, in spring and autumn. Editions as officially published for 2026: April 11-12, 2026 and October 31-November 1, 2026, Flanders Expo Ghent
Organizing body: FACTS, part of Heroes — a European network of 9 pop-culture events — organized by the Heroes / Day One MPM organization (commercial organizer), per FACTS' own press site. FACTS began in 1993 in a Ghent café with about 40 fans
Organizer leadership: Leadership not published by name (no president, CEO or show director named) on the official facts.be / press.facts.be materials checked in October 2026; the published contacts are the FACTS organization at Flanders Expo and Heroes (heroes@dayonempm.be in press materials)
Venue: Flanders Expo, Ghent
Scale (as published, with basis): Organizer-published: 'Every year, more than 80,000 comic con fans head to Flanders Expo for FACTS' (facts.be) — that is an ANNUAL total across the two yearly editions, not a single-edition figure. A single edition (Fall 2024) was reported at more than 40,000 people in event coverage. Basis: visitors per year / per edition as stated; unique vs turnstile not specified — FLAGGED so the 80,000 is never cited as one weekend's attendance
Who exhibits & attends: International film and television actors, comic artists, 400+ exhibitors (organizer press material), gaming, board games, anime, fan clubs and prop builders, Artist Alley and cosplay, across 54,000 sq m (organizer figure)
Media / press: Press accreditation by advance application through press.facts.be / FACTS press registration, as published by the organizer
Distinctiveness: The Benelux's biggest pop-culture event, running since 1993 — older than most European comic cons — and part of the 9-event Heroes network alongside its Belgian sibling Made in Asia; markets itself as 'the green Comic Con' for its sustainability programme
Access / entry: Fans: day and weekend tickets sold online, with a published cosplayer discount in past editions. Companies: exhibitor stands (400+ exhibitors) through the Heroes / FACTS exhibitor office
Website: https://www.facts.be · Contact: FACTS, Maaltekouter 1, 9051 Gent; info@facts.be; +32 9 241 92 11 — as published on press.facts.be
The 80,000 figure is the most mis-citable in the European section: it is explicitly annual (two editions). LIKE headlines per-edition scale (40,000+ for Fall 2024) and records the annual claim with its basis
19. VIECC VIENNA COMIC CON — VIENNA, AUSTRIA
Founded 2015 · Pop-culture and gaming convention (with VCA Vienna Challengers Arena esports)
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 2 days, in November. Editions as published: November 18-19, 2023; November 21-22 in the 2026 listing (10th annual edition reported in 2025)
Organizing body: Austrian Exhibition Experts GmbH — commercial organizer. Built and developed since 2015 in cooperation with ReedPop (per the organizer's own press kit; ReedPop is a cooperation partner, not the owner / operator named in the kit)
Organizer leadership: Managing Director, Austrian Exhibition Experts GmbH: KR Markus Griessler; Show Director: Patrick Krippner — both as named in the organizer's official VIECC press kit (2022 edition of the kit, the most recent named-leadership kit located). A 'showrunner' credit (Holger Frick) appears in 2026 guest coverage and is a programme role, not a replacement for the kit's named management
Venue: Messe Wien
Scale (as published, with basis): Organizer-published: 31,389 individual visitors in 2019 (VIECC press kit, 'Visitors: 31,389 individual visitors (2019)'; 401 exhibitors in 2019). Basis: INDIVIDUAL visitors — the clearest basis statement in the European section. For 2023 the organizer expected 'just under 40,000 visitors' — that is a forecast, not a result. No organizer-published post-2023 individual total was located, so 2019 remains the headline verified figure
Who exhibits & attends: International film and television stars, comic creators (Jason Aaron among 2026-listed comic guests), fantasy authors, Artist Alley, gaming and esports (Vienna Challengers Arena, University Challengers Arena final staged at VIECC), family programming
Media / press: Press accreditation by advance application through viecc.com press pages, as published by Austrian Exhibition Experts
Distinctiveness: Austria's top pop-culture and gaming event and Central / Eastern Europe's ReedPop-cooperation show: a comic con fused with a full esports arena (VCA) in one weekend at Messe Wien
Access / entry: Fans: day and weekend tickets sold online through viecc.com. Companies: exhibitor stands through Austrian Exhibition Experts (401 exhibitors in 2019)
Website: https://www.viecc.com · Contact: Austrian Exhibition Experts GmbH via viecc.com; press-kit contact: comiccon@expoexperts.at (as published in the official press kit)
Organizer verification matters here: secondary listings routinely credit 'ReedPop' alone. The organizer's own kit names Austrian Exhibition Experts GmbH as organizer, with ReedPop as the cooperation partner since 2015. Attendance discipline: the kit's 31,389 individual visitors (2019) is verified; later round-number claims in entertainment coverage (including a 2025 'record' story without a published total in the text checked) are not used
20. THOUGHT BUBBLE (YORKSHIRE COMIC ART FESTIVAL) — HARROGATE (FESTIVAL WEEK ACROSS LEEDS AND YORKSHIRE), UNITED KINGDOM
Founded 2007 · Comics festival and convention — creator-led, comics-only focus
Calendar / next edition: Annual: a week-long festival in November culminating in a 2-day convention. Editions as published: convention November 16-17, 2024 (festival November 11-17); 20th edition festival November 9-15, 2026, convention November 14-15, 2026
Organizing body: Thought Bubble — independent festival organization founded by Lisa Wood (artist Tula Lotay), originating with the Travelling Man comics shops; a creator-led, not-for-profit in ethos, volunteer-supported ('red shirt') festival organization. No commercial expo-group parent
Organizer leadership: Festival Director: Amy Bellwood, quoted as Thought Bubble Festival Director in the festival's 2024 and 2025 announcements; Founder: Lisa Wood (Tula Lotay). Earlier festival director Chloe Green is historical (2021), not current
Venue: Harrogate Convention Centre (convention weekend); festival-week events in Leeds and across Yorkshire
Scale (as published, with basis): Not published. Thought Bubble does not publish a total attendance figure in the releases checked; it reported a 28% increase in attendance from 2022 to 2023, beating 2019 sales for the first time since the pandemic, with 'thousands of visitors' and 500+ (2024) to 600+ (2025) comic-creating exhibitors — growth is published, the total is not
Who exhibits & attends: Comics creators above all: 600+ comic-creating exhibitors in 2025 / 2026 descriptions, from major publishers (Hachette, Cape, Puffin Graphics among those named) to small press and self-publishers; guests are writers and artists (Joe Sacco, Kate Beaton, Kieron Gillen among recent names), with almost no film / TV celebrity programme — deliberately unlike the media-guest model
Media / press: Press passes by application through thoughtbubblefestival.com; the festival's posture is creator- and community-first, with press details published per edition on the official site
Distinctiveness: The United Kingdom's leading comics-art festival: a convention where the exhibitors are the attraction — hundreds of creators tabling in three halls — plus a week of free community, schools and library programming; under-12s, carers and over-65s attend the convention free in recent editions
Access / entry: Fans: convention tickets sold online, with family and student options introduced in 2024 and free categories as noted. Exhibitors: table applications are curated / balloted through the festival's published exhibitor application process — demand exceeds the 500-600 tables
Website: https://www.thoughtbubblefestival.com · Contact: Via contact forms on thoughtbubblefestival.com
NAMED GAP: total attendance, by the organizer's own choice in the materials checked. Historical secondary descriptions ('in excess of 8,000' for the late Leeds years) are dated, pre-Harrogate and not organizer-published totals for a current edition, so they are not promoted to the scale field
ASIA & OCEANIA
21. COMIKET (COMIC MARKET) — TOKYO, JAPAN
Founded 1975 · Doujinshi fair — self-published works market (not a commercial comic convention)
Calendar / next edition: Twice annual, 2 days each in recent editions: Summer Comiket in mid-August and Winter Comiket at the end of December. Editions as published: C106 August 16-17, 2025; C107 December 30-31, 2025 (50th anniversary); C108 August 2026 (260,000 reported)
Organizing body: Comic Market Preparatory Committee (Comiket Junbikai) — volunteer doujin-circle committee, with the Comic Market Preparatory Committee / Comiket co-organizing bodies and corporate-booth operations as published by Comiket. Honestly framed: Comiket is run by and for doujin circles, not by a commercial expo company and not by a conventional nonprofit corporation
Organizer leadership: Leadership not published by name in the official English-language Comiket materials (comiket.co.jp) checked in October 2026; the Preparatory Committee announces attendance and circle counts collectively via its official X account (@comiketofficial) and site. Do not name a current representative without a current Committee source — the founding figure Yoshihiro Yonezawa (d. 2006) is historical
Venue: Tokyo Big Sight (East, West and South halls; footprint reduced in 2025-2026 while East Halls 1-3 are under renovation)
Scale (as published, with basis): Organizer-announced (Comic Market Preparatory Committee, via its official announcements as reported by Anime News Network): 300,000 across 2 days at Comic Market 105 (December 29-30, 2024, about 150,000 per day) and again 300,000 across 2 days at Comic Market 107 (December 30-31, 2025); 250,000 at C106 (August 16-17, 2025) and 260,000 at C104 and C108. Basis: SUM OF DAILY ATTENDANCES over the edition (a person attending both days counts twice) — a turnstile-type total, NOT unique attendees, and post-2020 editions are 2 days against the pre-COVID 4-day C97 total of 750,000 (December 2019), so pre- and post-2020 totals are not like-for-like
Who exhibits & attends: Doujin circles are the exhibitors: about 23,000-29,000 exhibiting circle spaces per edition in 2024-2025 (29,000 at C105; 23,700 at C107), selling self-published manga, art, music and games; a corporate-booth area (a record 121 companies at C108, per ANN) for anime, games and publishers; cosplayers in designated areas (a few thousand per day, counted by the Committee)
Media / press: No conventional Western-style press-badge programme is published in Comiket's English materials; media coverage is arranged with the Preparatory Committee, and general entry is by paid wristband / ticket as published per edition. LIKE records the posture as 'not published as a press-badge scheme in official English materials' rather than inventing one
Distinctiveness: The world's largest fan-created works fair and the origin point of doujin culture: founded in 1975 (50th anniversary in 2025), it is a marketplace of amateur and semi-professional creators, many of them professionals publishing personally — a structure with no Western commercial equivalent
Access / entry: Fans: paid entry (wristband / ticket systems varying by edition, with afternoon and cosplayer-changing-room ticket types in recent editions) sold in advance and on site as published per edition. Circles: exhibiting spaces are allocated by LOTTERY after application to the Preparatory Committee — demand exceeds the roughly 11,000-15,000 spaces per day. Companies: corporate booths contracted with the Committee
Website: https://www.comiket.co.jp · Contact: Via the Comic Market Preparatory Committee contact routes on comiket.co.jp (Japanese-language primary); official announcements via @comiketofficial
FRAMING FLAG: Comiket must never be described as a 'comic con' in the RX / CCI sense. Post-2020 basis flag: COVID-era editions were capped (C99 about 110,000 over 2 days; C100 about 170,000; caps lifted at C102 in August 2023), and hall renovations cut circle spaces in 2025-2026 — year-on-year moves since 2020 reflect caps and building works as much as demand
22. ANIMEJAPAN — TOKYO, JAPAN
Founded 2014 · Anime industry and fan event — public days plus trade business days
Calendar / next edition: Annual, in March: 2 public days followed by 2 business days. Editions as published: public days March 22-23, 2025 (business days following); March 28-31, 2026 at Tokyo Big Sight (public days March 28-29, business days March 30-31); 2027 published for INTEX Osaka (March 27-28, 2027 in show records)
Organizing body: AnimeJapan Executive Committee — industry committee of 19 member companies (Animate, Aniplex, Bandai Namco Filmworks, Kadokawa, King Records, Production I.G, Toei Animation, Tezuka Productions and others as listed by the Committee), operating through the AnimeJapan Organization (general incorporated association). Formed by merging the Tokyo International Anime Fair and the Anime Contents Expo
Organizer leadership: Committee-led: no single president, CEO or show director is named as the event's leader in the AnimeJapan Organization / Executive Committee materials checked; leadership is the Executive Committee of the 19 member companies. LIKE names the committee, not an individual
Venue: Tokyo Big Sight (a move of the main event to INTEX Osaka is published for 2027 — see calendar)
Scale (as published, with basis): Organizer-reported: 152,400 attendees across the 2 public days in 2025 (March 22-23, 2025) — a record, up 15% on 2024's 132,557, per the AnimeJapan staff announcement as reported by Anime News Network / Comic Natalie. Basis: total attendance across the public days (daily entries summed; business-days attendance is not in this figure); 1 in 10 attendees in 2025 was from overseas (organizer-reported). 116 booths in 2025, the event's highest
Who exhibits & attends: The Japanese anime industry itself: studios, production committees, broadcasters, streamers, publishers and licensors exhibiting in 116 booths (2025), with stage presentations for new titles, plus Family Anime Festa for children and a cosplay area; business days are for licensing and trade professionals
Media / press: Press registration by advance application through anime-japan.jp, with separate public-day press and business-day trade registration as published by the organizer
Distinctiveness: The anime industry's own showcase — the trade-and-fan hybrid where Japanese production companies announce their slates — distinct from fan-run anime conventions and from the doujin model of Comiket in the same building
Access / entry: Fans: public-day tickets sold in advance (with stage-lottery entry tickets for numbered stage events in recent editions). Companies / trade: business-day registration for verified industry professionals; exhibitor booths contracted with the AnimeJapan Organization
Website: https://www.anime-japan.jp · Contact: Via AnimeJapan Organization contact routes on anime-japan.jp
Basis care: the headline total covers PUBLIC days only in the organizer's announcement; adding business days would inflate comparison with purely public events. One secondary account inverted the 2026 order of public and business days — LIKE follows the Anime News Network / organizer announcement (public days first, March 28-29, 2026)
23. SUPANOVA COMIC CON & GAMING — MULTIPLE CITIES — SYDNEY, MELBOURNE, BRISBANE, PERTH, ADELAIDE AND THE GOLD COAST (FLAGSHIP EDITIONS SYDNEY, MELBOURNE AND BRISBANE), AUSTRALIA
Founded 2002 · Pop-culture expo — comics, film, TV, gaming, anime (multi-city touring expo)
Calendar / next edition: Touring, multiple weekends a year: typically Gold Coast and Melbourne in April, Sydney and Perth in June, Adelaide and Brisbane in November (pattern as published for recent years; the 100th Supanova edition was Brisbane, November 2024). Next editions as officially published on supanova.com.au
Organizing body: Supanova — Australian-made, independent commercial organizer (Supanova Comic Con & Gaming / Supanova Pop Culture Industries lineage); explicitly independent and not affiliated with foreign exposition producers, per its own convention history
Organizer leadership: Founder: Daniel Zachariou, who served as Founder and Event Director until 2021. Current event director / leadership after 2021 is NOT published by name on supanova.com.au in the materials checked in October 2026 — NAMED GAP; do not present Zachariou as current director
Venue: Varies by city — e.g. Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park; Melbourne Showgrounds; Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre; Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre
Scale (as published, with basis): Not published (current). Supanova does not publish a dated per-city or national attendance total in the official materials checked. Historical reference only: combined annual attendance across its six events was estimated at 160,000 in 2013, with a largest single-city figure of 50,800 in Sydney in June 2014 — both dated, secondary-sourced estimates, not current organizer-published results
Who exhibits & attends: Film and television guests, comics creators, anime voice actors, gaming, Artist Alley for aspiring and professional artists, anime theatre, cosplay competition (including national cosplay programming), traders and exhibitors
Media / press: Media / press passes by advance application through supanova.com.au, as published per city edition
Distinctiveness: Australia's home-grown touring pop-culture expo, founded in Sydney in 2002 and reaching its 100th edition in Brisbane in November 2024 — a national circuit rather than a single-city convention, which is why no single 'Supanova attendance' exists
Access / entry: Fans: day and weekend tickets sold online per city, with premium / Supa-Fan packages. Companies and artists: exhibitor and Artist Alley applications per city through Supanova
Website: https://www.supanova.com.au · Contact: Via contact forms on supanova.com.au
Two discipline flags: (1) touring structure — any single attendance number must name its city and year; national totals aggregate separate weekends. (2) Leadership gap post-2021 is stated, not filled by inference
24. OZ COMIC-CON — MULTIPLE CITIES — MELBOURNE, SYDNEY, BRISBANE, PERTH, ADELAIDE AND CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
Founded 2012 · Pop-culture convention — comics, film, TV, gaming, anime (multi-city touring convention)
Calendar / next edition: Touring, multiple weekends a year across six cities in recent seasons (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney in 2025 as published). Editions as officially published, e.g. Sydney September 12-13, 2026 and Brisbane September 19-20, 2026 (2026 guest announcements)
Organizing body: Expertise Events — Australian commercial organizer. Oz Comic-Con was launched in Australia by ReedPop Australia as a local edition in the New York Comic Con family and was divested by ReedPop to Expertise Events in 2019
Organizer leadership: Managing Director, Expertise Events: Gary Fitz-Roy, quoted as MD in MCEC / Expertise Events releases; Event Director, Oz Comic-Con: Zac Fitzroy, quoted as Event Director in 2026 guest announcements (surname is spelled Fitz-Roy and Fitzroy across releases — flagged, not normalized by assertion)
Venue: Varies by city — e.g. Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC); Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park; Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
Scale (as published, with basis): Not published. Expertise Events / Oz Comic-Con does not publish a dated attendance total (national or per-city) in the official materials checked in October 2026
Who exhibits & attends: International film, television and voice guests (anime voice talent prominent in 2026 announcements), comics creators and Artist Alley, hundreds of exhibitors per city (organizer announcements), cosplay championships, gaming and interactive attractions
Media / press: Media accreditation and content-creator / influencer process managed for the organizer (Rocket Comms handled media accreditation in its published portfolio description); applications as published on ozcomiccon.com per edition
Distinctiveness: Australia's second national circuit and the former ReedPop outpost: founded under the NYCC umbrella in 2012, now Australian-owned under a consumer-events group whose other flagship properties are craft and quilt fairs — a distinctive ownership contrast with Supanova's fan-founded independence
Access / entry: Fans: day and weekend tickets sold online per city, with premium packages; Companion Card arrangements are published per venue. Companies and artists: exhibitor and Artist Alley applications through Expertise Events / ozcomiccon.com
Website: https://www.ozcomiccon.com · Contact: Via contact and exhibitor enquiry forms on ozcomiccon.com; organizer Expertise Events
NAMED GAPS: attendance (not published) and leadership surname spelling (Fitz-Roy vs Fitzroy in the organizer's own ecosystem). The ReedPop-to-Expertise-Events sale (announced December 2019) is the key ownership fact; sources that still list ReedPop as organizer are out of date
THE AMERICAS & BEYOND
25. CCXP (COMIC CON EXPERIENCE) — SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL
Founded 2014 · Pop-culture festival — comics, film, television, streaming, games
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 4 days plus a Spoiler Night preview, in early December. Editions as officially published: December 5-8, 2024; December 4-7, 2025; December 3-6, 2026 (CCXP26, per CCXP help centre)
Organizing body: Omelete Company (Omelete) — Brazilian commercial organizer, with Chiaroscuro Studios as founding partner. Created by the Omelete entertainment group (founded 2000 by Érico Borgo, Marcelo Forlani and Marcelo Hessel). CCXP also stages CCXP Mexico (from 2024) and previously licensed formats abroad
Organizer leadership: Co-founders of Omelete / CCXP as published: Érico Borgo, Marcelo Forlani and Marcelo Hessel (Borgo is quoted as CCXP co-founder in international coverage). A current CCXP-specific CEO / show director is not named on the official CCXP help / about materials checked — LIKE names the founding leadership and flags the current-executive gap rather than asserting a name
Venue: São Paulo Expo
Scale (as published, with basis): Organizer-reported (CCXP press release, as cited in Polygon's CCXP report): 287,000 attendees in 2023 (November 30-December 3, 2023). CCXP's own about material states 280,000 visitors over 4 days in 2019, when it 'established itself as the biggest pop culture festival on the planet' (organizer claim). Basis: visitors / attendees over 4 days as published; unique vs turnstile methodology is not published — FLAGGED as basis-unspecified, and the 'biggest on the planet' wording is an organizer claim, not a verified ranking
Who exhibits & attends: Hollywood majors at full strength — Disney / Marvel, Warner Bros., Lucasfilm, Netflix, Amazon and others have premiered trailers and footage at CCXP (Wonder Woman 1984 and Eternals material among historic debuts); one of the world's largest Artists' Alleys / Artists' Valley, centred on Brazilian creators; games, streaming and 100+ brand exhibitors (105 brands in 2023 per industry coverage)
Media / press: Press accreditation by advance application through CCXP / Omelete press registration, as published on ccxp.com.br; the event is a primary launch platform for studio publicity in Latin America
Distinctiveness: The Southern Hemisphere's giant: a San Diego-scale studio festival built by a Brazilian media company, where global trailer premieres debut in Portuguese-first programming and the Artists' Valley champions Brazilian comics at unmatched scale
Access / entry: Fans: daily, 4-day and premium (Epic / Full Experience) credentials sold online, with a paid Spoiler Night preview; social / half-price ticket categories exist under Brazilian law as published by the organizer. Companies: exhibitor, brand-activation and Artists' Valley applications through Omelete / CCXP
Website: https://www.ccxp.com.br · Contact: Via CCXP help centre (ajuda.ccxp.com.br) and contact channels on ccxp.com.br; organizer Omelete Company
SECTION NOTE: CCXP is placed in 'The Americas & Beyond' (Brazil), not Asia. RANKING FLAG: CCXP's self-description as the world's biggest pop-culture festival rests on its 4-day visitor total against San Diego's capped uniques and New York's tickets-sold — three different bases; LIKE reports the figure and the claim separately
26. COMIC CON AFRICA — JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Founded 2018 · Pop-culture and gaming festival
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 4 days, in late September. Editions as officially published: September 26-29, 2024; September 24-27, 2026, Johannesburg Expo Centre, Nasrec
Organizing body: RX Africa, part of RX (RELX) — commercial organizer. Launched by Reed Exhibitions Africa / RX Africa with Mogull Media as founding content partner in the event's early editions (the Mogull association is historical / founding-era in the sources checked; current organizer of record in 2024-2026 releases is RX Africa)
Organizer leadership: Managing Director, RX Africa: Carol Weaving, quoted as RX Africa MD in all 2024-2026 Comic Con Africa releases and interviews
Venue: Johannesburg Expo Centre (Nasrec)
Scale (as published, with basis): Organizer-reported: 70,000 visitors in 2024 (September 26-29, 2024), per RX Africa / Carol Weaving in post-show coverage. For 2026, RX Africa caps sales at 20,000 per day (about 80,000 over 4 days at cap) — a CAP, not a result; pre-show projections of about 70,000 and a post-show brand report of 'more than 72,000 visitors' for 2026 also circulate. Basis: visitors over 4 days as published; unique vs turnstile not specified — FLAGGED
Who exhibits & attends: Comics artists (12 international comic artists in 2024), film and television celebrities, Artist Alley of 200+ artists (2026 guide), gaming and esports (Telkom VS Gaming stage, R300,000 in prizes in 2024), Otaku Town for anime and Japanese culture, KidsCon, and major brand activations (KFC, Telkom, Netflix, Disney+ among 2024 brands)
Media / press: Press / media accreditation by advance application through comicconafrica.com / RX Africa, as published per edition
Distinctiveness: Africa's largest pop-culture and gaming festival, built by capping daily sales (20,000 a day) rather than maximizing crowding, with KidsCon, Otaku Town and a championship cosplay route to an international final; RX Africa's MD describes it in 2026 as the world's fourth-largest Comic Con — an ORGANIZER CLAIM, flagged as such, resting on mixed counting bases worldwide
Access / entry: Fans: day and 4-day tickets sold online, with daily caps and sell-outs (Saturday sold out in editions reported). Companies: exhibitor, Artist Alley and sponsorship applications through RX Africa
Website: https://www.comicconafrica.com · Contact: Via contact and exhibitor enquiry forms on comicconafrica.com; RX Africa corporate contact via RX
DISCREPANCIES FLAGGED: (1) 70,000 (2024 result and 2026 projection) vs 80,000 (2026 arithmetic from the daily cap) vs 72,000+ (2026 brand post-show report) — three different kinds of number (result, projection, cap). (2) 'Fourth-largest in the world' is Carol Weaving's claim in interview, explicitly noted in coverage as 'her claim, not an independent measure'. (3) Mogull Media: verify before presenting as a current co-organizer — current releases name RX Africa alone
27. MIDDLE EAST FILM & COMIC CON (MEFCC) — ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Founded 2012 · Pop-culture convention — film, comics, anime, gaming
Calendar / next edition: Annual, 3 days, in spring (April in 2025: April 18-20, 2025). Partnership confirmed for Abu Dhabi through 2027 (further editions in 2026 and 2027); specific next-edition dates as officially published on mefcc.com — note that secondary listings have published conflicting 2026 months (April vs September), so LIKE takes dates only from mefcc.com / DCT Abu Dhabi
Organizing body: Informa Markets / Informa Connect (Informa) — commercial organizer, in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), which hosts the event in Abu Dhabi through 2027 under the extended partnership announced in 2025. Originated by ExtraCake / Think Flash era Dubai organizers before the Informa period — early history is summarized, not asserted in detail
Organizer leadership: Leadership not published by name for the show (no MEFCC show director named) in the DCT Abu Dhabi / Informa partnership releases checked; the named official in those releases is H.E. Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, Director General for Tourism at DCT Abu Dhabi, who is the host authority's official, NOT the show's director — LIKE records him in that host role only
Venue: ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre). Founded in Dubai (2012) and held there until the move to Abu Dhabi in 2022
Scale (as published, with basis): Officially reported: 38,000 visitors in 2025 (April 18-20, 2025), with 400 international brands, per DCT Abu Dhabi and Informa's partnership-extension announcement (Abu Dhabi Media Office, 2025) — each Abu Dhabi edition has surpassed the previous attendance record, per the same announcement. Basis: visitors over 3 days as published; unique vs turnstile not specified — FLAGGED as basis-unspecified. A 2026 expectation of more than 46,000 visitors in later coverage is a forecast, not a result
Who exhibits & attends: 400 international brands in 2025, film and television celebrities (Andrew Garfield, Charlie Cox, Natalia Dyer among 2025 guests), anime guests and Japanese voice talent, comics creators and Artist Alley, a Gaming Arena with Abu Dhabi Gaming (tournaments across console, PC and mobile), cosplay with a World Cosplay Summit qualifying route
Media / press: Press / media accreditation by advance application through mefcc.com / Informa Connect, as published per edition
Distinctiveness: The Middle East's biggest pop-culture event, state-hosted as cultural strategy: a commercial Informa show anchored by a government tourism partnership that has locked Abu Dhabi as its home through 2027, with gaming developed jointly with Abu Dhabi Gaming
Access / entry: Fans: single-day, 3-day and VIP passes sold online (2026 listings from AED 160 day / AED 390 3-day, VIP from AED 1,300 in published previews). Companies: exhibitor, Artist Alley and sponsorship applications through Informa Connect
Website: https://www.mefcc.com · Contact: Via contact and exhibitor enquiry forms on mefcc.com; organizer Informa Connect; host authority DCT Abu Dhabi
DATE-CONFLICT FLAG: 2026 dates / months differ across secondary sources (an April 24-26, 2026 preview vs a September 11-13 report in later coverage, the latter also citing a sold-out edition with 46,000+ expected and no final figure published). LIKE therefore publishes no specific 2026 dates in the calendar field beyond the confirmed host partnership through 2027, pending the organizer's own listing
NAMED GAPS
Five conventions publish no current attendance usable to this guide's standard — WonderCon, Manga Barcelona, Thought Bubble, Supanova and Oz Comic-Con — and their entries say "not published" rather than carrying estimates. Nine organising bodies publish no current leadership, among them Japan Expo, FACTS, the Comiket committee and CCXP; those fields are printed as gaps. Angoulême's January 2026 edition was cancelled after its organiser's collapse; a successor festival is expected in 2027 and no next edition is officially published.
Compiled October 2026 from organiser sources and reputable press. Rival attendance claims and basis conflicts — tickets sold vs turnstile vs uniques — are flagged in the individual entries and collected in the README accompanying the master data file (CSV) in the LIKE® Film department records.