Animecon (Finland)
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Animecon | |
---|---|
Status | Active |
Location | Varies |
Country | Finland |
First held | 1999 |
Organizer | Suomen Animeunioni |
Attendance | approx. 7000 in 2007, together with Finncon |
Official website |
Animecon is the largest anime convention in Finland, held annually over a weekend in varying Finnish cities. It has no participation or membership fees.
Animecon is organized as a joint project between anime clubs throughout Finland, facilitated by the communications hub Suomen Animeunioni (The Finnish Anime Union).[1] The convention was first established in 1999 as an outgrowth of the science fiction anime fandom of the sci-fi convention Finncon,[2] expanded into a separate event about anime in general. Animecon and Finncon are still held in conjunction, sharing premises but no events; they even hold separate opening ceremonies.
The two drew some 5200 visitors in 2004[3] and 5500 in 2006[4], peaking at 5000 on Saturday during the three-day event.[5] After the 2007 conventions, an organizer cited the number of visitors as an estimated 7000.[6] Animecon II was the first major cosplay event in Finland, [7] and the practice has been noted for its abundance in later ones.[5]
[edit] Conventions
- Animecon (1999): Turku
- Animecon II (2003): Turku
- Animecon III (2004): Jyväskylä, special guest artist Yoshitoshi Abe, guest speaker translator, author, anime specialist of the UK Sci Fi channel Jonathan Clemens.
- Animecon IV (2006): Helsinki, special guest comics specialist Paul Gravett, author of Manga: 60 years of Japanese comics, accompanied by co-author Peter Stanbury.
- Animecon V (2007): Jyväskylä, special guest Jonathan Clemens. Japanese rock fusion band GARI performed in the city.
Animecon VI (2008) will be held in Tampere. Animecon VII (2009) will be held in Helsinki.
[edit] References
- ^ Eturautti, Kyuu (2005). "Kotimaan katsaus (A domestic look)". Anime magazine (01): pp. 42.
- ^ Joukamaa, Mauno (2006). "Animecon: Kuinka kaikki alkoi (Animecon: How it all began)". Anime magazine (13): pp. 08.
- ^ "Jyväskylän Kesä veti väkeä", Turun Sanomat, 2004-07-14. Retrieved on 2007-09-03. (Finnish)
- ^ Jyväskylän kaupunki: Virhe
- ^ a b Eturautti, Kyuu (2006). "Tervetuloa coniin! (Welcome to the con!)". Anime magazine (14): pp. 40–45.
- ^ Animecon V home page. Accessed on 2007-09-03. "Kävijöitä oli erittäin paljon, arvoiden mukaan n. 7000." (We had an abundance of participants, estimates put their number at around seven thousand.)
- ^ Escapism in Japanese style (2006), Tuomas Tiainen, Free! magazine. Accessed on 2007-09-03.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Animecon picture archive, incl. cosplay competitions