Supanova Expo

Supanova Comic-Con and Gaming (also known simply as Supanova) is a fan convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy film and TV, comic books, anime, gaming and collectables. It is held annually in the Australian cities of Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast.

The first Supanova was held at the Sydney Showground on the weekend of 20-21 April 2002. It was the successor to comicfest!, four similar conventions under the same management held between March 2000 and November 2002 in Sydney. On the weekend of 13-14 September 2003, Supanova held its first convention in the city of Brisbane at the RNA Showgrounds.^[1] In 2008, Supanova expanded to include Melbourne (back-to-back with Brisbane) and Perth (back-to-back with Sydney). In 2012, the convention expanded again, arriving on the Gold Coast and in Adelaide for the first time. As of 2013, the combined annual attendance across Supanova's six events was estimated at 160,000 (From 11,600 to 39,400 in 2013 across all cities) with the largest attendance of 50,800 fans participating at the Sydney expo, June 2014.

One of the major attractions at Supanova is the special guests - often well-known personalities of interest to convention attendees who participate in signing sessions and panel discussions with their fans.^[2] Other notable attractions at Supanova include the cosplay competition,^[3] the "Artist's Alley" where aspiring artists can display and sell their work, and the anime theatre. On many occasions Supanova has also hosted, as satellite events, artwork masterclasses, film screenings or similar activities. There is a large exhibitors area at Supanova where attendees can purchase merchandise from one of the many traders present.^[4][5]

As of 2014, Supanova is held at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds and Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in April, followed by Sydney Olympic Park and Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre events in June, and finally at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre and Adelaide Showgrounds in November. Supanova's Sydney event was formerly held at the Wharf 8 Function Centre in King Street Wharf, from 2003 to 2005, before returning to Olympic Park in 2006. 2013 was the last time the event was held in Brisbane at the RNA Showgrounds (2003-2013) and Perth's Claremont Showgrounds (2008-2013) having outgrown both venues.

Supanova is an Australian-made, independent event not affiliated with foreign exposition producers. It is managed by a team of permanent staff with Daniel Zachariou holding the title of event director.^[6] There are also a large number of volunteers, generally appointed on an event-by-event basis, who assist with the on-site running of the convention.

In 2017, Supanova announced that they had rebranded from Supanova Pop Culture Expo to Supanova Comic-Con and Gaming, citing that the video games industry had made significant strides within the industry, and the ambiguity of the "pop culture expo" branding.^[7]

Events

Past

Upcoming

Controversy

In June 2016, founder Daniel Zachariou shared on his Facebook page a petition calling for all transgender education to be stopped in schools and that the Safe Schools program forces children to "learn about sex, gender fluidity and transgenderism at ages as young as 5 without the supervision of parents". Many convention goers and personalities were outraged and had called for a boycott of the convention.^[8][9] Zachariou later apologized in a post for sharing the petition, by saying "I want to express my sincere apologies to all staff, volunteers, guests and attendees of the Expo, and especially those who identify as LBGTQIA+." and further stated "In no way did I intend to express transphobic or homophobic views, which would not align with the values of acceptance and camaraderie that I hold and aim to demonstrate through Supanova."^[10]

On June 28, 2017, popular culture website GeekMom published an article criticising the culture of Supanova and how the expo was run, describing it as "toxic". The article mentioned how press were treated by staff and also the sexist and disrespectful attitudes of the PR people.^[11]

See also

• Fandom
• List of multigenre conventions

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Supanova Pop Culture Expo.

• Official website
• Supanova Expo on Facebook