The Antwerp Convention takes place in Antwerp, Belgium. In the Antwerp Expo complex, a venue that has proven its reputation as a great location for the Convention. Antwerp’s one and only convention for Sci-fi, Fantasy and Horror-related computer & board games, costumes, toys, collectables, comics, literature, movies and other media. Coming to town again for its 5th edition! Join us for a day of showcases, interviews, lectures, autographs, demo-sessions, tournaments, screenings, gaming, shopping… and of course: meeting fellow fans !
Antwerp Convention is an international event on the American model where fans of Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror genres can meet. The focus is on what to do with these genres has: games, soundtracks, books, comics, props, pictures, toys, gadgets, posters, videos, DVDs and costumes. In the region Antwerp Convention is the first and only event in this genre.
The Antwerp Convention takes place in Antwerp, Belgium, in the Antwerp Expo complex, a venue that has proven its reputation as a great location for the Convention.
Besides a large dealer cream with some 150 exhibitors from home and abroad, there are plenty of other activities provided, including laser games, an old school gaming room, lectures, demonstrations and a wrestling ‘Belgian cult corner. There will also be special guests present including actors David Warner (The Omen, Tron, Star Trek V & VI, Planet of the Apes, Tme Bandits), Colin Baker (the Sixth Doctor) Charles Martinet (The voice of Mario), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett from Star Wars!), authors and artists Jock (Judge Dredd, Lenny Zero, Hellblazer), Rafa Sandoval (X-Men, Hulk, Ultimate Hawkeye, DC 52), Jan Bosschaert (Icarus, Sam, Jaguar) and many others. These special guests are present throughout the day to the fans and the press to stand for word, signing autographs and socialize. Compared with last year’s fair has doubled in size. Hall 1 and 4 of Antwerp Expo, accounting for 10,000 m2, will be fully used for this purpose.
Guests : Gates Mc Fadden, Jordan Hembrough, Tyler Mane, Dana Ashbrook, Ellie Kendrick, Dana Ashbrook, Ellie Kendrick, Ian McElhinney, Peter Davison, Dan Starkey, Chris Rankin, etc.
ACTIVITIES & EVENTS
Check out our huge program of scheduled activities and events throughout the day! New program announcements will keep coming in from now. The program brochure with a full list of activities will be available from April 1st 2015.
MARVEL
Marvel is coming to the Antwerp Convention! Come visit the Avengers Bus and discover the videogame Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes and the latest trailer of Avengers: Age of Ultron! You can also find Marvel Super Heroes at the Disney Infinity 2.0 Monster Truck!
MOVIE PROPS AND REPLICAS
Who doesn’t love a beautifully crafted replica of his or her favourite Horror, Fantasy, Sci-fi or film hero? Figurenwerkstatt Ruland works on demand and specializes in handmade masterpieces. They make the most beautiful replicas of all the ghouls and monsters you have come to know and love. And, Jan Bartels will present his amazing collection of Original Nigthmare on Elm Street props.
LEGO DISPLAY
New at the Antwerp Convention this year! BeLUG, the Belgian LEGO Users Group, will create an amazing display at their stand for all the LEGO enthusiasts, builders and collectors to see! Come and join the brickmania!
WELP PROMO
Welp, Flanders’ first big horror movie and a big festival hit worldwide, is coming to the Antwerp Convention. Director Jonas Govaerts, lead actor Maurice Luijten (Sam) and Gill Eeckelaert (Kai) will be signing autographs from 14,00h till 15,00h. But only if you dare! Organised in colaboration with Potemkino.
DUTCH ROBOT GAMES
Back by popular demand! We’re building a special arena where remote controlled Dutch Robots will battle and demonstrate the engineering ingenuity of their Makers. Brought to you by the official ‘Dutch Robot Games’, as featured on TV.
COSPLAY
All eyes on our Cosplay fans: the Cosplay competition this year, takes place on the center stage, where Cosplay belongs. The competition will be organized by Becoplay, so be sure to register from 16/02/2015 at becosplay.be(nederlands) (francais)! Dress up like your favorite cartoon, comic or game character and outshine them all! To participate we require contestants to not only wear a great, home-made costume, they also have to perform an act as the character they are portraying. We fly international jury member Livia Viziteu from Shinju’s Workshop over. And, our partners Archonia and Glaxyshop have some beautiful prices lined-up. Close to the main stage and fresh on the scene are the people from CosplayCloud. They will be entertaining you with Cosplay Bingo and even provide you with a Cosplay Repair-service! So if anything breaks during the Convention… you know where to go!
WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
For the second time at The Antwerp Convention: wrestling! The men of Westside Xtreme Wrestling will perform four jaw-dropping wrestling demonstrations at the Convention, culminating in a big finale. So, get your butt to the wrestling ring and cheer them on (safely, from behind the ropes)!
GAMING ZONE
Come and play Dance Dance Revolution, Beatmania and Guitar Hero, or fight with the greatest performers in spectacular tournaments. We invited DDR Belgium again this year to bring you the latest fun games! We‘re also adding some newcomers to our line-up: various Belgium-bred video game developers, well-savored by independent gaming connaisseurs.
COMIC EXCLUSIVES
The Antwerp Convention is the place to be, especially since a lot of comic book publishers will offer exclusives. You won´t find these offers elsewhere! For instance: Standaard Publishers has a special promotion on their comic book series Amoras en De Rode Ridder. Het gebroken Zwaard offers exclusive De Rode Ridder posters. Het Besloten Land publishers offers exclusive art prints. Dark Dragon Books has an exclusive edition of Clint Langley’s Art Book on sale. Only fifty exclusive copies of his amazing art book!
MAGAZINES, MEDIA AND OTHER EVENTS
Meet the publishers of beautiful magazines specialized in horror, science fiction, fantasy, anime and cult movies. Be sure to check out Cinema Varieté andSchokkend Nieuws. You can also visit the promo stands of other events, like the Dark Zone, Atsussacon and Imagicon.
OLD SCHOOL GAMING ROOM
Relive some of your gaming nostalgia! Our Old School Gaming Room – more than forty set-ups! – features a large collection of vintage and classic arcade games and consoles. Of course, all games are totally free of charge! Enter one or more competitions and win great prizes! Retrovolt and Rastermania will be returning to the Antwerp Convention, and we are very happy to welcome Arcade Belgium, press start and Magix Buttons for the second time. The Gaming Room has doubled again, so: many more games, much more fun!
ANIME & MANGA AREA
The true Otaku will be happy to find that The Antwerp Convention has a special space reserved for the fans of anime, manga and Japanese culture. Be sure to visit the many dealers and stands from festivals and events like Atsusacon and Nipponzasshi. Belgotaku, Belgium’s first otaku and manga community, will be hosting an on-stage program the entire day! Join them for a quiz or sweet karaoke! And make sure to check out the stands of BBG, Archonia, Christophe Lemaire, Eppo, G&P Collectibles, Japan Centre London, Whoops, Matrix… and many others.
SPECIAL GUESTS
No Antwerp Convention would be complete without our Special Guests! Actors and directors, both from the Big Screen and TV, flanked by some of the most impressive illustrators and writers of your favorite comics and novels. You can meet & greet our celebrities during autograph sessions and interview panels. Check out our Guest-page to see who’s coming!
MAKE-UP SESSIONS AND SPECIAL EFFECTS
Make-up demonstrations, special effects, 3D,… You name it, we got it! What ‘s more fun than running around the convention with a skillfully painted face? Here’ s your chance!
TEAM PANINI LIVE!
Team Panini, self proclaimed leaders of the fool school and long-time Eigen Makelij members have been making shockwaves in the underground rap scene for years. Come and check the energetic powerhouse live in person.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0UBGmlZlqw&spfreload=10
BOARD GAME TOURNAMENTS & CARD GAMES
Witness wonderful demonstrations and join in for a game yourself! Our friends of the Antwerp Puppeteers collaborate with their Ghent colleagues The Thunderbolts. And for the second time a big Outpost stand with extra tables for the board- and cardgames aficionados.
LECTURES
On the 1st floor of the Expo Antwerp complex, you can visit our special Lecture Room. Interviews, panels and Q&A’s, hosted by young and promising Begians like director Robin Pront
CLUB AREA
The Antwerp Convention is the perfect spot to discover your favorite fanclubs from Belgium and the Netherlands. And our Club Area just keeps on growing. Meet the people behind Sea Shepherd Belgium or the ‘Trekkies’ of The Belgian Voyage Club, La 59eme legion France and The Belgian Whovians. They are at the convention to give you all the information, free handouts and membership details you could ever need.
BELGIAN CULT CORNER
Belgium’s most notorious directors are lined up for a meet & greet with their fans! Come talk to James Desert about his new horror movie ‘Todeloo’ or his cult classic ‘Rabid Grannies’. Shake hands (If you dare!) with controversial filmmaker Rob Van Eyck (‘The Afterman’-trilogy, ‘Blue Belgium’, ‘De Aardwolf’). Angry at his distributor in 1972, Van Eyck in protest burned a print of one of his own movies on the stairs of the Palais – in Cannes, movie capital of the world! From 2 pm you can meet the new Belgian cult directors-duo Joël Rabijns & Yves Sondermeier with their newest cult sensation ‘The Miracle of Life’. It could be that ‘Luke’ the placenta himself will be present!
Address : Antwerp Expo, 191 Jan van Rijswijcklaan , 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
https://www.facebook.com/antwerp.convention
