The UAE’s first PopCon, a three-day pop culture convention combining film, TV, comics, anime, games, beauty and sports, will take place in Dubai on October 27, 28 and 29.
It will be held at a specially built, 20,000 capacity venue near the Dubai Outlet Mall, adjacent to the new Autism Rocks Arena.
“[PopCon] is basically a celebration of pop culture, and what pop culture is to different age groups. It includes a lot of the usual elements of sports conventions, beauty cons, pop cons, etc., but it’s an amalgamation of it all,” said Thomas Ovesen, CEO of 117Live, the organisers behind the event.
Celebrities are expected to attend PopCon from studios such as Marvel, Disney and Sanrio. MMA fighters will also make an appearance.
“We have a couple of fantastic and exciting celebrities already confirmed that we would love to announce, but we’re also in the process of confirming several more, so we’ve decided that we’re going to roll that out starting from end of next week, until we’ll be able to go on sale in a couple of weeks’ time,” said Ovesen.
PopCon will join a list of specialised conventions that take place annually in the UAE, including Middle East Film and Comic Con (MEFCC), IGN Con and GAMES. But according to Ovesen, PopCon will cater to a broader demographic.
“You might be a comics fan, but you don’t cosplay [and] you’re into your sports. Or you’re a sports fan, and you don’t really care about the comics, but you love dressing up for cosplay. So we’re just going to combine it all and create a subculture around that,” said Ovesen.
PopCon attendees will also be able to head next door to Autism Rocks Arena on October 28 for Fiesta De Los Muertos, a music festival featuring Major Lazer, All Saints and a ‘special guest’. Tickets for PopCon and Fiesta De Los Muertos have not gone on sale, but Ovesen said there will be “exciting ticketing arrangements” announced soon.
“I can say, in general, that admission to the PopCon is really cheap. If you attend some of the activities at PopCon, you will get free admission to Fiesta. Likewise, anyone with a Fiesta ticket on Friday, October 28th, will get free admission to PopCon,” said Ovesen.
PopCon will be presented by 117Live and Universal Events, both subsidiaries of Al Ahli Holding Group. Universal Events presented a similar event in Manila last year called Asia Pop Comic Con. Celebrities Paul Bettany, Natalie Emmanuels and Colton Haynes were in attendance.
“We have not built this massive temporary structure, and launched this amazing event, to not be able to back the talk with the walk,” said Ovesen. “There’s going to be some fantastic people attending and appearing at this event.”
For more information, register online at 117Live.com
