AsiaPOP Comicon Manila 2015 was the biggest event we at arkadymac.com have covered last year: the size and scope and quality of the exhibits, attractions and guests were on a scale the Philippines has never seen before. We are then so glad and excited to share with everyone that AsiaPOP Comicon Manila will be coming back this year even bigger than before, with wider unique content and even bigger international guests lined up for pop culture afns of all ages.
We are glad to share the official announcement for this year’s AsiaPOP Comicon Manila:
Get ready for another round of pop culture epicness as AsiaPOP Comicon Manila is back—bigger and better, geekier than ever! Impressed by the sheer amount of fan response and to the country’s infectious enthusiasm for pop culture, Universal Events & Entertainment—a subsidiary of the Al Ahli Holding Group—is staging the second installment of AsiaPOP Comicon Manila (APCC Manila) on August 26 to 28 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
The event has expanded from being more than a comic con as it will incorporate more elements of pop culture by integrating the existing comic con format with pop culture lifestyle trends, where beauty makeup artists, fashion influencers, unique children play zone, sporting section, digital and social media activation will tap into various segments of consumers to make it one great experience under the same roof. “The energy of fans from the Philippines and in Asia is nothing like we’ve seen before. It’s these sorts of things that excite us to bring the best pop culture experiences in the world to this colorful country, This year we shall be bringing unique content where we can go beyond the usual movies, music, animation, gaming, toys and cosplay and offer fun elements within beauty, fashion, sports, lifestyle, digital activation and F&B; making it truly a pop culture carnival not witnessed before in the country” said Abdulla Mahmood, Director – Marketing and Business Development of Al Ahli Holding Group.
During its first run last year, APCC Manila featured a powerhouse Hollywood guest lineup that included Avengers star Paul Bettany, Game of Thrones actress Nathalie Emmanuel, Arrow heartthrob Colton Haynes, and Adventure Time voiceover genius Jeremy Shada, along with a roster of internationally-acclaimed cosplayers and artists.
For three days, visitors from all over the world dropped by to see the latest and greatest offerings in pop culture: exclusive merchandise, memorabilia exhibitions, even a life-sized Hulkbuster armor and an exclusive never before seen footage from Captain America: Civil War. The second year of AsiaPOP Comicon Manila promises to boast another stellar set of celebrity guests and artists this 2016. First announcement of Hollywood headliner will happen on June 15, 2016.
First Wave of Guests Revealed
With revelations on the way to this epic roster, APCC Manila 2016 also revealed its initial lineup of Cosplay Authority Global Challenge (The CAGE) cosplayers: including Ani Mia, Lindze Merritt, Riddle, and Yugana Senshi Uon. They are joined by artist Simone Legno of tokidoki, who is all set to bring the brand’s crazy-kawaii cool style to the event. Legno is the world-famous artist and graphic illustrator best known for being one of the brains behind art giant tokidoki, through which he has collaborated with names such as Karl Lagerfeld, LeSportsac, Onitsuka Tiger, Marvel, and Hello Kitty, among others. For the cosplayers, Mia currently writes for Otaku USA magazine, covering topics relevant to the cosplay hobby, in addition to travelling all over the world to judge costume contests and appear in different media. Merritt, for her part, combines her degrees in fashion, business, and aesthetics with her hobby. She has been featured in numerous magazines through the years. A reality TV star, Riki LeCotey, aka Riddle, was one of the most popular characters in reality TV series Heroes of Cosplay, as well as the creator of Cosplay for a Cause, a charity outfit; while Yugana Senshi Uon is one of the newest rising stars in the cosplay scene, having started just a few years ago. Despite this, she has gained recognition all over Southeast Asia for her creative costume renditions, appearing in magazines and conventions.
Cosplay Competition
For the second time too, APCC Manila is proud to partner with The CAGE, the world’s biggest and first-of-its-kind cosplay competition. It aims to promote the spirit and craftsmanship of cosplay through costume and prop-making workshops, as well as provide a platform for cosplay enthusiasts and fans to compete on an international level.
It is currently inviting the best cosplay talents around the region to join the competition. The grand champion of the Open category will be determined by an impressive panel of expert judges from various areas of cosplay and will receive a record-breaking payout of up to USD$10,000. The CAGE also has a Kids category to cater to the younger audience.
“We were off to a good start last year with AsiaPOP Comicon and The CAGE competition. Now that we’ve seen just how hungry the Philippines and the entire region is for pop culture, we’re going to come back, even bigger and grander this time around. Watch out for more surprises,” Abdulla Mahmood added.
Tickets to APCC Manila 2016 will be announced soon. For more information and event updates, please visit www.asiapopcomiccon.com/manila and official Facebook Page www.facebook.com/apccmanila.
With these and more, we hope we get to catch everyone there as we do a full coverage of the event as APCC’s official online media partner. Let’s all have a great pop-culture-filled weekend at this year’s AsiaPOP Comicon Manila 2016.
ABOUT ASIAPOP COMICON
AsiaPOP Comicon (APCC) will be an international pop culture convention themed around comics, film, toys and collectibles, animation, games, cosplay, superheroes and everything pop culture. The event will attract several internationally renowned artists, celebrities and pop-culture icons to various pockets of Asia, starting with Manila in the Philippines, and draw the attention of ardent fans. APCC will feature exhibitors from genres of pop culture and top studios from the across the globe, to bring popular brands and exclusive content for the show.
Focusing on delivering the ultimate fan experience, APCC aspires to bring geek culture mainstream and stand tall as a perfect launch pad to unveil new products and first look of movies for the Asia Pacific region providing a galore of potential opportunities for SMEs in the entertainment business to reach out to big brands and the vibrant creative talent pool from APAC. While the event will serve as a mega licensing avenue for studios to establish a direct access to potential clients through B2B networking, the larger purpose of the event will remain the outreach and communication for celebrities and brands with their fans and engage with them on a one-on-one basis.
ABOUT UNIVERSAL EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Universal Events & Entertainment (UEE), a subsidiary of Al Ahli Holding Group is a premier and dynamic international events management company, headquartered in Singapore committed to be the forefront of pop culture/comic con events globally. The passionate and dedicated team combined has over 4 decades of event management experience in the area of pop culture.
Universal Events & Entertainment prides itself in bringing world class celebrations of pop culture globally that delivers the ultimate fan experience whilst assisting brands to tap into the pulse of pop culture. We aim to build and engage communities and fans at our comic cons worldwide. UEE will kick off a series of comic cons events globally in Manila, UAE, Korea and USA in the near future.
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