Zurich Pop Con & Game Show

The Zurich Pop Con & Game Show is a Swiss convention for pop culture, gaming, cosplay, digital entertainment, comics, anime, manga and K-Pop. It was first held in Zurich in 2017 and has been held annually since then - with the exception of the pandemic years 2020 and 2021 - on 30,000 m² of space.^[1]

Zurich Pop Con & Game Show
Status	Active
Genre	Pop culture, Gaming, Cosplay, Digital Entertainment, Comic, Anime, Manga and K-Pop
Frequency	Annually
Venue	Messegelände Zürich|Messe Zürich,  Switzerland
Location(s)	Zurich, Switzerland
Previous event	October 5 - 6, 2024
Next event	September 27 - 28, 2025
Attendance	43'500
Website	https://zurichpopcon.ch/en

Organizer and venue

The convention was founded by Martin Schorno,^[2] the organizer is Amazing Event AG in Zurich.^[3] The Zurich Pop Con & Game Show takes place in the halls of Messe Zürich.^[4]

Programme

The Zurich Pop Con & Game Show is dedicated to Asian, European and American pop culture. Visitors can try out new computer games, sometimes before the official launch. International e-sports players and teams as well as streamers are taking questions from the audience in panels and compete against each other in tournaments. The gaming zones are supplemented by a cosplay village, where cosplay artists present their costumes. In addition to gaming, the Zurich Pop Con & Game Show also features an area for artists from the fields of urban art, tattoo art, comics and manga, as well as various merchandisers. Contributors to video games, series and films are present as guests at the Zurich Pop Con & Game Show.^[5][6]

History

The Zurich Pop Con & Game Show started in 2017 on 20'000 m² under the name Zurich Game Show as an event for gaming, e-sports, cosplay and board games and attracted 19'000 visitors.^[7] The event was supported by the gaming industry and the gaming and e-sports community. In attendance were brands such as HP,^[8] Sony PlayStation^[9] and Nintendo,^[10] as well as national and international e-sports teams and players. In addition, four e-sports tournaments (Overwatch, League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Rocket League) were held within the event.^[11] In 2018, the event was increased in area from six to seven halls^[12] and thus to 30,000 m².^[13] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Zurich Game Show was held virtually in 2020.^[14]

This was followed in 2022 by an addition and expansion of the offering to include Asian pop culture, beauty, anime, manga, art, merchandise and food, and thus the change of name to Zurich Pop Con & Game Show.^[6]

Convention statistics

Year	Period	Visitors	Exhibition space	Sources
2017	20.10.2017 – 22.10.2017	19'000	20'000 m2	[15]
2018	14.09.2018 – 16.09.2018	27'000	30'000 m2	[16]
2019	13.09.2019 – 15.09.2019	34'000	30'000 m2	[17]
2020	25.09.2020 – 27.09.2020	-	virtual	[14]
2021	12.11.2021 – 14.11.2021	-		[14]
2022	01.10.2022 – 02.10.2022	34'000	30'000 m2	[18]
2023	30.09.2023 – 01.10.2023	38'000	30'000 m2	[19]
2024	05.10.2024 – 06.10.2024	43'500	30'000 m2	[19]

Selection of invited guests

(Source:^[20])

• Charles Martinet (voice of Mario)
• Lucy Martin (Vikings, Riviera, Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher)
• Clive Standen (Vikings, Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2, Robin Hood, Doctor Who)
• Lourdes Faberes (The Sandman, James Bond 007: No Time to Die, Good Omens)
• Finn Jones (Game of Thrones, Marvel’s Iron Fist)
• Tom Wlaschiha (Stranger Things, Game of Thrones)
• Dan Fogler (Fantastic Beasts, The Walking Dead, Fanboys, The Offer)
• Alison Sudol (Fantastic Beasts, A Fine Frenzy)
• Vanesu Samunyai (The Sandman)