Comic Con Ukraine

For a number of years, Kyiv Comic Con was the only large pop culture festival in Ukraine. However, there is no such thing as too many fan conventions, and another Comic Con was launched in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in 2018. Comic Con Ukraine and Kyiv Comic Con can hardly be called competitors because they are scheduled with a half a year difference between them.

Comic Con Ukraine is held at Art Zavod Platforma (Platforma Art Factory), Ukraine’s biggest creative and cultural cluster known for hosting some of the most popular festivals and events in Kyiv, including Ulichnaya Eda (a street food festival), White Nights Dance Event, Kurazh Bazar Charity Market, and others. In 2018, Comic Con Ukraine became a full-fledged member of this close-knit festival family.

Comic Con Ukraine is organized by a team of young people who seek to promote all genres and forms of popular culture in Ukraine. Despite their young age, each member of the team has impressive experience in event organizing: their portfolio includes the annual New Year in Sofia Festival, Eurovision 2017 Fan Zone, the Day of Kyiv in 2015 and 2017, the VideoZhara Blog Convention, and more. Many team members have attended similar events in Europe, and some even were at the famous San Diego Comic Con.

According to the team, Comic Con Ukraine has 4 ingredients for success: captivating and diverse programming, a convenient venue, comfortable atmosphere, and safe environment. The first two ingredients completely depend on the organizers, but the third and the fourth one also depend on whether festival visitors stick to the rules.

The programming of Comic Con Ukraine includes a lot of events and activities dedicated to everything pop culture-related, for example, presentations of new comics, gaming tournaments, a spectacular cosplay show, meetings with Ukrainian and foreign actors, writers, publishers, illustrators and comic book authors, and more. Among special guests at the inaugural convention were actors John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones) and Bryan Dechart (Detroit: Being Human).

Other events and activities featured in the program include exclusive announcements and presentations, gaming stands, photo zones, contests and competitions, a recreation zone, an activity zone, a food court, and a market with handmade items and fandom merchandise. In other words, there’s something here for everyone! For Ukrainian fans and geeks, Comic Con Ukraine is the place where they can meet each other in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, hang out with old friends and meet new ones, and just have a good time.