In 2008, the Singaporean event organizer PI Events founded a pop culture convention dedicated to comic books, anime and manga, movies, toys, collectibles, action figures and games. It was named Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention. Two years later, STGCC was acquired by Reed Exhibitions, the world's largest event organizer. Fan conventions are organized by its pop culture group ReedPOP which runs PAX festivals, Star Wars Celebrations, the New York Comic Con, Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, etc. In 2018, the convention was given its current name.
Since SGCC was acquired by ReedPOP, its attendance has been growing, and the programming has expanded considerably. For example, STGCC 2014 featured 221 industry representatives from 13 countries and drew 40,000 attendees. The convention is held in Sands Expo & Convention Center, which is Singapore's largest and most versatile meeting space.
SGCC programming is similar to that of other pop culture conventions. It includes exhibitions and promotional events (such as exclusive presentations of new products and projects) featuring prominent industry representatives, movie screenings and sneak-peeks, an artists' alley, cosplay events (including a costume competition and a kids cosplay parade), panels, photo ops and autograph sessions with special guests, concerts, and many more.
Each year, Singapore Comic Con features special guests somehow linked to comic, manga & art, toys, cosplay, and entertainment. For instance, the 2015 event featured American comic book artist and illustrator Adam Hughes, New York-based cosplayer and burlesque performer Stella Chuu, Japanese character designer and manga artist Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Japanese seiyu (voice actor) Tomokazu Sugita, and others.
In 2021, the event was held online due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Photo: kenmoo.wordpress.com
