Official Star Trek Convention

Star Trek is one of the world’s most famous science fiction media franchises. Based on the television series created by Gene Roddenberry, it spans a wide range of spin-offs. The Star Trek franchise has been a cult phenomenon for decades, it has one of the largest and most active fandoms. Numerous Star Trek conventions are held around the world, including the Official Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.

The first television series, now referred to as Star Trek: The Original Series (Star Trek: TOS), aired on NBC from 1966 to 1969. Despite being canceled after three seasons because of low ratings, it achieved a cult classic status and eventually spawned a franchise, consisting of six additional TV series, including an animated series, thirteen feature films, numerous books, comics, board games, video games, magazines, and more. It is renowned for its cultural impact beyond works of science fiction and its progressive civil rights stances.

Star Trek has numerous fans around the world (by the way, they are called Trekkies or Trekkers), many of whom attend Star Trek conventions whenever they can. The first Star Trek convention was held on January 21–23, 1972 in New York City. The Official Star Trek Convention is organized by Creation Entertainment, an American entertainment company founded in 1971. It produces fan conventions for various TV series and films and has “official” convention rights for a number of franchises, including Star Trek, Stargate SG-1, Twilight, and Xena: Warrior Princess.

The Official Star Trek Convention is held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Las Vegas used to be the home of the themed attraction Star Trek: The Experience. Although the attraction closed in 2008, Las Vegas still remains a mecca for Trekkies thanks to hosting the convention. Each edition of the convention features about 100 celebrity guests, primarily actors who have starred in one or more televisions series and/or films. For example, the guest list at the 2017 convention included William Shatner, George Takei, Kate Mulgrew, Patrick Stewart, Karl Urban, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, and many others.

The program of the convention features an impressive array of events, including panels, autograph sessions and photo-ops with celebrity guests, exclusive screenings, concerts, parties, contests and competitions, presentations, cosplay events, auctions, and more.