Astana Comic Con: Uniting Pop Culture Icons in Central Asia
Astana Hosts Largest Geek Festival in Central Asia, Comic Con Astana 2024
Astana recently welcomed the largest geek festival in Central Asia, Comic Con Astana 2024, from July 25-28. The event saw a gathering of over 50,000 visitors and brought together professionals from popular culture, including actors, cosplayers, and bloggers from more than 30 countries.
Countries such as Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, China, Montenegro, the United States, Canada, the U.K., France, Poland, Georgia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Russia, Armenia, Estonia, Cyprus, South Korea, Thailand, Paraguay, Qatar, and more were represented at the festival. According to the organizing committee, guests visited the event over 100,000 times during the four-day festival.
Percy Hynes White, a Canadian actor famous for his roles in “The Gifted” and “Wednesday” TV series, was one of the headliners at Comic Con Astana. During autograph sessions, fans had the opportunity to meet him, get autographs, and take photos.
Hynes White described Kazakhstan as a wonderful country and expressed his gratitude to fans for their support. He even mentioned Kazakhstan as a potential filming location due to the hospitality he experienced.
At the festival, an international cosplay contest with a prize fund of 12,000,000 tenge (US$27,000) took place, with over 140 professional cosplayers participating. The jury included renowned figures like Trine Cordes Berg, Sonia Grillet (Cinderys), and Ekaterina Keller.
Guests like Geralt Bensheim (Maul Cosplay) from Germany and Aigerim Dunamis, a Kazakh cosplayer and esports professional, added to the excitement of the event.
Comic Con Astana also featured autograph sessions, screenings, presentations, esports tournaments, show programs, games, sponsor lotteries, and a geek fair area with themed goods and merchandise. The festival also included master classes, lectures, and an Otaku Zone exhibition area dedicated to Asian pop culture.
Overall, Comic Con Astana 2024 was a massive success, bringing together enthusiasts of popular culture from around the world for an unforgettable experience.
