Sold out! That was the message all around the 5th VIECC Vienna Comic Con and 3rd VCA Vienna Challengers Arena performance – powered by Magenta, on the 23rd& 24thNovember 2019 at Messe Wien!
VIENNA (25thNovember 2019). – This anniversary edition of the VIECC Vienna Comic Con at Messe Wien was an all-round winner for visitors and organisers alike –bigger, more colourful and more successful than ever before! The visitor headcount says it all with an increase of 20% up to31,389.Last weekend,on the 23rd& 24th November, Messe Wien became the temporal and geographical epicentre of pop culture. It was well worth an investment of almost one million Euros to attract this mixture ofbox-office stars, topCosplayersand exciting side events, and ensure the show was an absolute highlight for participants of all ages. The ‘VCA Vienna Challengers Arena’ performance –powered by Magenta, was triumphally decked out in the eye-catching new corporate colour, and contributed immensely to the gigantic success of the event. Gamersfrom countless nations did battle in major trending games for big-money prizes to guarantee a crowd buzzthat took the roof off.
Hands-on stars
Some of the major crowd-pullers at the 5thanniversary VIECC included Sean Astin, famous for playing Sam in Lord of the Rings;the actionlegend Steven Seagal,and Batman comic author Frank Miller. Harry Potter fans packed out the autograph session featuring Hogwarts’ caretaker David Bradley. Thecongenialline-up ofstars from films and TV series, alongsidecomic artists,guarantees big thrills for all enthusiasts and, in turn, for the organisers, Reed Exhibitions. Young fans were particularly stoked to be at the heart of the action to see YouTubers like Mike Singer and Chaosflo44 rock the stage at the Influencer Video Con.
Cosplay contest winner flies to Chicago
Every year, one of the most eagerly-anticipated highlight of the VIECC Vienna Comic Con is the‘Championships of Cosplay’ presented by FM4. This year’s triumphant cosplayer was Rozari Cosplayfrom the Czech RepublicasPhilippa Eilhartfrom The Witcher 3.She won the opportunity to fly tothe C2E2 Crown Championships of Cosplay in Chicago, the world’s biggest and best-known Cosplay competition.
Top gamers provide thrilling clashes
The organisers also took a quantum leap with the esports event. The VCA Vienna Challengers Arena performance – powered by Magenta was held for the third time, but on a hitherto unknown scale, withbig-money prizes, powerful sponsors, gamersfrom more than22countries – and mega-charged duels. Saturday saw Sophie ‘The Warrior’ beat all comers at the first staging of the Smash Sisters Crew Battle.Competition was also intense in the Tekken7 and Mortal Combat contests. FIFA playerslocked horns at the Coca-Cola eSoccer Cup for a pot of€2,500 eventually taken home bySercan Kara. All eyes were on the competitors in the final of the Coca-Cola Breakpoint UltimateThe Major, contested by gamers from all over the globe. “The world’s #1, MkLeofromMexico, competed against the other top-gamers. It was super tense right to the end, after all, it was about a prize pot of almost €12,000”, enthused Jenny Rassi of theReed Exhibitions organisation team.
Delighted organisers can hardly wait for 2020
“5 years ago, at the launch of the first VIECC,that was the vision I had – but I never thought it would end up this big. This year was a real eye-opener – absolutely magnificent; a weekend fans will talk about for a very long time! We were especially successful at setting new benchmarks in Austria, and raising the game of our esports community at the VCA performance by Magenta”, explained Florian Schermann, Category Manager for the organisers Reed Exhibitions.
Noting down the dates of the next event is an absolute must for all fans! Next year’s VIECC Vienna Comic Con featuring the VCA Vienna Challengers Arena performance – powered by Magenta, is scheduled to take place at Messe Wien on the 21st& 22nd of November 2020.
