The Malaga Comic-Con adjustments course 5 months after its controversial first version and guarantees “a new stage” | Culture | EUROtoday

San Diego Comic-Con Málaga held its first version final September. The world’s principal widespread tradition occasion had by no means left the United States, with all of the expectation that that entailed. The steadiness, launched at the moment Wednesday in a press release, speaks of “success of the event and economic engine”, with an influence of 44.3 million and 95,784 attendees over 4 days. The textual content says nothing, nevertheless, in regards to the a number of complaints that these guests left, a lot in order that even the mayor of town, Francisco de la Torre, was pressured to declare: “It is obvious that the issue of the lines, which have been long and excessive, has to be resolved.” The organizing firm, Dentsu Spain, was then “aware” that “answers must be given.” And at the moment the primary arrive, with the announcement of a change on the head of the occasion: Fernando Piquer assumes the final course, replaces the earlier supervisor, Javier Barberá, and guarantees “a new stage.”

“The 2026 edition will be a leap forward. We are going to strengthen the organization, elevate the public experience and consolidate San Diego Comic-Con Málaga as the event for pop culture in Spain and a great cultural engine for the city of Málaga,” says Piquer within the assertion. Linked to the animation and online game sector for years, the brand new supervisor was beforehand in control of Movistar KOI’s Global Strategy and was founder and CEO of the Movistar Riders esports crew. Now, tackle the problem for the second version of sustaining what labored and fixing the whole lot that did not.

The assertion launched by the organizers studies that “78.5% of the audience came from the rest of Spain and 18% from Malaga, with a mostly adult profile (88%).” It additionally highlights the participation of “more than 110 exhibitors and leading brands such as Disney, Nintendo, Lego and Bandai Namco”, with “450 activities and the presence of more than 30 international guests such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Antonio Banderas, Jim Lee, Norman Reedus, Nobuo Uematsu, Elle Fanning, Jared Leto or Aaron Paul, among others.”

Many of them, nevertheless, grew to become identified after tickets went on sale on May 15. Hence, the primary complaints from customers centered on the truth that they had been requested to spend 50 euros per day with out there being a single visitor or exercise introduced. Even so, tickets for 3 of the 4 days had been offered out in simply 24 hours. Everything offered out, the whole lot full, one thing that, as soon as the occasion opened, resulted in queues and different organizational difficulties that dozens of attendees regretted. Social networks had been full of complaints, particularly centered on the lengthy traces, and the patron associations Facua and OCU assured on the shut of the occasion that that they had amassed greater than 550 queries to file complaints.

Malaga City Council and the Junta de Andalucía—which contributed greater than 4 million euros of public cash to the occasion—instantly introduced a gathering with the organizers to “correct errors.” The identical organizations, however, estimated final September the inflow at greater than 120,000 folks, whereas now the organizers conclude that there have been 95,784. In any case, debates and controversies additionally broke out about whether or not the capability of the Fair Palace, restricted to about 30,000 guests per day, had been exceeded.