New York Comic Con kicks off this Thursday at Javits in New York City and five members of the UK based Fantha Tracks team will be heading to the event, meeting up with some of our US team. Newsarama caught up with ReedPOP’s event director Mike Armstrong to discuss this years show, and those attendance expectations.
Nrama: What was the final count on attendance at NYCC 2017, and what do you project for 2018?
Armstrong: Officially, we were at 227,000 fans last year. This year, if you combine our NYCC attendance plus Anime Fest at NYCC x AX, plus our separately ticketed nighttime events, we’re definitely pushing a quarter million people.
Nrama: I know you don’t have complete numbers, but how much of NYCC attendance would you say is local and how much would you say is people flying in, percentage-wise?
Armstrong: We estimate that 80% of our attendance comes from the tri-state area which is smaller than it has been in past years which indicates that this is becoming much more of a national event.
Nrama: New York Comic Con is four days this year, plus some events on Wednesday evening – making it effectively four-and-a-half days. Could you see NYCC going to a full five days at some point?
Armstrong: Yea, I can see it, but not quite yet. It’s an interesting debate around the office. Monday usually falls on Columbus Day, so that would make some sense. Give us some time…
