More than 30,000 Star Wars fans from across the globe gathered at the ExCeL Centre in London last weekend (13 – 15 July) to mark the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars saga. Lucasfilm Ltd.’s official Star Wars Celebration Europe was the first of its kind outside of the U.S. and attracted a broad spectrum of visitors, including many families, teens, film buffs and Star Wars fans from as far away as the U.S., Mexico, Japan, Croatia, and Finland as well from throughout the U.K.
During its three-day run, Star Wars Celebration Europe attracted more than 29,000 paid admissions and some 3,500 passes for children under 8, who were admitted free to the event with an accompanying adult. The event shows the continued worldwide popularity of George Lucas’ adventure saga three decades after the release of the first film. With nearly 10 percent of admissions going to children under 8, the overall attendance also illustrates the phenomenal cross- generational appeal of Star Wars.
That’s how the official post-Celebration press release described the weekends events. July 13th – 15th brought Star Wars home to, as Steve Sansweet called it, “The spiritual home of the Star Wars saga,” but this affectionate look back at that crazy July weekend isn’t just about our memories. Here you’ll see photo’s and video’s, hear audio clips and interviews and read the thoughts and memories from fans, cast members and Lucasfilm staff. This is a unique and heartfelt tip of the hat to the biggest Star Wars day the UK has ever seen. So, grab your lightsaber, remember the thrill of the Battle of the Bridge and go back to Friday 13th July 2007 and the start of Star Wars Celebration Europe…
Prior to the convention
Mark Newbold, Co-owner Lightsabre.co.uk
We’d been planning the event for months, since the back end of last year when we set up our own dedicated Celebration Europe page. With Lightsabre being an interview site as much as anything else it was perfectly set for me to ask our guests if they would donate autographs towards Cancer Research UK, our chosen charity. Many folks did just that, and after not too long we had quite a haul of gear. The initial idea when first speaking to Barry Eldridge was to have a charity auction, but Lucasfilm asked that we not do that as it would “steal their thunder”. Like we could steal their thunder!
Then we sorted our stand in the Fan Area but a few weeks before the show we were asked to move to the Dealers Area due to us selling autographs for charity, which wasn’t a problem. The best moment came just a week before Celebration, at Memorabilia in Birmingham where we got chatting to Gerald Home. It turned out that, for various reasons, he hadn’t been invited, so after some nifty footwork between me, Barry, Gerald and Steve Sansweet at Lucasfilm it was arranged. Of course, I had to try and get the word out there about Gerald being our special guest. Luckily, as well as hyping it on Lightsabre both The Force.Net and Club Jade kindly posted the news.
Club Jade – Counting down to Celebration Europe
Mark over at Lightsabre wrote in to share the news that Gerald Home, who played two characters in ROTJ (Tessek aka Squidhead and a Mon Calamari officer) will be signing at the fansite’s table (D-74) in the dealers room on Saturday. A significant portion of the proceeds will go to Cancer Research UK. Pretty neat for a fansite!
The Force. Net – CE: Gerald Home To Attend Celebration Europe
Mark from Lightsabre.co.uk sent us over this bit of Celebration Europe news:
As Celebration Europe draws ever closer, we are finally able to announce Lightsabre’s special guest. Gerald Home portrayed two characters in Return of the Jedi, Tessek – that’s squid head to us old time Palitoy guys – and a Mon Calamari officer. Gerald shall be appearing at the Lightsabre stand in the dealers area, on table D-74 on Saturday, July 14th. He will be signing the very last of his C3 and C4 Official Pix images, with a significant portion of the proceeds being donated to Cancer Research UK. This is sure to be a great way to meet a genuine star of the Star Wars saga and have a chat with one of the men behind the masks. Don’t forget – Saturday the 14th, table D-74 in the dealers area to meet Gerald Home.
Thursday 12th July 2007
Mark Newbold
We had a pretty good run down to the ExCeL from Lichfield, despite not getting away from work as early as I’d like. The traffic was no problem, we fit everything into the car and managed to get to the hotel for 10-ish, which gave us time to drop our gear and meet Anthony. He’s a proper laugh so we took a stroll over the road to the Peacock, a brilliant pub run by a charismatic Irish fella full of stories about the end of the world. I have a vague recollection of about 6 bottles of Newcastle Brown, some great conversation about everything from the undercurrent of the Thames being as fast as a train to the world being blown to bits in two years. Oh, and finding out Louis is a bit of a pool shark. I reckon I’ll have to up my game next time we play…
Chris Gereke, North American Reporter
I arrived at the ExCeL Thursday morning. I was greeted by David Prowse who was waiting for Mark Hamill to do a promo shoot for The Sun. That really set the tone for the show…
Louis Turfrey, Co-owner Lightsabre.co.uk
The Peacock was a pleasant pub that really made you feel welcome, and wasn’t too expensive. I really wish we had gone over there again, but the temptation to schmooze – Marks words not mine – was too high. As for me being a pool shark, I hadn’t actually played for six months.
Anthony Harding, Games Reviewer
The Thursday evening was quite tiring carrying bags to the hotel and I needed, to quote a Jedi Knight ‘A Drink’. I walked to the Hotel where Mark and clan were staying and managed to find a pub about 100 yards from the hotel. (RESULT). It looked a bit dilapidated from the outside but once inside it was like a different building! It was a proper pub with all the decor you would expect and a beer garden to die for! My only regret is that I didn’t take any photos.
Friday 13th July 2007
10:30 – 11:15 Mint Imperials – MAIN STAGE
David Prowse, Barrie Holland, Michael Culver, Richard LeParmentier, Julian Glover. The original Imperials invade the stage for nostalgia and fun.10:30 — 11:00 and 11:30 — 12:00 The Clone Wars – PLATINUM STAGE
Go behind the scenes with the crew of the extraordinary new Star Wars television series, The Clone Wars, and see an amazing trailer of footage projected on the big screen with full stereo sound. Each day, for two special showings, Lucasfilm’s Steve Sansweet will introduce an exclusive video presentation interview with Catherine Winder, producer of The Clone Wars, and Supervising Director Dave Filoni.11:00 — 12:00 Fan Force Presentation
The Fan Force — Who are they? And how do you join? Members give you a rundown on one of the largest non-official Fan Clubs.11:45 – 12:30 The Two Halves of Darth Maul, with Ray Park- MAIN STAGE
Host Warwick Davis talks with the master martial artist and actor behind the iconic villain of the prequels.12:15 — 13:15 R2-D2 Builders’ Club
The R2-D2 Builders club display their droids, and explain what it takes to make one!12:30 — 13:30 Original Trilogy costume design, and creating Darth Vader – PLATINUM STAGE
With John Mollo and Brian Muir. Costume designer John Mollo created the iconic looks of the original trilogy, which are now so much a part of our culture. Few costume creations have become more iconic than the Darth Vader helmet, sculpted by Brian Muir for the first time, from illustrations by Ralph McQuarrie.13:00 — 14:00 Charlie Ross: One Man Star Wars Trilogy- MAIN STAGE
Ross presents all three movies of the original trilogy by himself — that’s by himself — with the help of his talented voice, perfect grasp of the movies, and totally entertaining performance.13:30 — 14:30 L’Amour d’Armor: Costuming for the Troopers of the Trilogy
Covering the various incarnations of the armored stormtrooper costumes seen in the original trilogy, namely the clean TK, the sandtrooper, the snowtrooper, and the scout.14:00 — 15:00 The Star Wars Vault – PLATINUM STAGE
With Steve Sansweet and Pete Vilmur. This fall The Star Wars Vault will be published in the U.S., U.K., Japan, France, Germany, Spain, and The Netherlands. The book contains 30 years of treasures including fifty pieces of removable memorabilia ranging from a recalled early t-shirt transfer to George Lucas’ handwritten story treatment for The Empire Strikes Back. Hear how the book came about and get a peek at its truly amazing contents!15:30 — 16:30 The Force Unleashed with LucasArts – PLATINUM STAGE
Join LucasArts’ Haden Blackman and Julio Torres as they discuss how they’re using one of 2008’s biggest video games to realize the Force in ways you’ve never seen before. Also on hand, two of the game’s actors speak about their roles for the first time in Europe. A first-look documentary takes you even further behind the scenes of The Force Unleashed, and the panel awaits audience questions at the end of the presentation.14:30 — 15:15 Jabba: Inside the Vile Gangster- MAIN STAGE
Warwick Davis, plus a host of the original puppeteers and mime masters from Return of the Jedi will help the audience relive some of the best moments from Jabba’s Palace, 1983!14:45 — 15:45 Hardware Store Props — Scott Will
How to build realistic props using common and easy-to-find material, including blasters, lightsabers, backpacks, and even droids!15:45 — 16:30 One-Eyed Security with Jay Laga’aia- MAIN STAGE
Jay Laga’aia, the popular stage, screen, and television actor who portrayed Captain Typho in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, receives the full screening from Davis.16:00 — 16:15 Jedi vs. Jedi, Mustafar Reenacted
Two Jedi duel in a scene based on the Mustafar sequence in Episode III.16:30 — 17:15 Vader’s Fist — The Founder Speaks on the 501st Legion
For the first time, Albin Johnson (the founder of the 501st) speaks to the European Fans about the Legendary Legion!17:00 — 18:00 Working with Walking Carpets- MAIN STAGE
Dave & Lou Elsey, the Academy Award-nominated creature makeup team from Revenge of the Sith, talk about making Wookiees with special guest Peter Mayhew. Mayhew portrayed the beloved Chewbacca in Episodes IV, V, VI and III.17:00 – 18:00 What’s New at Hasbro Toys – PLATINUM STAGE
Derryl DePriest, head of the Star Wars toy brand at Hasbro in the United States, will give an exclusive look into the future of the company’s toy line for fans at Celebration Europe. See what’s coming, and what’s exciting in this brand that has been the mainstay for Star Wars toy enthusiasts since 1977!17:30 — 18:00 Droid Demonstration
The droids are back, and this time we get to test their mettle. The droid handlers will demonstrate their creations in motion, and test their agility!18:30 — 19:00 Celebration Europe Opening Ceremonies – Outdoor Stage, Royal Victoria Square (Directly west of ExCeL Center)
Host Steve Sansweet kicks off the Celebration of 30 years of Star Wars, and introduces special guests, including Ian McDiarmid, the distinguished actor who portrayed Palpatine in the Star Wars Saga.19:00 — 21:30 A New Hope Screening – Outdoor Stage, Royal Victoria Square (Directly west of ExCeL Center)
Benefiting Medicinema, the charitable organization that brings theater-quality movie experiences to hospitals, the screening of the first movie of the Star Wars Saga is set to take place on the Royal Victoria Square. Bring a picnic, or purchase food and beverages to benefit Medicinema, while you enjoy an outdoor, informal evening with other Star Wars fans!21:30 onward Opening Night Mixer at Fox Pubs
Join fellow Star Wars fans for fun and maybe a few drinks at the Fox Pubs, right next to the ExCeL center.
Mark Newbold
The alarm went off and Louis got up to get his shower,and pretty soon we saw a bunch of Star Wars t-shirts in the foyer, grabbed some croissants and juice and started out for the con.
Yep, that X-Wing was pretty much what greeted us on the morning as we arrived. Well, apart from the thousands of people milling about, a huge queue to get our passes and a mad rush to the dealers area.
Anthony Harding
On Friday morning I had NO hangover! Quite a shock actually due to the amount drank the previous evening. The queue for the Hyperspace booth was “Impressive. Most impressive” and I thought I had got there early. After 40 minutes or so of queuing I got my goodies and joined the even bigger queue to get in the Exhibition. While waiting in the “Death Star Entrance” the surrounding free-standing walls decided to fall on us all waiting to get in. The problem was the draft of air through the place blew the HUGE curtains and then the walls surrounding. It was quite scary but we all managed to push the wall back and the security cleared the area of destruction. We continued to wait and were let in a few minutes later. Then the FUN began…
Louis Turfrey
An interesting bit of news that came to light later was that Play.com hasn’t informed those customers who’d bought tickets from them that the venue had changed from Earls Court to the ExCeL Arena. Consequently when I dropped down to pick up the media passes (yes!) there were a lot of confused and annoyed people. However, hats off to the customer services people, they were pleasant and did their best to help.
Mark Newbold
Seeing this as we entered the main arena just made me laugh, in a good way of course. I couldn’t help but think of Adam and Joe, when they travelled to the Disco Star. I kept waiting for a load of spotlights to hit it and The Star Wars Holiday Special to begin in real life.
Trouble was, we were so late getting there on Thursday we didn’t have time to set up or check in, so they didn’t think we were coming. By the time we got to the stand on Friday morning, even though we knew it would only take 10 minutes max to set up the photo’s and the banner, they had given the table to someone else.
Louis Turfrey
I was mega-stressed that we were gonna be late for the con, and couldn’t believe that it took us so long to get there, but in the end we arrived at ten at night. We ‘sort of’ arrived in time, but when we arrived at the table, and found it already occupied. I nearly freaked, but there was a space in the fan area so I was sort of placated. I’ve gotta be honest, I was mad with Mark for not getting up earlier. That’s what made me go and ask the chap in the booth next to the one we should have had why he was using ours. When he said that it was because it was unoccupied, and he offered to move his stuff out, I was like ‘yes!!’ In retrospect we both got up late, so Mark wasn’t necessarily to blame. Blame it on two bottles of Newcastle Brown, or was it three, I forget.
Mark Newbold
We’d managed to find a space opposite the guys at Jedi News, but we couldn’t get a table set up because of health and safety issues and the show had already started, so we were really in a pickle. It wasn’t the best start to the event, Louis was annoyed but I was pretty calm – I knew we’d sort it out, even if it meant being cheeky and ‘finding‘ a table and carrying it there ourselves. As a last resort me and Louis asked the guy on the stand next to what was meant to be ours if he knew who had taken our stand. He said he’d been asked to fill the space, as they didn’t think we were going to show. I wouldn’t mind, but even the name above the stand was wrong, it said ‘Angels to Demons‘ instead of ‘Lightsabre‘. Anyway, he moved his stuff back to his stand, we all dived in and managed to set up in all of five minutes. The guys name was Chris and he turned out to be really helpful and a top laugh.
I was very happy when Don Bies stopped by for a word because we’ve interviewed him twice on the site, he always sends very cool emails and he put us in touch with both Danny Wagner and Lorne Peterson. It’s always cool when you meet people for real, and especially neat when they’re as decent as you hope they’ll be and Don was certainly that.
I’ve only recently made contact with Neil Baker – better known as Nob01 on the blogs – but in that time I’d like to think I’ve found a friend who shares many of the same sensibilities as me, at least when it comes to Star Wars. He wrote a great piece about his Celebration 4 experiences for Lightsabre, we host his Dork Side strip every Monday and I’m writing a short story for his collection. So it was a great pleasure when he turned up at the site with his lovely wife Kuldip for a chat.
Louis Turfrey
Awesome wasn’t it? The impact on seeing that when I entered was fantastic. Though the fact that the thing was made of plywood wasn’t that fantastic.
Anthony Harding
When I saw it for the first time my jaw actually fell. It was not full size but it was very impressive. The thing must have been over 6 meters high and was the meeting place for almost everyone it seemed. You could see it from all around the centre.
Mark Newbold
These guys were ever-present throughout the event. Wherever you looked there was one kind of armour or another. It was very cool and really reinforced the fact that finally we were at a Star Wars convention.
Some of the new stuff coming from Hasbro is amazing, especially the Bantha set, loved that. The sixty 30th anniversary figures are also spectacular, and even the Transformer figures which I thought were dumb at first are really smart.
Anthony Harding
The new range will be something to buy two of. One to look at and one to play with. (Must remember to get shares in the company).
Mark Newbold
This was just flat out cool, and I wish I’d took the time to sit in the seat. You can’t quite see it here but the cockpit was full of running lights and the whole thing looked fantastic, as if it could just lift off any minute. And to think, it’s either in some lucky guys collection or they scrapped it after the show.
Louis Turfrey
Believe it or not the seat was actually big enough to take a sixteen and a half stone man, although I am glad that it was constructed of solid materials, because otherwise I would have had a lot of explaining to do.
Mark Newbold
I don’t know the history of this car and I probably should, but I can well imagine that George Lucas got a real kick out of seeing this. And probably taking it for a spin around the parking lot. I can just imagine him on a supermarket car park at 2.00am doing doughnuts with all the other kids.
Neil Baker, artist Turning to the Dork Side
My wife and I had a couple of priorities for Friday, one was to secure some Ralph McQuarrie prints (somewhat easier than we expected), the other was to get a bucketload of autographs from Mark Hamill for ourselves and our friends back in the U.S. Having lined up ridiculously early and secured our pieces of paper worth £85 each, we toddled off to enjoy the rest of the show, ready to return at 2.00pm as instructed.
Just to be on the safe side, we returned at 1.30pm – to be confronted by a mass of angry and confused punters laying into a bemused security guard, plus an abnormally long queue which snaked around and out of the autograph hall with no apparent beginning or end. People in this mysterious line (a weekend-long phenomenon) were getting agitated and were also being disowned by the organisers, so tempers were simmering nicely.
Mark Newbold
We could see a huge queue snaking around the main dealers area and guessed it must be for Mark Hamill. Those films crews here looking for their geeky photo-ops must have been pretty surprised, but then again I bet even they managed to put a spin on that.
Neil Baker
Following some aggressive negotiations, my group was finally let into the main line, and we slowly made our way towards the front, catching glimpses of Mark along the way. Suddenly, the security chaps began forming a couple of new lines, and staggering the people who were sent forward to the table of the Skywalker. To say this caused a kerfuffle is an understatement, and as shouts were exchanged between the lines, a shaven-headed thug with a neck like a Reek finally boiled over, turning the line into battlefield as he screamed expletives and threats at a guy next to him, both men reddening like angry lobsters and balling their fists ready to bring the quaint old tradition of British hooliganism to a Star Wars Celebration. As people stepped out of the line of fire, and we shielded the children with us, a couple of sensible types stepped in between the idiots and calmed the situation down. The irony of all this was that the British Bulldog who was ready to punch several colours of poodoo out of the other chap was holding his beloved Star Wars annual under his arm, a remnant of happier times I guessed.
Excitement over, we finally reached Mark, and suddenly all tension was gone. He was extremely friendly, chatty and more than happy to pose for pictures, despite the protestations of his entourage. What a thrill. This was Mark Hamill, hero of the saga that I have loved for 30 years, and now my day was complete. Was it worth 85 quid? Hell, yeah!
Mark Newbold
This was very, very cool. Steve Sansweet came and officially opened the show, despite the gale that was blowing his notes everywhere and being on the flight path so that every two minutes he’d get drowned out by a Jumbo jet. What he did manage to say was very touching, that the UK is the spiritual home of the Star Wars saga and how long they’d waited to come over here. Classy words from a classy guy.
Then on came Warwick Davis, who is always great value, followed by Jerome Blake who explained why we were all here in aid of Medicinema, and then Mark Hamill who whipped the crowd into a frenzy before totally cocking up the introduction for the nights special guest, Ian McDiarmid.
Louis Turfrey
I was literally yards away from it all when it kicked off, filming it and taking pictures for the site – it’s just a shame that I wasn’t filming the Mark Hamill bit – I can’t believe that he got the introduction to Ian McDiarmid wrong – one line, just one line. Ah well, guess that’s the way things fall. It was impressive though, seeing the introduction to the movie again.
Mark Newbold
When Ian hit the stage the crowd went crazy, it was a brilliant ovation and I think he was really touched. And as the video shows, he revelled in the spotlight and bad-punned us into A New Hope with great style.
Anthony Harding
This was given an awesome intro by the Emperor himself, Ian McDiarmid. It was possibly one of the best experiences I have had with reference to Star Wars. The whole of the Victoria Dock screening was teeming with fans of all ages and nationalities.
Mark Newbold
We watched the opening ceremony but decided to skip the film, get back to the room and change and chill. I can’t remember who made the decision to walk back to the ExCeL – probably me – but we managed to get lost and wound up walking parallel to the arena. We could hear the film still playing, and I remember thinking “That’s wierd, it should have finished by now.”
Anthony Harding
It will be one of the most memorable days in my mind. Mostly because half way through the massive screen display broke down, but was resumed not long after. During the brief power issues one of my friends jumped up and continued the Vader versus Obi-Wan scene to everyone’s delight!
Mark Newbold
It was pretty clear that the place to be was The Fox Pub. There was a barbeque and plenty of fans and faces around including Jerome Blake, who we’d recently interviewed. Joe Corroney and the artist gang were there, and I noticed Bonnie Burton in the corner, so I introduced myself and we pretty much spent the next two hours chatting, which was amazingly cool as she introduced me to Matthew Wood, Pete Vilmur (I accidentally knocked over his drink and he wouldn’t let me buy him a refill) Tom Hodges and his wife Terri. Richard LeParmentier was there enjoying the evening, smoking a whacking great stoogie. Bonnie seems to know a bit about our site, and we had recently interviewed her as well so that was very neat.
Anthony Harding
This was not hard to find (due to most of the 501st getting drunk outside). It became the place to be where fan’s and stars alike relaxed with a beer or eight.
Louis Turfrey
The night was excellent – and much fun was had playing with lightsabers. the guests were pleasant, the fans showed a camaraderie that I haven’t ever felt at a convention before. I got to talk to Joe Corroney, who is an excellent chap as well as Terri Hodges who is a complete mine of information and was more than happy to point out the flaws in my American accent.
Mark Newbold
While Louis looks very cool in this photo what you don’t know is that he was taken to the limit by a five-year-old kid who was really battering him. He fenced him away, but there was a great crowd watching.
Louis Turfrey
I was going easy on him, too easy – had he been a real Padawan, I would not have so easily allowed him to get me in the nuts. Still, my fencing skills worked for at least the first twenty seconds!
Anthony Harding
Tip for a good night on the town: always carry a lightsaber while on a night out. The locals were really up for the whole Star Wars thing and joined in the banter.
Mark Newbold
I finally met Derek Maki after dealing with him on the net for a couple of years. he was nothing like I imagined. I had this image of a quiet fella and Derek is anything but. He gave me a massive hug, led me away and told me off for not calling him during the week. We decided on the time and the place for the Billy Dee interview, and he also promised to help set up an interview with Irvin Kershner, which was very sweet but Rick McCallum had already done that.
Louis Turfrey
The Fox closed at twelve and we left at one, but we stayed in the bar for another hour.
Mark Newbold
It was pretty late when we finally left. I remember Richard LeParmentier being there trying to find Ty and Jerome Blake enjoying the festivities but I couldn’t tell you what time we finally left. Late, I know it was late.
Saturday 14th July 2007
10:30 – 11:15 Force of the Fetts
Actors Jeremy Bulloch and Daniel Logan share stories of being Boba throughout the Saga. Bulloch portrayed the infamous bounty hunter, Boba Fett, in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and Logan played young Fett in Attack of the Clones.10:30 — 11:00 and 11:30 — 12:00 The Clone Wars – THE PLATINUM STAGE
Go behind the scenes with the crew of the extraordinary new Star Wars television series, The Clone Wars, and see an amazing trailer of footage projected on the big screen with full stereo sound. Each day, for two special showings, Lucasfilm’s Steve Sansweet will introduce an exclusive video presentation interview with Catherine Winder, producer of The Clone Wars, and Supervising Director Dave Filoni.11:00 — 11:30 The Vader Hot Air Balloon Project
Video presentation of the making of the Vader balloon.11:45 – 12:30 Star Wars 30th Anniversary Crew Stars
Norman Reynolds (Art Director), Robert Watts (Production Supervisor), Lorne Peterson (Modelmaker), John Mollo (Costume Designer). Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear from stars of the crew who were instrumental in helping George Lucas bring the galaxy far, far away to movie screens in 1977.11:45 — 12:45 Sites of Star Wars — Jeremy Beckett
Star Wars filming locations around the world.12:30 — 13:30 The Force Unleashed with LucasArts – THE PLATINUM STAGE
Join LucasArts’ Haden Blackman and Julio Torres as they discuss how they’re using one of 2008’s biggest video games to realize the Force in ways you’ve never seen before. Also on hand, two of the game’s actors speak about their roles for the first time in Europe. A first-look documentary takes you even further behind the scenes of The Force Unleashed, and the panel awaits audience questions at the end of the presentation.13:00 — 14:00 R2-D2 Builders’ Club
The R2-D2 Builders’ Club will display their Droids, and explain what it takes to make one!13:00 — 14:00 Charlie Ross: One Man Star Wars Trilogy – THE PLATINUM STAGE
Ross presents all three movies of the original trilogy by himself — that’s by himself — with the help of his talented voice, perfect grasp of the movies, and totally entertaining performance.14:00 — 15:00 The Modelmakers
Between them, Don Bies, Lorne Peterson, and Danny Wagner have worked on a vast array of exceptional movies for Industrial Light & Magic, and for other movies, television, and commercials. All have built miniature wonders for the Star Wars prequels, and Peterson has crafted the saga since A New Hope. Don’t miss these three master craftsman on stage!14:30 — 15:30 Muscle for Hire: Costuming for the Bounty Hunter
This panel addresses Jango and Boba Fett, and also touches on other bounty hunters seen in the films.14:30 — 15:15 Anthony Daniels – THE PLATINUM STAGE
The actor who has brought the golden droid C-3PO to life throughout the Star Wars Saga will take to the stage to the delight of fans. Look for a lively, original, and interactive performance.15:30 — 17:00 Star Wars Tattoo Competition
Shane Turgeon, Star Wars ink collector, author, and coordinator of the popular Celebration tattoo competitions in the U.S. challenges European fans to come out in full force for a bigger and better competition. Sign up at Turgeon’s stand on Platinum Level Two on Friday and Saturday morning. Celebrity judges will be Danny Wagner, Brian Muir, and Sandi Finlay.15:45 — 16:00 Jedi vs. Jedi, Mustafar Reenacted
Two Jedi duel in a scene based on the Mustafar sequence in Episode III.15:45 — 16:45 Rick McCallum: Producing the Prequels – THE PLATINUM STAGE
Rick McCallum, the production genius behind the Star Wars prequels, the Young Indiana Jones television serious, the Star Wars Special Editions, and many other projects, is not to be missed at Celebration Europe. McCallum is always a favorite with fans for his quick wit and personal approach.16:30 Droid Demonstration
The droids are back, and this time we get to test their mettle. The droid handlers will demonstrate their creations in motion, and test their agility!17:00 — 18:00 Celebration Europe Costume Pageant – THE PLATINUM STAGE
Join celebrity MC Warwick Davis and celebrity judges Dave and Lou Elsey and John Mollo, for a competition between some of the best Star Wars costumes in Europe.17:30 — 20:00 Fanboys Rough Cut Sneak Peek
Join director Kyle Newman for a first-time peek at a rough cut of Fanboys, the upcoming Star Wars-themed comedy produced by the Weinstein Co. This is an exceptional opportunity for a first look at a warm, affectionate, and infectiously funny comedy about friends attempting to break into Skywalker Ranch to steal a copy of The Phantom Menace.18:30 — 19:30 Battle of the Bands – THE PLATINUM STAGE
Hosted by Jay Laga’aia, and judged by celebrity judges from the UK music scene, the Saturday night Battle of the Bands pits the top two original Star Wars music acts, based on internet voting by fans, against each other to see who will be chosen as having the best performance at Celebration Europe.19:00 — 22:00 Saturday Night Star Wars Party on the Waterfront (Waterfront side, ExCeL Center). Wear your best Star Wars costume, or just some good party clothes, and come prepared for an evening of fun, meeting fans from all over the world!
Mark Newbold
We made absolutely certain we were there on time Saturday. After Fridays panic we didn’t want to get caught out again, which was just as well as Dave Prowse walked by, as did Lorne Peterson. Jeremy Bulloch spotted Gerald and had a bit of banter and I saw Danny Wagner for a chat, which was very cool as we’ve emailed each other throughout the year since our interview on the site. And me and Louis started recording a Setnin Radio, which we never finished.
Chris next door had decided that it would be his last day and whatever he didn’t sell would be coming home with him. It was very cool having him there, partly because he would watch the stall if we were busy, mainly because he’s a good bloke but also because every time someone took a photo of his stuff he would make them donate a pound towards Cancer Research UK. Chris raised well north of £30 just from the photo idea.
It was a real pleasure meeting Joe. I’ve been a fan of his artwork for a good while now and couldn’t miss the chance to meet him and buy his Celebration Europe piece. I’m sure Joe didn’t realise quite how much of his stuff we’d bought. Plus, we learned on the Friday night that he has a taste for San Miguel, so we bought a few of those for him over the weekend as well!
My intention was to only spend the physical cash we had during the weekend, but the artwork on display was so amazing I couldn’t resist getting the plastic out. We bought some beautiful pieces, including some by Cynthia Cummens – an amazingly sweet lady who was so nice to us – Steve Anderson, Terese Nielsen, Adam Hughes and a bunch by Joe.
It was pure good fortune that one of Steve’s assistant’s turned out to be Chris ‘Rojo’ Gereke (Rojo Trooper from the blogs), so we were familiar with each other from the off, which was cool. I’d been to the media centre on the Friday to arrange interviews and was asked to come back the next day at noon, which me and Louis did. We ended up chatting to a very friendly Australian lady from LucasArts who was waiting with us before Chris ushered us in to meet Steve. We waited quietly as he finished his prior interview and, peeling open an orange, we were introduced to him and handed over our gift of a Lightsabre t-shirt. We sat down and chatted for a second before launching into a very easy and free-flowing interview.
Louis Turfrey
I kept wanting to say “We’re not worthy, we’re not worthy” but in the end, after a slightly stifled start I actually managed to ask some questions.
Mark Newbold
Paul Squire had text at around 11.50am trying to find the table, but he managed to get lost and end up on totally the wrong floor. At least he got to see a lot of the convention, more than I did, but we were all wondering if he was going to turn up. Paul finally got to the stand after The Force Unleashed panel, which he also watched after the Sansweet interview.
I thought it was about time me and Louis used our nifty purple Media passes for something other than jumping queues so we took a set on the front row of the Platinum Suite (after waving at Anthony, Nick and John in the cheap seats) and watched The Force Unleashed panel. It was fascinating, a clever run through the next gen game that comes out next spring. Some of the stuff in there is jaw dropping, and the trailer they showed was fantastic. The in-game graphics were better than the cut scene stuff that starts the trailer.
Anthony Harding
They were screening the brand new trailer for the next-gen title The Force Unleashed. It should be on www.lucasarts.com by the time you read this. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone but I will say that this is Force powers the likes of which we have never seen.
Louis Turfrey
Enhanced Force powers have been hinted at before, look at what happened with Mace Windu in the Cartoon Network Clone Wars shorts. It had to happen some time and now is the time. It’s just a shame that it may never appear on the PC.
Mark Newbold
The day was going great guns, Paul was finally on the stand and Gerald was selling autographs like hot cakes, so I waited for Louis to come back to the stand and we took a stroll across the plaza to the Novotel. We were there for 2.45pm, and I was sure it had been decided to do the interview at 3.00pm, but no, it was 3.30pm. Still, it gave me time to think about what to say to Mr Williams when he came down. Finally at 3.25pm Sheila Rodgers from Coolwaters came and led us up stairs, where we waited on a sofa for BDW to arrive, which he did five minutes later.
In all honesty Billy Dee was absolutely exhausted. He’d just flown a ten hour flight without sleep and was jet-lagged and tired. I really didn’t think he would want to do the interview but, and I’ll always be grateful for this, he soldiered on and we had an interesting ten minute chat with Lando Calrissian. We wrapped the interview with Mr Williams, followed him to the lift, said our goodbyes and took a satisfying walk back to the arena.
Louis Turfrey
LEGO Star Wars is awesome. Some of the stuff that was on show was extremely complicated and more realistic than I could have hoped for. It’s just a shame that Hasbro don’t make vehicles this detailed and to the same scale as the figures.
Anthony Harding
One stand that particularly impressed me was the Lego Star Wars stand. As a long time Lego fan (is it right to still like Lego at 32?) There was an almost complete re-creation of the Mos Eisley Space port including a HUGE Millenium Falcon. At the moment there are only three in the world and there were two at the event.
Mark Newbold
This part of the exhibition was really brilliant. The night before at the Fox Pub I was at the bar – shock, horror – and I noticed a guy wearing a really cool Boba Fett T-shirt, but the Palitoy logo is what caught my eye. I asked him about it and he explained what it was about before asking me about my site. I told him I was from Lightsabre, and he laughed. Back in 2000 Dave Tree used to co-run a site called Ultimart, which we were affiliated with.
Small world, but Dave’s Palitoy Archive, which was totally self-funded, stole the show for me in regards to exhibits. Steve Sansweet was said to have been as excited by this exhibit as any other he’d ever seen, which is high praise indeed.
This was just awesome. I believe it was one of the Harrison Ford signature issues, and boy did it look good up close. I was looking for the Champion spark plugs sticker, but I couldn’t spot it.
It was great to meet Iain. He came to the Lightsabre stand to introduce himself and had dropped a load of us an email the week before organising a get together. I have to admit, I hadn’t found the chance to get to the gathering but once he’d dropped by Friday morning he was a regular fixture around the convention. Plus he was so damn friendly, it was always great to catch up on what each of us had been up to during the day.
Me and Paul took a stroll to stretch our legs and view some of the convention and passed the stand and, as often happens when Centaur and Lomona get together, we managed to get into this predicament.
It’s always cool to see these guys in the flesh – or the chrome, whatever – and this was no exception. I just loved that for the whole of the three days, wherever you looked, there was a five-year-old kid looking up at a Vader or a Jedi or a droid in complete awe. That really took me back to ’77.
Anthony Harding
I was just on my way outside for some fresh air when I saw another familiar face. Rick “Producing the sequels” McCallum was stood there chatting to fans. It was totally unexpected and I was thinking “Must get that autograph.” I walked a calmly as I could up to him and realise I didn’t have a pen or a programme to sight with (D’oh!). Then I had a brainwave. I borrowed a waterproof marker from a random bloke (Thanks for lending it to me) and asked Rick to sign my Three-Day Pass. He said it would be a pleasure. OH MY GOD!! I thanked him for all he had done for the saga and shook his hand. He smiled and carried on chatting about stuff before being ushered away by his entourage.
Mark Newbold
We sadly missed McCallum talk because there was too much going on at the stand and I was constantly shooting off to do other things, but the word is that Rick was brilliant. I’d been lucky enough to have had a forty minute chat with him back in March, so I know what a great talker he is, but we were just leaving the arena to head back to the hotel when we saw a big crowd. Paul was leaving for the train so we said goodbye and wandered over, and I saw that it was Rick. Some of the guys said I should go over and say hi after interviewing him recently, but I had to remind them that Rick wouldn’t know me from Adam.
Anthony Harding
Only afterwards did someone point out that by ‘defacing my pass’ I might have trouble getting in the Excel again. (SHOCK) After a few moments of panic I thought ‘What the hell‘ and actually did manage to get in for the rest of the weekend without any problems.
Mark Newbold
We found out on Sunday night from Steve Sansweet that Lori’s Disco Threepio costume had been such a hit at Celebration 4 that he ordered her to wear it again at Celebration Europe. And we’re glad she did, it looked amazing.
Louis Turfrey
I will always remember this moment. Not because I looked cool (how many fat Jedi do you know?), but because it was impromptu, fun and the first time I had used my new lightsaber to do anything but pose.
Mark Newbold
There’s no two ways about it, this moment will go down in Star Wars history as one of the great fan moments. We were all having a good time anyway, the music was pumping and the food was great – even though £5.00 for a burger was a bit steep – but it seemed obvious something was going to happen.
Mark Newbold
I was chatting to David ‘Voice of Wedge‘ Ankrum, and thanking him for doing the interview with us when folks started shouting about going to the bridge. I didn’t have a saber, but Louis and Anthony did so I grabbed Louis mobile phone and started recording stuff.
Louis Turfrey
We’d heard news that a small force of sith trained dark Jedi were attempting to disrupt Celebration Europe. There was no alternative but to intercept them at their only crossing point. However, I almost felt sorry for them as word had got around and those Jedi that had survived Order 66 converged on the area.
Mark Newbold
They were all on the bridge for quite a while, waiting for the passers-by to get out of the way. It was ace, the light was fading so the sabre’s glowed even brighter and the atmosphere was electric.
Louis Turfrey
We had to make sure that all innocent civilians were evacuated from the area. You could feel the Force building around such a concentrated group of Jedi. Something was bound to happen, and when it did we roared like Krayt Dragons.
Anthony Harding
It was an eerie feeling waiting for the charge command. When it was given all lightsaber’s were lit at the same time which emitted an awesome ‘Snap-Hiss’ that most of Canary Wharf must have heard. Light, sound, screams, sound of running feet on metal, crash, hiss, clashing of the Jedi and Sith. Words can’t really explain what it felt like up there. Camera flashes surrounded the dock and the cheering was louder than our screams. AWESOME!
Neil Baker
That bridge fight is the greatest thing I have ever seen outside of the movies.
Mark Newbold
The place went banana’s, even before they got up there. It was mad and the buzz built as we waited and waited for them to start. Turns out there was a health and safety issue, but when they began the charge the waterfront went mad! You can tell how it was, I haven’t seen a single unshaky camera yet, although Lucasfilm had a crew there. It took ages for everyone to get back down for a photo opportunity. Of course, Louis was lost in the moment and still fighting on the bridge so he missed that bit. We could see his Windu saber twirling and were screaming for him to come down for the photo op.
Anthony Harding
I’ll never forget that. It was when we demonstrated that fans can really make the most memorable of moments.
Louis Turfrey
A small group of Dark Jedi had infiltrated the area. I had no choice. There was only one option. And it was fun.
David Ankrum, voice of Wedge Antilles in A New Hope
The impromptu Battle On The Bridge ranks with my “Most Amazing Star Wars Moments”. It was the first time I had a chance to meet the other X-Wing pilots. Biggs, Gold Leader, Wes….we all sat together in the autograph hall and it was a real treat. We had a lot of laughs.
Louis Turfrey
We were slightly drunk and still high after the Battle of the Bridge. There was a challenge shouted and like any self-respecting Dark Jedi Ty accepted.
Mark Newbold
I think Louis was a bit miffed that Ty cracked his lightsaber, but then again he shouldn’t have been trying to hit a 15-year-old kid with a plastic sword if he didn’t mind it getting broken
Louis Turfrey
There was a slight misunderstanding. What I saw as a chance to have a bit of a laugh and a quick lesson in fencing techniques turned out to be an all-out lightsaber brawl and yes, I was a little annoyed when I got my blade back.
Mark Newbold
While the place was still buzzing about the battle on the bridge Chris Gereke invited me, Anthony, Jedi Iain Armstrong, Nicky and John to take a stroll up to the Novotel with himself and Steve Sansweet which was very good of him. We had a chat as we walked and some very cool things were said about our site, which was very flattering. Steve and Chris went inside for their evening meal and we waited a bit until they’d gone upstairs, and then we followed up to the bar area.
Mark Newbold
As we’d been told, there were a stack of familiar and famous faces there. Joe Corroney, Cynthia Cummens, Jeremy Bulloch, Bonnie Burton, all mingling with us lot like it was any other Saturday night in the pub. Which I guess it was really…
Louis Turfrey
After finally tracking down Mark, who apparently had been whisked away with Chris and Steve Sansweet I cooled down with two pints of Guinness and chatted to Terri, Bonnie and Joe Corroney. By the way, to the person who stole my Palitoy cap that night can you please return it (unless of course your name is Steve Sansweet, in which case add it to the collection mate!)
Mark Newbold
It was an awesome night. Derek Maki was saber fighting with Mike Edmonds wife, Joe ‘San Miguel’ Corroney was as ace and cool as ever – so we bought him a few beers – and Bonnie not only gave us a cool and rare wristband but also gave us loads of her time chatting about anything and everything. It was an intensely cool night.
Mark Newbold
I had a quick chat with Barry Eldridge, just to say ‘It’s going great‘ and spent 20 minutes chatting to him and his wife. In no uncertain terms he made it clear that ‘We’re going to Turkey on Tuesday, a little village. No television, no internet, no telephones.’ I don’t blame him!
How cool is this? In the Novotel, Star Wars actors, artists and web people all around us, hanging out with folks we’ve barely known for a day having our photo taken by Bonnie Burton. I was out on my feet, but as a fan it doesn’t get much better than this.
I remember Steve Anderson, who I’ve never met or interviewed before, getting my attention and mouthing ‘Mark?’ as if he knew me, which was very cool. We were chatting for a good twenty minutes before I was dragged me away and out of the hotel towards the Holiday Inn.
I admit, I could have stayed there another couple of hours, which, funnily enough, Will and the gang did. I heard the next day that they left at 4.00am.
Sunday 15th July 2007
10:30 – 11:15 R2 and Beyond: Droidmaster Don Bies -MAIN STAGE
Don Bies, the Droid Unit Supervisor for Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, has a long and close association with the Star Wars galaxy, and with R2-D2 in particular. Bies joins MC Davis on stage, and just might bring along a droid friend.10:30 — 11:00 and 11:30 — 12:00 The Clone Wars – THE PLATINUM STAGE
Go behind the scenes with the crew of the extraordinary new Star Wars television series, The Clone Wars, and see an amazing trailer of footage projected on the big screen with full stereo sound. Each day, for two special showings, Lucasfilm’s Steve Sansweet will introduce an exclusive video presentation interview with Catherine Winder, producer of The Clone Wars, and Supervising Director Dave Filoni.11:00 — 11:30 The Vader Hot Air Balloon Project
Video presentation of the making of the Vader balloon.11:45 – 12:30 Vintage Indy: Jones Old Boys – MAIN STAGE
Norman Reynolds, Robert Watts, and Lorne Peterson, veterans of the classic Indiana Jones movies, share stories about their adventures with the “man with the hat” with MC Davis.11:45 — 12:45 Fan Force Presentation
The Fan Force — Who are they? And how do you join? Members give you a rundown on one of the largest non-official Fan Clubs.12:30 – 13:30 Billy Dee Williams – THE PLATINUM STAGE
The multi-talented actor, painter, and writer brought us Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. See him on stage in this exclusive Celebration Europe interview.13:00 — 13:15 Droid Hunt Winners Presentation
If you’re a winner in the 501st Droid Hunt (check the 501st booth for the list of winners), then make your way here for the prize giving!13:00 — 14:00 Charlie Ross: One Man Star Wars Trilogy – MAIN STAGE
Ross presents all three movies of the original trilogy by himself — that’s by himself — with the help of his talented voice, perfect grasp of the movies, and totally entertaining performance.13:30 — 14:30 Lords of the Sith: Costuming on the Dark Side
This panel specifically addresses Darth Vader and Darth Maul. Special consideration is given to Darth Maul make-up application.14:00 — 16:00 Star Wars Vintage Toy charity auction to benefit Make-A-Wish – THE PLATINUM STAGE
The Lucasfilm Licensing archives has contributed rare treasures of vintage Star Wars toys, in this very special auction to benefit the Make-A-Wish foundation in Europe.14:30 — 15:30 Empire Magazine Trivia Challenge – MAIN STAGE
Who will be the trivia champion of Celebration Europe? Host Warwick Davis will lead the challenge, as the finalists in Empire’s Star Wars trivia challenge battle it out for top honours and awards.14:45 — 15:00 Jedi vs. Jedi, Mustafar Reenacted
Two Jedi duel in a scene based on the Mustafar sequence in Episode III.15:00 — 15:30 Droid Demonstration
The droids are back, and this time we get to test their mettle. The droid handlers will demonstrate their creations in motion, and test their agility!16:00 — 17:00 The Force Amongst Us
Moviemakers Cristian and Cortney Macht will present clips from their new documentary that is all about the fans right in our midst.
Mark Newbold
Pretty much as soon as we entered the ExCeL we saw Chris Gereke and Steve Sansweet and they looked like they were searching for something. They were after a copy of The Sun from the day before. There was a newsagents a few yards away so me and Louis asked the owner if we could check for old papers. I must have been high on something because I was looking through Thursdays Daily Mirror, but eventually Louis found the paper we needed. I needed to go to the organisers office for something else, they asked me to take a photocopy of the same paper up to Steve, and so I sneaked to the Titanium Suite, stuck my head around the curtain and managed to quietly get Chris’s attention. He ushered me in and asked if I’d like to hand it to Steve, which I did. What a moment, he literally did a little hop on the spot and thanked me. I made sure to point out that it was Louis who had actually located it. Credit where credit’s due and all that.
As I was leaving the Titanium Suite I managed to catch a glimpse of The Clone Wars trailer. While what I caught was brief it looks amazing, can’t wait for that.
Our dealers table was fairly close to the droid area, and every walk to the concession stands or the Artists Alley led me past there. The work of the builders was excellent and it was a real kick being so close to the droids.
Anthony Harding
Mark Hamill talked today about his experiences during the filming of the Original Trilogy. Dagobah – During the filming of these scenes he felt very lonely because no-one but him and Yoda during a LOT of the filming. Mostly due to secrecy. He also gave us a very Brief insight to his next big project “Black Pearl” This is going to be a comic book adaptation on the Silver screen. This will “Not be appropriate for children/younger viewers” Filming for this movie is due to start in January and will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival. Towards the end of his appearance he mentioned his views on the Star Wars Special Edition Jabba/Han scene change in the spaceport. He was not very impressed that “The Irishman that was turned into a giant Slug”.
Right at the end of the appearance one of the fan questions was “Will you do Star Wars Episode Seven if George asks?” His reply was very interesting…When filming A New Hope, George asked him if he would like to play himself when he was older. Mark said “How much older” George replied, “Oh, about Obi-Wan’s age”. This would be in approximately 2012. Mark said he would and when pressed on the subject he said he would be willing to take the role on again. Very exciting.
Mark Newbold
During the weekend Gerald must have been made honorary member of about a dozen associations, mainly foreign ones. Italy, Spain, Poland, Hungary, you name it they came. Plus, speaking about five languages can’t hurt. I’m quite jealous, I can just about scrape by in English.
Once Chris had left on Saturday we had the whole stand to ourselves, but the guy opposite had been using some of our space to store his lightsabers. He had a cardboard Battle Droid and said we could charge £1.00 for our charity if anyone had their photo taken. It was great and raised about £20.00, which all helps.
Iain decided he wanted his photo taken with Daryl – where the name came from I don’t know – and even managed to snap a picture of him being taken away by the guy who bought him. I was sad to see Daryl go, he had that certain, undefinable something.
We worked our arses off all weekend, we were tired, our feet hurt, we’d hardly slept and I think we were going on adrenaline alone. The last afternoon we must have told a hundred people that NO, we don’t sell lightsabers and these are our own. Didn’t stop me selling mine on though. Gerald was a star. He’d initially agreed to work just the Saturday, and then came back on the Sunday and did better than Saturday, which had been a total sell out.
Gerald Home, Tessek and Mon Calamari officer in Return of the Jedi
I had the most fantastic time at Celebration Europe. It was a unique experience for me to be signing at a table like that instead of in the Autograph Hall, and I’m so glad I did it this way. It was fun, but it also had a serious purpose – to raise money for Cancer Research UK – and I applaud Lightsabre for the magnificent amount they raised.
Mark Newbold
I think the photo shows how pleased we all were with how it went. We’d said goodbye to a bunch of people and Gerald’s Hungarian friend Attila took this, and kept guard as me and Gerald sorted out the finances. Yes Gerald, ‘We’ll always have Paris’. Or should that be Docklands…
Gerald Home
If I had to sum up my experience working with the Lightsabre team at Celebration Europe in one word, that one word would truly be…..Celebratory! I wish them lots of luck in all future endeavours.
Mark Newbold
Gerald worked his socks off and none of this would have been quite so cool and fun if he hadn’t been there for us.
Chris Gereke
The Novotel was great. The bar was like a Star Wars actors family reunion. I bought Mara Jade a drink. Very cool.
Mark Newbold
What Chris is forgetting to mention is that on the afternoon when we’d collected some stuff for the archive we bumped into Shannon on the stairway and, because I was blindly following Chris, we followed Shannon into the ladies toilets. That could have been a notorious showbiz moment right there.
It was a bitter-sweet night because while on the one hand we were chatting and having fun with these new friends, and on the other hand we were kind of saying goodbye to them as well. Who knows, we may never actually cross paths with Bonnie, Joe, Chris, Lori, Randy or even any of our fellow fans again. It made me think how lucky I am to be a fan of something so unique and so powerful, that it can bring all these folks together for a rocking good time. I can’t wait for the next one here in the UK, and if there isn’t then we’re chartering a plane and taking the lot of us to the States for Celebration 5.
I remember saying goodbye to a bunch of folks, me and Joe Corroney giving each other a hug because he’d been so cool to us. Bonnie asking Iain’s name, introducing herself and then giving him a hug goodbye, all within twenty seconds! Louis gave Bonnie a datakey with some pics and video footage, we all hugged – it was very sweet – and we began to leave. We also bumped into Richard LeParmentier, on the cusp of turning 60 and trying to find someone. My last memory of the night was talking to Jedi Iain outside the Novotel and not really wanting to say goodnight, because I knew the show would really be over. We waved the gang off and managed to find a taxi back to the Holiday Inn.
Chris Gereke
Celebration Europe was a most excellent gathering of finest scum, villiany, and monsters in the galaxy…Mark and Louis were great hosts for all the Yanks in the Dockyards. It was a great show…in a great city…cheers London!
Bonnie Burton, Lucasfilm
Thanks again for making my CE so much damn fun!
Photographs by Mark Newbold, Louis Turfrey, Paul Squire, Barry Eldridge, Dave Tree, Anthony Harding, Neil Baker, Iain Armstrong, Chris Gereke, Terri Hodges, Will Dyson and Bonnie Burton.
The original version of this article was published on Lightsabre.co.uk late summer 2007.
