( Photo by natsuminh 夏明: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-wearing-a-cosplay-costume-7537117/ )
MCM is a convention that started off as being based in a small hall where fans would have a look at comics that interest them and now it has grown to thousands maybe even millions of people going to the convention each year. They now have two events in London and one in Birmingham. There are many conventions that happen in the UK but MCM is one of the biggest conventions for comics, gaming, and anime. It has helped show these industries that there is a market for this content outside of just America and Asia.
MCM felt special to me because it was the first convention that I had been to. At first I felt pretty nervous about going because it was a bigger convention and part of me felt like that could be a bit daunting to start off with however I felt like a bigger convention could give me more things to do and make the experience more enjoyable.
It was a space that I had noticed before in kpop concerts however, it felt very different in a way. Seeing all these different fan groups come together and interact with each other in a way that you would only see in an online space. To me being in that convention hall I felt comfortable since I knew that there were likely to be a lot of people in there that had similar interests that I had.
What makes MCM so much more unique compared to other British conventions is that they are able to bring all these different fandoms together in one space in a way that it doesn’t feel jarring. One problem with many smaller conventions is that the convention they tend to focus more on just one fandom which is fine if you want to go to that type of convention.
Something like MCM is able to attract different types of fandoms to it making it quite an interesting experience. There is a lot of space for people to explore around meaning that there's something new to find each time you go. I noticed there where a lot of people I could talk to at MCM which I may have not got a lot of at a smaller convention.
The first time I found out about MCM was when I was doing a search for conventions to go to which at that time I wanted to go to a convention that I had never been to before. I had been to concerts many times however a convention sounded like something new and interesting that I wanted to experience. The first thing I did was go online and buy the tickets to the event which were around £30 at the time but as I was to find out the money for conventions does add up to be quite a bit but in the end, it was worth it for the experience I was given.
Preparing meant that I had to do a lot of research into what I was preparing myself for with a big convention like MCM. This was so that I could make the most out of the short amount of time I would be there for. This meant when going to the convention I had a better idea of what I needed to do and the preparations I could make before going to the event. I decided at the time I wouldn’t cosplay since I wanted more time to enjoy the event instead of worrying about the cosplay I was wearing which looking back was a good idea.
The schedule for MCM was released a little bit before the convention day which was last-minute but I was able to use this to my benefit since I could quickly plan and see where I needed to be at certain times of the day. One of the things I regretted was that I wasn’t able to get a hotel quickly enough. Since I booked the hotel last-minute all the ones close to the venue where booked up meaning I had to travel further in to get to the convention.
One thing took me off guard before entering the convention was how I wasn’t able to take my drink in but that didn’t bother me too much since there was food inside the venue. At the beginning the queue for the food wasn’t as bad however later on in the day there were more people lining up. The food itself was very nice. The venue had a coffee shop in the middle of the hall with food stalls scattered around the edges. This meant that even though the venue was big there was less risk of not being able to get food or drink within certain areas of the venue.
Panels and Meet and greets were another part of the MCM experience with the panels being spread out throughout the day. These panels ranged from actor panels, industry professionals to advice about cosplay. This is where the schedule comes in handy because the panel times can sometimes clash with meet and greet times along with other panel times. This is another reason why it is important to plan where you want to go a few days before the event.
At the time I decided to bring cash with me and another reason for that was because of artist alley where artists will sell their merchandise, art, books and much more. The prices of these items can range depending from what store you go to so what I ended up doing was looking around each booth first and seeing what most appeals to me. By doing this I was able to figure out what I want to focus most of my money on and what seemed more appealing to me. See the creativity from all these different artists was something that made Artist Alley so appealing. Artist Alley was able to give me some downtime from the busyness of the panels and also time to appreciate the cosplays that other people had made.
Leaving MCM was a very sad experience to me because through the event I was able to get to know all these different types of people while being there and being able to see such amazing things that you wouldn’t see outside of conventions. Being at that convention showed the creativity that people could come up with. It amazed the effort people put towards such a big convention and with conventions in general. Leaving the convention was a pretty simple process it wasn’t very busy on the way out however in October it will be a lot darker by this time. Since I didn’t feel safe it going home at that time I decide to get a taxi which added to my overall cost of the convention.
My biggest advice for anyone going to MCM is that budgeting is going to be an important part of your trip and making sure that you have enough money not just for the hotel and the tickets but also for food, artist alley and travel is the most important thing. When it comes to the amount of money you bring it depends on how much you can afford to bring and how much restrictions you want on how much you want to get. Keeping all your stuff in a safe bag and a big bag is something that can help hold the stuff that you have gotten.
In conclusion there are many enjoyable parts to MCM and it’s more about what you make of the event since there are a lot of choices that can be done to tailor the event to what you most enjoy doing. If you’re more a person who doesn’t like sitting down for a long time and likes exploring then artist alley and the many other areas of the convention will appeal to you. If you prefer panels, listening to industry experts and doing meet and greet even though the meet and greets are gonna cost you a little bit the panels should give you that entertainment as well. What is so great about MCM is that it tends to appeal to a lot of people no matter what you enjoy.
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