The first CCXP Cologne took place in the Cologne exhibition center at the end of June. The concept of the new comic convention was largely positively received by around 40.000 visitors, but occasional fans expressed criticism. We checked with the responsible organizers.
With almost 40.000 visitors, the first CCXP Cologne was well attended, but not overwhelmingly by the fans. The fact that such numbers give cause for disappointment is also due to the objectives communicated by Koelnmesse in advance. The organizers wanted to attract up to 70.000 comic, cosplay and game fans to the exhibition halls - ambitious, but by no means unrealistic figures.
With the analysis of the findings from this year's CCXP, the organizers begin preparing for the next year's convention.
Offering and expanding extraordinary experiences
The CCXP concept has its roots in Brazil. The convention has existed there since 2014 - and attracts over 250.000 fans to the exhibition grounds. In this country, the CCXP Cologne 2019 (Here is the report on the CCXP with a picture gallery) as a kind of successor to the popular and well-established Role Play Convention that has been taking place since 2007 - first in Münster, then in Cologne. Fan expectations for the CCXP are similar to past Role Play Conventions. There were overlaps in terms of subject and content, but some visitors seemed surprised by the conceptual differences. Koelnmesse comments on this: “The aim is to continue to show the supporting pillars of the RPC in the CCXP as well. We were already able to expand some of the core topics from the RPC this year. This worked very well, especially with the fan groups and cosplayers.”
In the “Playground” area, the area for board and role-playing games at CCXP Cologne, work will be done on improvements for the coming convention: “In the coming year, we will involve the communities even more with the board games and also here the attractiveness for the players continue to increase,” the organizers say. And further: “The pillars of the RPC, including the playground, continue to be of great importance to the CCXP. We will work even more closely with the communities here to further improve this area as well.”
Even if the current visitor numbers are a "first good milestone", the organizers want to announce a significant increase in the next. Koelnmesse says: “Of course we are pursuing the goal of further increasing the number of visitors. There will certainly be conceptual adjustments as well as marketing measures geared to the needs and interests of our visitors.”
They also want to learn from the experiences made: "The findings from the first event and its application phase help us enormously, especially since for a long time we could actually only build on the experience from the Brazilian market." The price structure of the CCXP Cologne was widely criticized. Fans hoping for lower costs for the coming year could be disappointed in view of the organizers' first statements: "We as organizers also had a large number of discussions where the topic of admission prices was also discussed. We will of course analyze these discussions and include them in the planning of further events. It is clear that we offer exceptional experiences with the CCXP and want to expand them in the coming years.”
In terms of price, it will always be difficult to compare us with other events.” Even if that doesn't sound like big discounts, price adjustments are not completely off the table. Whether and in what form the price structure will change will only become clear in the next few months.
The invited star guests were well received, even if not all of them were available for photos or autographs.
“We have succeeded in bringing outstanding stars to Cologne who are currently in great demand in the film business. This was very well received by our visitors. For many, a heart's desire came true here in Cologne, because they could be very close to their idols. The main reason why not all the stars were available for photos or signatures is that they were in Cologne at the invitation of the film studios and we as the organizers have no influence on this.”
Alexander Wolff, director of CCXP Cologne
Also "stars" of their very special cosmos were the countless well-known cosplayers who traveled to Cologne to present their latest costume creations to fans and judges. The offer was so well received by fans that the organizers want to expand the "cosplay" theme in the coming year. The organizers comment: “The topic of cosplay and thus also the Cosplay Championship was a complete success. We will continue to develop this topic and already have initial ideas that we will work on in the coming weeks. The CCXP will continue to set standards in the field of cosplay in 2020.”
Regarding the "Artist's Alley", especially the artists present, the opinions of the visitors were divided: some wanted more, others were extremely satisfied. The people in charge at Koelnmesse GmbH are also impressed by their initial offers - but the area could be expanded in the future: "The Artist's Alley is a very special component of the CCXP. But of course the target group of artists and comic fans must first get to know the new format. With around 100 artists, including top-class international stars, we achieved a good result in the first year, but this area will also be further adapted and will certainly be larger in the future.”
The CCXP Cologne celebrated a successful premiere overall. The opinions of the fans were mostly positive, even if there were occasional calls for improvements. In any case, the organizers are willing to take the upcoming CCXP Cologne to the next level.
CCXP Cologne 2020 will take place from June 25th to 28th, 2020. Information is also available at www.ccxp-cologne.de.
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