This last weekend, my family & I spent the day at the long awaited Comic Con Northern Ireland hosted by Monopoly Events. This convention has been anticipated to be the biggest & best that Northern Ireland had ever seen. The last Comic Con we had in Belfast was back in 2017 and it was decent. Living in Belfast we had this certain expectation to always be the smallest, or not have anything more than D-list guests etc. We got it. Who would want to come to this little patch of green on the cusp of the UK anyway, right? 

Wrong! And that’s what Monopoly events showed us this weekend. This Northern Ireland Comic Con Convention took place in the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn. And after seeing the layout, two buildings where needed to house everything from photo booths, food vendors, stalls, cosplay stage, gaming arena, guests area and so much more. The layout, if you have ever had the pleasure of going, is much like London Film & Comic Con. Which takes place in the Olympia Centre in London. 

Comic Con Northern Ireland

One thing I was excited to see when we entered the Eikon Exhibition Centre, was the crowds. Northern Ireland definitely has the fan base for everything cult movie classic, Anime, gaming, TV & movie guests, Photo props and more. The most exciting part? It was seeing so many people in their cosplay outfits. My two daughters attended in their cosplay gear too. Annabelle went as a My Hero Academia student & Ellie arrived as Rigby from The Regular Show. 

The comic con convention was split into two halls. The Eikon Hall & The Logan Hall. Absolutely huge halls, which are perfect for a Comic Con convention. The Eikon hall had loads of movie props and stage sets for photo opportunities, as well as the guest panel area and more. Whereas the Logan Hall housed all of the stalls for buying loads of seriously cool things. 

Retro Gaming Arena

There was a really big retro gaming arena, which was an amazing addition. Something I always love seeing at comic con conventions. So many retro consoles from Sega Saturns, Mega drives, NES, Dreamcasts, Playstations & so many more. 

There was also a Wrestling arena, a sensory bus, TV show prop exhibitions, a few food vendors with a good sized picnic table area. And of course, the part I actually really appreciated seeing, the guest panel area.

Northern Ireland Comic Con Guest Panels

In past cons I have been too {specifically London} the panel arena was always cordoned off from everyone else. Whereas this one, even if you did not get a seat, you could still be a part of the crowd and I loved that. 

The most exciting guests that monopoly events managed to give to the people of Northern Ireland were some cast members from The Walking Dead & The Vampire Diaries.

These were two of the biggest groups of guests at the con which was exciting. And with other guest actors from Star Wars, Gotham, Anime voice Actors and more. It’s a sign of things to come for future con conventions here in Northern Ireland. 

I think every con, in a new location needs to start somewhere and find their footing. And this was a pretty decent starting point in my opinion. Personally, it would have been amazing to have some Doctor Who actors in there, with a wider selection of Movie/TV show favourites. In particular, Supernatural, Stranger Things, The Umbrella Academy, You, The Witcher, Big Bang Theory, The Rookie, some Horror legends thrown into the mix and more. 

Meeting Anime Voice Actors

Annabelle was lucky enough to get a triple photo with 3 My Hero Academia English voice actors. She is a huge fan of this anime, so meeting Luci Christian, Monica Rial & Tia Ballard was so exciting for her and they were all so incredibly lovely. 

I think Northern Ireland Comic Con proved that we have the fan base for everything movies, TV shows, anime, gaming, cult/pop culture, cosplay and more. The sellers and stalls were amazing and it was quite easy to spend an absolute fortune. Which is condoned because, it’s Comic Con!

I do have a few negatives…

Venue is difficult to get to

Getting to & from the Eikon Exhibition Centre is not easy. Shuttle buses should have been provided due to the distance between Lisburn Train station and the Exhibition centre. As it is in the middle of nowhere i.e. farmland. And the traffic was pretty intense to be quite honest. We visited on a Saturday but on a Sunday, the transport service is always poor. So made it even more difficult for people to get to and home from. 

In previous years, Belfast Comic Cons have been held in the TEC centre in the Titanic Quarter, however, the Odyssey could also be a prime location for future con locations. 

Not enough food vendors

There were also very few food vendors in comparison to the thousands of people attending the convention. We did not get to eat there because of the length of the queues and according to what I heard, the cost was pretty crazy too. So going forward, many more food vendors would be needed to appease the hungry crowds. 

Expensive amusements

Lastly, the amusements on site were a fun addition, however, the cost of them was insane. For each ride it was around £3-£4 per person. And the ghost train was the most shocking thing I have ever been on, ever. £3 each for 60 seconds of track? I think if there are going to be amusements on site, maybe wristbands for ticket holders to have a selected amount of free rides would be a neat idea? 

Aside from those few factors, it was a good Comic Con convention for its first time here in Northern Ireland. Compared to previous comic con’s here in N.I, it has certainly been the biggest! That also includes having the biggest guests {For N.I}. And I know I am not alone in saying that we hope this is the beginning of what could be a super exciting annual experience for all of us cosplay loving, geeks, nerds, gamers and pop culture freaks. 

Well done Monopoly Events! You pulled it off, you gave the people what they wanted! And it is exciting to see where that can go in 2023!

Previous Belfast Comic Con Convention in 2015 with MCM can be viewed here.