All The Australian Pop Culture And Video Game Conventions In 2018

6 years ago

March 15, 2018 at 2:30 pm

Whether you’re a long-time convention-goer or considering dipping your toe in for the first time, it’s time to start planning your con trips for 2018. Here are all the events taking place in Australia in 2018.

Note: this list was originally posted on January 4, 2018 and has since been updated.

January

GenghisCon Perth: January 19-20, Trinity Residential College of UWA
Cancon Canberra: January 26-28, Exhibition Park Canberra

February

RTX Sydney: February 3-4, International Convention Centre
Walker Stalker Con Sydney: February 3-4, The Dome at Sydney Showgrounds
Walker Stalker Con Melbourne: February 10-11, Exhibition Pavillion at Melbourne Showgrounds

March

Madman Anime Festival Perth: March 3-4, Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre
GAMMA WAGGA March 17, Kyeamba Smith Hall
Swancon Perth: March 29-April 2, Pan Pacific Perth
Conquest Melbourne: March 29-April 2, Advanced Technologies Centre, Swinburne University
OzBunnyCon/MeepleCon Melbourne March 29-April 3, Darebin Arts & Entertainment Centre
EYECON Sydney March 29-April 3, St Scholastica’s College, Glebe

April

AICon Tasmania: April 6-8, Wrest Point Convention Centre
CapriCon 2018: April 7, Rockhampton Regional Libraries
OzuteriaCon Sydney: April 14, Rendezvous Hotel Sydney Central
Evolve Perth: April 14, Claremont Showground

Supanova Melbourne: April 20-22, Melbourne Showgrounds

Sydney Brick Show: April 21-22, Penrith Panthers Pavilion

Supanova Gold Coast: April 27-29, Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre

BrisCon: April 28-29, Brisbane Table Tennis Centre

May

Central Coast Comic Con: May 5, Gosford Showground
Adelaide Press Play by Oz Comic Con (18+): May 10, The Gov, Hindmarsh
Perth Press Play by Oz Comic Con (18+): May 12, The Badlands

Comic Gong: May 19, Wollongong City Library

Freeplay Independent Games Festival Melbourne: May 22-27, Venue TBC

June

Madman Anime Festival Brisbane: June 2-3, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
MagnetiCon Townsville: June 2-3, Townsville RSL Stadium
Oz Comic-Con Melbourne: June 9-10, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
Continuum Melbourne: June 8-11, Jasper Hotel
BorderCon: June 8-11, Best Western Plus Hovell Tree Inn, Albury
Supanova Sydney: June 15-17, Sydney Showground, Olympic Park
Supanova Perth: June 22-24, Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre
Queer Expo: June 30-July 1, St. Kilda Town Hall

July

ShepparCon: July 7-8, GV Hotel, Shepparton
SMASH! Sydney Anime And Manga Show: July 14-15, International Convention Centre
AVCon Adelaide: July 20-22, Adelaide Convention Centre

August

GAMMA.CON Canberra: August 4-5
Animaga Melbourne: August 11-12, Royal Exhibition Building

September

VidCon Melbourne: September 1-2, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
Madman Anime Festival Melbourne: September 15-16, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
Oz Comic-Con Brisbane: September 22-23, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
Oz Comic-Con Sydney: September 29-30, International Convention Centre

October

Sydcon Roleplaying & Gaming Convention Sydney: Date and location TBC
GO Gamemarket: October 21, Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne
PAX Australia: October 26-28, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

November

Supanova Adelaide: November 2-4, Adelaide Showground
Supanova Brisbane: November 9-11, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre

If you know of any other geeky Australian events, let us know in the comments and we’ll add them in!

Comments

18 responses to “All The Australian Pop Culture And Video Game Conventions In 2018”

READ THE COMMENTS

guestwhowould

January 4, 2018 at 1:46 pm

I have to say online shopping and eBay have killed a lot of conventions for me, when I was younger friends and I would go to comic conventions to pick up those elusive issues we were missing or get cool merchandise we couldn’t get any where else, but now just Google it and you’ll find a shop to buy it online from.

Reply
1. rock_m
  
  January 4, 2018 at 7:55 pm
  
  Honestly the stalls are just a minute part of the con experience for me.
  
  I tend to go to the Comic/Anime/Gaming events for the panels and guests. I mean as you said if I was just there for some shopping it’s pretty easy to get most of it online. The panels and the funny stuff from guests q and a sessions. Always priceless 😀
  
  Reply
  1. guestwhowould
    
    January 4, 2018 at 8:55 pm
    
    That’s True, there are always other events and atmosphere to soak up.
    
    Reply
mrbs

January 4, 2018 at 1:55 pm

Another year, another wait for PAX to confirm dates. Get it together PAX!

Reply
1. mic
  
  January 4, 2018 at 4:10 pm
  
  It’s a pretty safe assumption that ti’ll be either the 26-28th of Oct or 2-4th of Nov. While it does make it a little harder to book flights/accommodation, it’s a pretty safe ballpark to aim for.
  
  Also, not sure why PAX is marked as location unconfirmed, they’ve said in 2014 they were booked in at Melbourne for 5 years.
  
  https://www.kotaku.com.au/2014/10/pax-australia-will-remain-in-melbourne-for-the-next-five-years/
  
  Reply
  1. mrbs
    
    January 4, 2018 at 4:16 pm
    
    Need to book flights, no time for assumptions my good fellow!
    
    Reply
    1. LordBluray
      
      January 4, 2018 at 7:35 pm
      
      Need to book time off from work as well.
      
      Reply
AliB

January 4, 2018 at 3:13 pm

Walker Stalker Con! Hits Sydney and Melbourne in February.

Reply
BeeBee

January 4, 2018 at 3:33 pm

I think this list should include other types of gaming conventions, e.g. for board games. Here are some dates: http://con-centric.com.au/tabletop-games/game-conventions.html

Reply
pengy_wan

January 4, 2018 at 4:40 pm

Perth Games Festival, usually at the end of the year (November-ish). Don’t think a date is set for 2018 yet

Reply
Rodin

January 4, 2018 at 5:42 pm

Magneticon – Townsville Popular Culture Convention is held in Townsville, North Queensland. It has run for the past two years and will be happening again on the 2nd and 3rd of June this year. Smaller event but awesome for North Queenslanders who can’t or don’t want to go to Brisbane to get a taste of popular culture.

https://www.facebook.com/magneticontsv/

Reply
Jagji The PC Gamer

January 4, 2018 at 5:45 pm

Now… now… see here guys… You said ALL of them, and yet you forgot at least one.

Nerdmania, witch is help in Shepparton, Vic, and will be it’s 3rd year this year, if it gets held (witch, given the turnout last year, is a pretty good chance). It is run by a group known as Word and Mouth, witch is a local group that creates events over the year in the area.

If Kotaku could start looking in to other, small local convictions, and even trade markets (there is one held in Box Hill every month or so), it would be really nice. Hell, don’t even have article for it, instead have the ‘Kotaku Events Calendar’ and list all of them, big or small.

Reply
1. hayleywilliams
  
  January 4, 2018 at 11:52 pm
  
  Added a couple of smaller regional cons just now! Generally trying to stick to events that have definitely announced a 2018 event though and the smaller ones don’t seem to announce as early unfortunately. Couldn’t find details on a Nerdmania 2018 but I’ll keep an eye out 🙂
  
  Reply
bj1

January 5, 2018 at 11:33 am

This is a good list. Just adding a comment so I can find it if it’s updated – but I’ll plug these into Google Calendar now.

Anyone know if there’s a good iCal I can subscribe to for things like this? I’ve also been trying to find a good esport calendar but any that exist seem to be lapsed now.

Reply
1. motordom
  
  January 6, 2018 at 1:24 am
  
  I manage a public calendar for Aussie Cons, you can subscribe below!
  
  https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/nuu8009vkm1dibbdmb4kc5eb9c%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
  
  Reply
  1. bj1
    
    January 6, 2018 at 9:21 pm
    
    LEGEND. Thanks!!
    
    Reply
Molokov

January 6, 2018 at 9:11 am

You’ve missed Continuum, which would be one of Melbourne’s largest fan-run SF/F conventions: http://www.continuum.org.au/ 8-11th June 2018

The Australian Discworld Convention is only biannual, so no event this year, but 2019’s is April 12-14 in Melbourne. https://ausdwcon.org

Reply
Pog

January 6, 2018 at 11:29 am

Comic Gong will also be happening in Wollongong, NSW on Saturday 19th of May!

Reply
virtualtoast

January 11, 2018 at 4:51 pm

Here are some you missed:

– Brickvention VIC, January 20th-21st, Royal Exhibition Building
– GeekFest VIC, January 21st, Coal Creek Community Park & Museum
– ConFurgence VIC, February 23rd-25th, Amora Hotel Riverwalk
– Ettin Con NSW, February 24th, Blackheath Community Centre
– ComiXpo VIC, March 4th, Matthew Flinders Hotel
– Creatures of the Night 5 VIC, March 17th, Rydges on Swanston
– Creatures of the Night 5 SA, March 18th, Hotel Grand Chancellor
– Creatures of the Night 5 NSW, March 24th, Rydges Sydney Central
– Creatures of the Night 5 QLD, March 25th, Park Regis North Quay
– FurDU QLD, May 4th-6th, Mantra on View
– Comic Gong NSW, May 19th, Wollongong
– Continuum XIV: Conjugation VIC, June 8th-11th, Jasper Hotel
– Great Northern War XIX QLD, June 8th-11th, Chambers Flat
– Queer Expo VIC, June 30th-July 1st, St. Kilda Town Hall
– Winterfest NSW, July 7th-8th, Hawkesbury Showground
– Abbey Medieval Festival QLD, July 14th-15th, The Abbey Museum

Cons definitely/likely returning in 2018 but dates TBA:
– Ettin Con NSW (Winter)
– Eyecon NSW
– All Hell Breaks Loose (various states)
– Deza-Con VIC
– Phenomenon ACT
– Geelong Gamer Convention VIC
– Haven Expo QLD
– Nerdmania VIC
– Nexus Con NSW
– Sugar City Con QLD
– Balingup Medieval Carnivale WA
– Meeplecon VIC

Reply
Dragon_Megatron

March 16, 2018 at 10:08 am

GeeCon will be runnin in Darwin, NT on Sat 29 – Sun 30 September, 2018.

https://geecon.org.au/
https://www.facebook.com/GeeConDarwin/

Reply
Lychee

April 20, 2018 at 3:32 pm

Oh!! There’s a My Little Pony convention in its first year starting in Adelaide this year! Can you put it in the list? 😀

Alicon- 22- 23 September
http://www.aliconmlp.com

Reply
Jay Francis

June 20, 2018 at 9:43 am

There is a new(ish) Anime and Video gaming Con called Geecon in Darwin

https://geecon.org.au/

Reply
crispycola

August 28, 2018 at 4:39 pm

Indie Comic Con, a festival for independent & local Australian comics, Dec 8th 2018, Northcote Town Hall
http://www.indiecomiccon.com.au/

Reply

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