The international Comic Con Astana festival opened in Kazakhstan’s capital, with organizers expecting around 100,000 visitors, Qazinform News Agency reports.
This year’s festival has expanded significantly, occupying two venues and offering an extensive program for fans of pop culture, cosplay, video games and family entertainment.
Comic Con Astana General Producer Natalia Abrashkina said the festival continues to grow in both scale and attendance.
“We are growing in the number of partners, attendees and venues. Our mission is to ensure every member of the family can find something they enjoy, making Comic Con an event people want to return to year after year,” she said.
For the first time, the festival is being held across two locations, including Barys Arena, one of Astana’s largest venues. Attractions include children’s activity zones, a large-scale strike game installation, an expanded lineup of invited bloggers and the festival’s traditional cosplay competition.
Organizers also highlighted the event’s growing international appeal. More than 20 countries submitted entries for the cosplay contest, but only 180 participants advanced after a highly competitive selection process.
“This year, we have our largest-ever prize fund of 20 million tenge. We received applications from more than 20 countries, but the selection process was extremely rigorous, with around eight times more applications than we could accommodate,” Abrashkina said.
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