# Fantasy Basel - The Swiss Comic Con

The Fantasy Basel - The Swiss Comic Con is a Swiss convention for film, fantasy, game, comic and cosplay fans. It was first held in Basel from May 14–16, 2015, and has been held annually since then, with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With more than 100,000 m$^2$ of space, it is one of the largest pop culture conventions in Europe.

## Programme

International guests from Hollywood, the film and TV world, fantasy and comics, and the international cosplay scene can be seen on the stages and at autograph sessions and photo sessions. Over 300 illustrators, tattoo artists and urban artists can be met annually at Artist Alley. Cosplay competitions, exhibitions, panel discussions, workshops, premieres, live art shows, game worlds and medieval and steampunk are all part of the program. A hall is dedicated to e-sports as well as gaming, and board games, tabletop and role-playing games are also represented.

## History

The first Fantasy Basel - The Swiss Comic Con 2015 attracted more than 20,000 visitors. In the second year, the area was expanded from 15,000 m$^2$ to 30,000 m$^2$. In 2017, the area was finally increased by another 20,000 m$^2$ and the convention recorded a total of 43,000 visitors. In 2018, the event took place on 60,000 m$^2$ for the first time. The fifth anniversary of Fantasy Basel - The Swiss Comic Con took place from May 3 to May 5, 2019 and recorded over 54,000 visitors. In 2020, the festival was held virtually. For its ten year anniversary in 2024, the festival welcomed around 88,000 visitors.

## Organizer and venue

The convention was founded by Martin Schorno, the organizer is FantasyCon AG in Zurich. Fantasy Basel - The Swiss Comic Con takes place in the halls of Messe Basel.

## Convention statistics

| Year | Period | Visitors | Exhibition space |
| 2015 | 14.05.2015. – 16.05.2015. | 20.000 | 15.000 m$^2$ |
| 2016 | 05.05.2016 – 07.05.2016 | 30.000 | 30.000 m$^2$ |
| 2017 | 29.04.2017 – 01.05.2017 | 43.000 | 50.000 m$^2$ |
| 2018 | 10.05.2018 – 12.05.2018 | 52.000 | 60.000 m$^2$ |
| 2019 | 03.05.2019 – 05.05.2019 | 54.000 | 60.000 m$^2$ |
| 2020 | held virtually | | |
| 2021 | 08.10.2021 – 10.10.2021 | 45.000 | 70.000 m$^2$ |
| 2022 | 26.05.2022 – 28.05.2022 | 62.000 | 70.000 m$^2$ |
| 2023 | 18.05.2023 – 20.05.2023 | 72.000 | 77.000 m$^2$ |
| 2024 | 09.05.2024 – 11.05.2024 | 88'000 | 90.000 m$^2$ |
| 2025 | 29.05.2025 – 31.05.2025 | | 100.000 m$^2$ |

## Guests

Every year since it was first held, the convention has featured several guests from different creative industries:
* Kevin Sussman (The Big Bang Theory)
* Kristian Nairn (Game of Thrones)
* Cara Buono (Stranger Things, Mad Men, The Sopranos)
* Natalia Tena (Game of Thrones and Harry Potter)
* Tom Wlaschiha (Stranger Things, Game of Thrones)
* Ricky Whittle (The 100)
* Anna Popplewell (The Chronicles of Narnia, Reign, Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn)
* Daniel Portman (Game of Thrones)
* Duncan Lacroix (Outlander, Vikings)
* Georgia Hirst (Vikings)
* Dan Fogler (Fantastic Beasts, The Walking Dead)
* Alison Sudol (Fantastic Beasts, A Fine Frenzy)
* David Haydn-Jones (Supernatural)
* Alfred Enoch (Harry Potter and How to Get Away with Murder)
* Martin Klebba (Pirates of the Caribbean)
* Sean Pertwee (Gotham, Elementary)
* Carla Juri (Blade Runner 2049)
* Angus MacInnes (Star Wars)
* Ian Beattie (Game of Thrones)
* Kiran Shah
* Didier Queloz (Nobel Prize winner, astronomer)