The dust has settled after another record-breaking MCM Comic Con London. A stunning 133,000 attendee’s donned their cosplays over the weekend and did they come out ready to stun. Overall the cosplayers at MCM this year stepped up their game, there were so many amazing cosplays over this weekend that I lost count. Everyone had gone above and beyond the previous years and as a whole every single cosplayer present this weekend deserves recognition for the amazing cosplays. Despite the high volume of attendees, the event wasn’t as claustrophobic as one may think. I have been attending MCM Comic Con for the last four years and in this time I have seen the event shape and change, testing to see what is the most efficient way to keep all the attendee’s happy. This year was a particularly well organised year. By opening up both sides of the eXcel Exhibition Centre they managed to limit the traffic between all of the stalls and made the event so much easier to navigate. Having large halls dedicated to seating places and a food hall with enough room for attendee’s to relax in was much appreciated by those in questionable footwear. The queuing process this year was also much more efficient. By having very active management by the staff at the entrances who kept the exits clear and made sure everyone was in and out of the event quickly and safely.

There is always something to do any MCM event. This statement remains true regardless of the amount of attendee’s at the convention. MCM events are consistently able to cater for any person’s tastes, be that anime, video games, television, comics, etc. This year was no exception, with a start studded lineup casual fans and their hardcore brethren were spoilt for choice. Throughout the years MCM have managed to attract many guests but this year was the most impressive lineup yet. Jesse Eisenberg (Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network) headlined the weekend alongside  Big Bang Theory stars Kunal Nayyar (Raj) and Melissa Rauch (Bernadette). As well as these stars many other guests hailing from the many fantasy, sci-fi and superhero franchises such as Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D, Agent Carter, Red Dwarf,Arrow, Game of Thrones, Lost Girl, Sleepy Hollow, Being Human and Fringe. With lots of panels and opportunities for attendee’s to meet their favorite actors and actresses it was an incredibly busy weekend. For those unfamiliar to MCM, it is worth mentioning how much is organised by the regular attendee’s as well as the actual event. Fan meetups and cosplay photo shoots run all over the weekend, organised by some of the nicest people one could hope to meet at a convention. Whatever you’re cosplaying or if you’re just a general fan of a series looking out for some awesome portrayals of your favorite characters, there is probably a meet for that. The MCM Fringe festival is just as vital as the event organisation itself, it is one of the many things that keep people going back to the convention and probably a key reason why it is Europe’s leading comic con and the third largest event of this kind in the world. It is this cooperation between the attendee’s and the staff that ensure that each May and October the record for attendees is smashed once more. From my first MCM the numbers of attendees has more than doubled and the organizers have handled this with ease. There is something for everyone at MCM event and the dilemma is more deciding what meetup, panel, Esport championship or cosplay masquerade you actually want to attend the most and if you do actually have time to do it all.

This year MCM Comic Con played host to the World Cosplay Summit UK Qualifiers as well as their usual huge masquerade. The stage was completely packed out, with people standing at the back of the stalls just to hear who would win. The lucky winners were Lex and Laura as Rosa and Rydia from Final Fantasy IV (Which happens to be this writer’s favorite FF) The competition itself was incredibly fierce, with two cosplayers I particularly admire Nomes Cosplay and Cosplay & Minney coming in third in their beautiful Code Geass cosplays. It was another outstanding year for cosplay and there was no shortage of it on the Sunday Masquerade either. A littered stage of winners displayed just how competitive it was this year, with a total of six winners up there in the end. Every single cosplayer in the masquerade did an amazing job on their performances and cosplays and the crowd were so supportive of every single one of them that it’s easy to understand why MCM attracts more and more people each year.

If you have ever been debating whether or not to come to a huge London convention, this is the one for you. Come along, become part of this amazing community that I have had the pleasure to watch grow and flourish.

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