D&D General D&D Fan Expo: London Main Show Is Coming This August

[Morrus]

On Saturday, August 22nd, the O2 Arena in London will host the D&D Fan Expo. This event features interactive elements, panels, and special guests.

Right now every ticket seller imaginable has a placeholder for it; I assume tickets will go live shortly. The O2 apparently is announcing it at 5pm today. It's not on their events page yet.

I don't know any more than that at this stage, but I'll update this post with more info if it's released today.

 

[darjr]

Whoa! They painted the ampersand on the roof? Is that real?

 

[Morrus]

Whoa! They painted the ampersand on the roof? Is that real?

I very much doubt it. (a) it's not until August and (b) they haven't even got it on their events page yet and (c) they don't exactly paint Elton John's face on the roof either! The O2 has massive events on constantly. I guess this is some kind of promo picture.

Ariana Grande is there for the week before and the week after according to the events calendar.

 

[Parmandur]

So a 5 PM GMT announcement today would be at 9 AM PST, which is a normal time for WotC to drop Beyond updates.

 

[Morrus]

So a 5 PM GMT announcement today would be at 9 AM PST, which is a normal time for WotC to drop Beyond updates.

I might be wrong (I'm seeing all this second hand on social media) but it's the O2, not WotC, making the announcement today. But I guess we'll find out in just over an hour!

Could be worth keeping an eye on the O2's Twitter feed. They've already made 3 event announcements on there today!

https://x.com/TheO2?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

 

[Christian Hoffer]

I've been looking around at this for a hot minute and there's also an opening night event on the 21st.

Event description reads: "The Dɭ Fan Expo is an event dedicated to fans of Dungeons & Dragons. Attendees can immerse themselves in the world of D&D, participating in games, meeting fellow enthusiasts, and exploring various aspects of the game. The Indigo at The O₂ in London provides a fitting venue for this gathering, offering a space where fans can celebrate their shared love for the iconic role-playing game and connect with the Dɭ community."

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

What's the status of TTRPG cons in Europe and the British isles? I'm aware of the PAXes here in America and some big, storied conventions like GenCon and GaryCon, but I can't really think of any big tabletop events in Europe (by contrast, I can name a fair few LARP events in Europe and far fewer across the Atlantic). Do Euoprean fans get the opportunity to go to play events like this often?

 

[Morrus]

What's the status of TTRPG cons in Europe and the British isles? I'm aware of the PAXes here in America and some big, storied conventions like GenCon and GaryCon, but I can't really think of any big tabletop events in Europe (by contrast, I can name a fair few LARP events in Europe and far fewer across the Atlantic). Do Euoprean fans get the opportunity to go to play events like this often?

The biggest tabletop event in the world is Essen Spiel in Germany.

In the UK we have loads of small local conventions as you’d expect. Then UK Games Expo is probably the 3rd largest tabletop gaming event in the world (after Essen and Gen Con). Dragonmeet in London is probably the next most significant for TTRPGs.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

The biggest tabletop event in the world is Essen Spiel in Germany.

In the UK we have loads of small local conventions as you’d expect. Then UK Games Expo is probably the 3rd largest tabletop gaming event in the world (after Essen and Gen Con). Dragonmeet in London is probably the next most significant for TTRPGs.

I'm arguing from ignorance here, I know "German board games" are a thing and presumably Germany is a heavy hitter in the board game space, but how prominent are RPGs at Essen Spiel? Or D&D for that matter; is it easier to find a Dark Eye game than D&D?

EDIT: I guess I'm asking the questions to try and figure out if WotC is trying to fulfill a "market need" with this event for people to sit their asses down and play the game, or if it's more for branding and promoting D&D as a franchise.

 

[Christian Hoffer]

I'm arguing from ignorance here, I know "German board games" are a thing and presumably Germany is a heavy hitter in the board game space, but how prominent are RPGs at Essen Spiel? Or D&D for that matter; is it easier to find a Dark Eye game than D&D?

EDIT: I guess I'm asking the questions to try and figure out if WotC is trying to fulfill a "market need" with this event for people to sit their asses down and play the game, or if it's more for branding and promoting D&D as a franchise.

D&D has long had ambitions to run a fan expo of some kind, dating back to their D&D Live days. I'm guessing that this is going to be a celebration of the D&D brand, with plenty of opportunities to play in one-shots or epics as well.