Lucca Comics & Games, the international festival of comics, animation, illustration, and games that took place from 13 October to 3 November, is officially over, after breaking the record turnout. During its four days the event has registered 217,646 "ticketing" visitors (that is visitors who bought a daily ticket or a pass). Additionally, we can include the number of free entries (exhibitors, press, guests), topping 260,000 visitors; moreover, if we take into consideration all free entrance events (cosplay throughout the city, open air concerts, Palazzo Ducale's exhibits, all comics-related events), we can estimate a total of more than 380,000 visitors.
Figures are important and they testify the constant growth in participation that this festival reaches every year. The public of Lucca Comics & Games overcomes the difficulties caused by the surrounding economical situation and tolerates patiently every inconvenience that may occur visiting one of the main festivals of intelligent entertainment worldwide.
«We will treasure the 2013 festival - declared Renato Genovese, director of Lucca Comics & Games - and we are already working to arrange an even better Lucca Comics & Games 2014 in every single aspect: logistics, visitors' reception, cultural and commercial offers, and innovation. It is impossible to forget the emotions we felt from the event this past year, as it is impossible to forget the work of our staff, composed by professional and motivated collaborators who have once again surpassed their own limits. Our staff members work not for ambition or personal acknowledgement, but only for the city of Lucca, that was able to host hundreds of thousands of peaceful and colorful invaders in the best way possible. Are we a perfect organization? Not yet, but we can improve. And we can for sure already be seen as a model to plan and organize other events in Lucca».
Francesco Caredio, president of Lucca Comics & Games Srl, adds: «The success of the festival is to be ascribed not only to the staff. It has to be ascribed also to the presence of special guests coming from all over the world, to publishing houses and production companies, to all exhibitors, and to the sponsors and the institutions who supported us. We have to thank them all without exceptions.»
Waiting for some details on the 2014 festival, the staff is working on two important events that will bring Lucca Comics & Games all throughout Italy (and the Mediterranean Sea) for a whole year. The first one being ComiCruise, a workshop-holiday aboard the MSC Splendida: it will stop in the most beautiful Mediterranean cities and will host showcases, workshops, and events both for kids and for cosplay and cartoon theme song fans. The other one being Lucca Comics & Games on Tour, a real traveling show, that will bring – all summer long and to the main Italian cities – guests, stands, and the legendary Lucca Stage, where a contest reserved for young cover bands will take place.
What will we remember about Lucca Comics & Games 2013?
With such a rich program, such a number of exhibitors, such a calendar crowded with international guests, it is difficult to summarize everything in a few sentences. Let's try:
- the success of the new Padiglione San Martino, where two leading publishing houses, such as Panini and RW Edizioni, hosted their fans and launched a new exhibition centre, that will be pivotal for the future of the festival;
- the huge stand reserved for League of Legends, the most played online game of all times, and arranged by the American team Riot Games (author of the official poster) in Padiglione Carducci;
- the triumph of great video games, with Ubisoft launching two of its most awaited titles (Assassin’s Creed IV – Black Flag and Watch_Dogs) and with Sony's PlayStation 4. But also with Personal Gamer, Gamestop's pavilion, and with the Game Championship nights that took place at the Polo Fiere;
- the concerts held by Daniele Silvestri and cartoon VIPs, such as Giorgio Vanni and the legendary Cristina D'Avena. Additionally this year she celebrated with Lucca her shining 30-year career;
- the exhibits (no less than 18!) dedicated to comics' art, concept design, and children's book illustrations. Among the others, we single out "Dress Code", the exhibit dedicated to seven comics' heroines, represented for the first time in a stylish and even more feminine fashion;
- the national preview of Thor - The Dark World, second movie of the saga and one of the main gems of Movie Comics & Games. Among the others, the events related to Hunger Games, Frozen, Machete Kills, and Italian movies;
- over 100 guests coming from all over the world and from every kind of world: comics' artists, game designers, musical groups, writers, illustrators, artists, cinema, and television VIPs. They were all excited about meeting their fans, signing thousands of autographs, and telling us their secrets;
- the collaboration with Fondazione Ferragamo of Florence. It brought to Lucca the original pages of the comic biography of Salvatore Ferragamo, the genius shoe designer. Also the works of ComicsJam winners, the comics marathon that took place last June;
- over 40,000 square meters of comics (new and collectibles), games (board games, role-playing games, video games), books for Lucca Junior's visitors, gadgets, and accessories of all kinds. Also about 150 square meters in Piazza San Michele totally dedicated to Warner Bros.'s world;
- the best of fantasy publishing and of great sagas. Special editions, showings, and events dedicated to The Hobbit, A Game of Thrones, Harry Potter;
- everything that is Japan: the Japan Palace, totally dedicated to the Land of the Rising Sun, great mangakas, Japan Rock, the contest for the J Pop Star talent show, and animation realized by great authors;
- last, but not least, a unique city, its historical centre, its five-hundred-year-old walls, and its "four-day community", composed by colorful cosplayers who have, once again, made Lucca Comics & Games' streets so lively.
2013 Festival Figures
217,646 paying visitors during the 4 days of the festival
that go up to a total of 264,454, including free entries.
Over 380,000 total visitors in the city, including free events
20 areas of the city centre involved
About 900 journalists and press operators
Over 700 stands arranged in 6 different sections
More than 500 main events realized.
180 hours of events dedicated to comics, in which took part 434 speakers
About 1,300 artists who showed their work to editors
Over 700 original works displayed in 4 different locations
600 comics' authors.
16 concerts and shows both on the Stage and in auditoriums
1.600 registrations for the cosplay contest
5,645 under 10 kids who gave life to the Junior pavilion (800 of them were from schools of Lucca and its Province, and took part in the activities reserved for them the first day of the festival).
40,000 square meters of exhibitors, of which 13,000 reserved for Lucca Games. This section of the festival was founded 20 years ago and we celebrated it adding 6,000 square meters dedicated to live role-playing games, over 1,600 spaces reserved for traditional games (cards, board games, role-playing games, miniatures), over 1,000 spaces reserved for video games, which hosted 30,000 game sessions, reaching a total amount of 20,000 gaming hours.
2,072,034 pages visited on the official web site (1 October-4 November)
of which 407,847 from 31 October to 3 November
4,238,316 reached users (range) and 84,100 "likes" on the main Facebook page
7,800 Twitter followers
600,000 views for the Flickr photo gallery.
104,000 views for the making-of video of the official 2013 poster
About 50,000 total views for the highlights' videos published on our main YouTube channel.
[image by MTiger Photographer]
