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Capacity of People (Summer LFCC)


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Some people decided to leave last year apparently.

 

A new system has been introduced which also includes pay on the day is stopped for Saturday at least and possible for other days too if sales reach a certain level. There will not be a repeat of last year's situation.

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A new system has been introduced which also includes pay on the day is stopped for Saturday at least and possible for other days too if sales reach a certain level. There will not be a repeat of last year's situation.

 

What new system? I know its been talked about before but last year was dangerously over-packed on the Sat....and there were still people waiting to get in lining up outside. I'm not sure how you can prevent that again unless you cap-off ticket sales.There will always be more and more people wanting to come each year, how will SM keep the numbers inside at a safe level and the queing-up time outside bearable? I think its time for a bigger venue.

 

I miss the good old days when these events were still fairly underground and intimate (and only attracted hardcore fans) and not so mainstream. Back then LFCC was still "our little secret".

Edited by nicky
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Some people decided to leave last year apparently.

 

A new system has been introduced which also includes pay on the day is stopped for Saturday at least and possible for other days too if sales reach a certain level. There will not be a repeat of last year's situation.

SOME? There is a video on youtube showing a guy walking past the line of people...the line wasn't moving due to a 1 out 1 in policy, since the venue was full and that video was over 10 minutes long, ending up in a street l didn't even knew existed.... I love your sense of understatement... :-p

 

But last year they had epic guests like Jenna Coleman, Carrie Fisher, John Hurt, Nathalie Dormer (sigh) and of course the legend Stan Lee announced...this year the guest list doesn't come close to that, so yes, it'll probably be full, but nowhere near as crazy as last year.

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The major change is no pay on the day sales anymore on Saturday for definite (and possibly on the other days too) which is what majorly contributed to last year's problem. Also the switch of venues (before someone says something, I know it was partially forced :P) gives a different space situation. The two hall situation last year was another factor that didn't help much.

 

And yes, I said "some people left". As you say vhiper there was still a very long line - so it seems to me most people choose to wait.

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Capacity of the hall depends on a couple of things.

 

First is how many halls of Olympia is being used.

 

Second is the size of stands and stages.

 

So only the show organisation SM would know this info, but with on day tickets now stopped should be more comfortable.

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A new system has been introduced which also includes pay on the day is stopped for Saturday at least and possible for other days too if sales reach a certain level. There will not be a repeat of last year's situation.

 

What new system? I know its been talked about before but last year was dangerously over-packed on the Sat....and there were still people waiting to get in lining up outside. I'm not sure how you can prevent that again unless you cap-off ticket sales.There will always be more and more people wanting to come each year, how will SM keep the numbers inside at a safe level and the queing-up time outside bearable? I think its time for a bigger venue.

 

I miss the good old days when these events were still fairly underground and intimate (and only attracted hardcore fans) and not so mainstream. Back then LFCC was still "our little secret". what ruins it now is that some people get stuff signed for businesses rather than for pleasure I love getting autograph's and pics with the stars that I've always wanted to meet it may not be cheap but its well worth it. I remember when they used to do them at Basildon college and the likes of Warwick Davis and femi Taylor and loads of other awesome stars went.

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A new system has been introduced which also includes pay on the day is stopped for Saturday at least and possible for other days too if sales reach a certain level. There will not be a repeat of last year's situation.

 

What new system? I know its been talked about before but last year was dangerously over-packed on the Sat....and there were still people waiting to get in lining up outside. I'm not sure how you can prevent that again unless you cap-off ticket sales.There will always be more and more people wanting to come each year, how will SM keep the numbers inside at a safe level and the queing-up time outside bearable? I think its time for a bigger venue.

 

I miss the good old days when these events were still fairly underground and intimate (and only attracted hardcore fans) and not so mainstream. Back then LFCC was still "our little secret". what ruins it now is that some people get stuff signed for businesses rather than for pleasure I love getting autograph's and pics with the stars that I've always wanted to meet it may not be cheap but its well worth it. I remember when they used to do them at Basildon college and the likes of Warwick Davis and femi Taylor and loads of other awesome stars went.

 

As QS has said, part of that new system is that ticket sales will be capped. For the Saturday, there will be no pay on the day entry, all entry tickets will need to be pre-purchased. There will only be as many sold as the venue can accommodate. For Friday and Sunday, there may or may not be pay on the day entry but there will only be a set number of entry tickets available. Once they have all been sold, that'll be it whether they sell out before the event or on the day.

Edited by dwarfbabe
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If the amount of tickets is capped will it be quieter than previous years on the saturday for early birds? what if by about 2pm on the saturday if half the people have left will there be less atmosphere? would showmasters let people in on the day then? i know something had to be done after last year but big bustling crowds really add to the day too.

Edited by cropsy2008
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There are no more early birds this time, don't forget that.

 

I don't really think Saturday will get on the day tickets released all of a sudden, most certainly not on the day. If that happened now we'd have a lot of attendees complaining about false advertising in the first place, and rightfully so.

 

Afternoons are almost always a little more quiet, and for shows that busy most people actually seem to think this is an enjoyable difference. ;)

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I remember seeing the adverts in the Newspapers last year a couple of days before the event which headlined Stan Lee's last European Appearance.

It was quite understandable that many, many people would turn up on Saturday expecting to meet him.

 

We all knew in advance that is was going to be very busy on the Saturday but I could not believe the queues outside when I arrived at approx 8.30am.

Sunday was a lot quieter which is usually the norm.

 

 

I think that only tickets purchased in advance is the right idea for Saturday and that this may be the case on Sunday because of the Back to the Future reunion.

 

It is a shame that Early Bird tickets have been stopped but I can understand the reasons for it.

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But last year they had epic guests like Jenna Coleman, Carrie Fisher, John Hurt, Nathalie Dormer (sigh) and of course the legend Stan Lee announced...this year the guest list doesn't come close to that, so yes, it'll probably be full, but nowhere near as crazy as last year.

 

 

But Stan Lee etc have done cons before in the US and they were never over-packed like LFCC last year so I dont see how thats a contributing factor.

 

IMO the fact is these events are becoming more and more well-known and so there'll always be an increasing number of people who want to go. Get the right venue and be aware that there must be a finite number of attendees; you can't sell tickets with the hope that some people will come and then go after a while. A one-in-one-out policy doesn't work here. When rock festivals sell out they don't do that now do they?

 

No more Early Birds? Good. I hated them. I always saw them as a horrible cash-grab

Edited by nicky
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But Stan Lee etc have done cons before in the US and they were never over-packed like LFCC last year so I dont see how thats a contributing factor. IMO the fact is these events are becoming more and more well-known and so there'll always be an increasing number of people who want to go.

 

No more Early Birds? Good. I hated them. I always saw them as a horrible cash-grab

 

But Stan Lee does lots of Cons in the US and his appearance last year was a rare European one and was billed as his last ever European one so many people saw it as the only chance they will ever have of meeting him.

That said, you're correct, the events are becoming more popular generally but the Stan effect was definitely the main reason for last year's mania.

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But last year they had epic guests like Jenna Coleman, Carrie Fisher, John Hurt, Nathalie Dormer (sigh) and of course the legend Stan Lee announced...this year the guest list doesn't come close to that, so yes, it'll probably be full, but nowhere near as crazy as last year.

 

But Stan Lee etc have done cons before in the US and they were never over-packed like LFCC last year so I dont see how thats a contributing factor. IMO the fact is these events are becoming more and more well-known and so there'll always be an increasing number of people who want to go. Get the right venue and be aware that there must be a finite number of attendees, you can't sell tickets with the hope that some people will come and then go after a while.

 

No more Early Birds? Good. I hated them. I always saw them as a horrible cash-grab

It was Stan Lee's LAST EVER European appearance so people from Europe flew in to get their last chance to meet him. You are right that cons are becoming more popular but Stan Lee was a big part of that.
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Speaking as the person who bought the tickets on the day, it was madness. Inside was hot as hell, so many people around, even if around evening time it was less. But the line was miles long. It went all around the buildings, outside the fence. I came around 9am and I was standing behind the Earls Court buildings! We were barely moving, I was feeling like I'm going to pass out and when I went inside it was even worse.

They really shouldn't be trying this this year as it's totally insane and to be honest you can't attend any photoshoots or autograph sessions as before you get there most of them are done.

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Speaking as the person who bought the tickets on the day, it was madness. Inside was hot as hell, so many people around, even if around evening time it was less. But the line was miles long. It went all around the buildings, outside the fence. I came around 9am and I was standing behind the Earls Court buildings! We were barely moving, I was feeling like I'm going to pass out and when I went inside it was even worse.

They really shouldn't be trying this this year as it's totally insane and to be honest you can't attend any photoshoots or autograph sessions as before you get there most of them are done.

That's why there are no on the day ticket sales on Saturday this year.
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Speaking as the person who bought the tickets on the day, it was madness. Inside was hot as hell, so many people around, even if around evening time it was less. But the line was miles long. It went all around the buildings, outside the fence. I came around 9am and I was standing behind the Earls Court buildings! We were barely moving, I was feeling like I'm going to pass out and when I went inside it was even worse.

They really shouldn't be trying this this year as it's totally insane and to be honest you can't attend any photoshoots or autograph sessions as before you get there most of them are done.

That's why there are no on the day ticket sales on Saturday this year.

 

 

^^ What he said. It should really be a lot better this year. Time will tell, but you have to give SM the benefit of the doubt.

 

As previously mentioned, Stan would have been a HUGE draw for Europe last year and really bumped the numbers. Yes, he does cons in the US, but the American con market has had more opportunity to get to meet him, unlike over here. Not saying he still wouldn't be a huge draw in the States though...

 

I think a ticket cap for all days would be the way forward. The bigger cons over the pond (not mentioning any by name, BTW) have ticket caps for all of their ticket types and are regularly sold out.

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The Summer LFCC is the biggest Showmasters event of the year, and seems to be growing in popularity year on year. The Stan Lee effect will certainly have bumped things up substantially last year, but the show will still maintain a high level of popularity hence why Showmasters have looked to deal with the ever-growing success of these types of events. Hopefully things will feel a little easier this time round.

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As QS has said, part of that new system is that ticket sales will be capped. For the Saturday, there will be no pay on the day entry, all entry tickets will need to be pre-purchased. There will only be as many sold as the venue can accommodate. For Friday and Sunday, there may or may not be pay on the day entry but there will only be a set number of entry tickets available. Once they have all been sold, that'll be it whether they sell out before the event or on the day.

 

 

Have they actually stated that no more tickets will be sold than the venue can accommodate? Because in the past (not counting last year) many more tickets for the day have been sold than the venues could accommodate. Since a lot of people leave early and others come late. Also a lot of people go out and come in again.

 

I think the capacity of Olympia is probably somewhere around 12,000 max and a typical Saturday in the past would have 3 to 4 times that many people attending.

Edited by robertderidder
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As QS has said, part of that new system is that ticket sales will be capped. For the Saturday, there will be no pay on the day entry, all entry tickets will need to be pre-purchased. There will only be as many sold as the venue can accommodate. For Friday and Sunday, there may or may not be pay on the day entry but there will only be a set number of entry tickets available. Once they have all been sold, that'll be it whether they sell out before the event or on the day.

 

 

Have they actually stated that no more tickets will be sold than the venue can accommodate? Because in the past (not counting last year) many more tickets for the day have been sold than the venues could accommodate. Since a lot of people leave early and others come late. Also a lot of people go out and come in again.

 

 

 

 

Yes. There have been several statements about this after the event that this approach has been changed.

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