Jump to content

London Film & Comic Con Winter - Announcement of venue change


Recommended Posts

 

 

 

ive got to ask....

 

you're saying that the olympia wont have enough room for the con, yet you think a hotel will?

 

are there many hotels with halls the size of the ones at olympia?

From what Jason has said, it's not just about the room. There are other events on at Olympia that weekend and the venue is concerned that these other events will be 'overwhelmed' by LFCCW. They have also said on Facebook that the Hotel can offer as much space as was planned for London.

 

 

ok, so ive got to ask... if there are other events the same weekend then why book that weekend in the first place :S

 

surely the people who run/own the olympia knew how big SM's cons are getting and that the event would need a lot of room.

 

i also dont understnad how another event will be "overwhelmed." If people are going for the con then surely thats what they'll be there for, not to have a nose through other events.

 

either way, im still out.

 

 

 

its to do with access , in the past we have used the venue and sometimes there has been other events in the same structure as its so large , after London summer we are gaining a lot of interest and now the venues thoughts are that we will need to use queue people around the building and other events are happing at the same time so this is not going to work for them and us at the same time , summer has shown we are getting much bigger and we need to take that into consideration more as we move on so i do understand there thought but it has given us a few headaches .

 

But last summer nevermind this one showed that you were getting too big for normal capacity when you had Stan Lee over. Such an eventuality should have been anticipated and prepared for long before now. The "X event has shown we are getting much bigger" excuse only works so many times so be careful you don't overdo it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally, I think a lot of good could come from this over the next few years.

 

I'm quite happy to have the venue itself suggest a bit more thought needs to go into the organisation of entry, exits and public space around the cons.

 

Plus, Brighton is a pretty cool place.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

 

 

ive got to ask....

you're saying that the olympia wont have enough room for the con, yet you think a hotel will?

 

are there many hotels with halls the size of the ones at olympia?

 

From what Jason has said, it's not just about the room. There are other events on at Olympia that weekend and the venue is concerned that these other events will be 'overwhelmed' by LFCCW. They have also said on Facebook that the Hotel can offer as much space as was planned for London.

ok, so ive got to ask... if there are other events the same weekend then why book that weekend in the first place :S

surely the people who run/own the olympia knew how big SM's cons are getting and that the event would need a lot of room.

i also dont understnad how another event will be "overwhelmed." If people are going for the con then surely thats what they'll be there for, not to have a nose through other events.

 

either way, im still out.

 

its to do with access , in the past we have used the venue and sometimes there has been other events in the same structure as its so large , after London summer we are gaining a lot of interest and now the venues thoughts are that we will need to use queue people around the building and other events are happing at the same time so this is not going to work for them and us at the same time , summer has shown we are getting much bigger and we need to take that into consideration more as we move on so i do understand there thought but it has given us a few headaches .

But last summer nevermind this one showed that you were getting too big for normal capacity when you had Stan Lee over. Such an eventuality should have been anticipated and prepared for long before now. The "X event has shown we are getting much bigger" excuse only works so many times so be careful you don't overdo it

I don't think this is a question of Showmasters not anticipating, it seems this is a call that has been made by Olympia as they have concerns how the comic con will impact other events that are taking place at the same time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is just disappointing :(

 

As a brand new Showmasters' customer having only just started on our first event with LFCC, we booked an entire weekend's hotels and travel (of which we got non-refundable early bird deals for getting them booked early so we can't get refunds) at the cost of hundreds of pounds with a hotel that is right next to the Olympia where we no longer need to be anywhere near that weekend now.

 

This isn't worth the hassle unfortunately, we can't afford to take spontaneous trips to London (over 3 hours on the train) and whether it was avoidable or not the advertised event was a confirmed location that mentioned nothing about "may or may not be hosted at the Olympia" and so you take it as word and trust the organiser and book ahead to ensure you get a place there... but to move it miles away (£60 per day on the train plus hours each way of extra travel) and as only our second event it can't be said that "you should know what these events are like" as we're so new to this.

 

To get to Brighton that weekend in time to queue for opening we'd have the leave London at about 6:30am (and miss the pre-paid "breakfast" part of the hotel booking) and spend as much of the day travelling as we would spend actually at the con.

 

It's unfair for those aggresively defending Showmasters saying "what's the big deal" as they are clearly people who haven't lost anything...

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am happy and want to thank showmaster brighton is not too far from me and really chuffed i went to lfcc this year my first showmasters event and thoroughly enjoyed it i think im hooked now and will most certainly be going to more showmaster events going to bfcc this year now got another to look forward to in brighton :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad now I didnt book that weekend off work!

Brighton is too far for me from south wales. London takes me about 2-4hrs, and costs me approx £4-5 to £30 depending on coach or train.

To get to Brighton, its 5-6hrs by train costing £200+ return, or 6-7hrs if i go by coach. Plus hotel costs id not have had in London.

 

Unfortunately im out.

Edited by crippsy_99
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

For everyone who has purchased tickets for LFCC Winter, you will receive an automatic refund - All refunds will be initiated within 7 business days.

So, I'm guessing we'll have to re-order our tickets for those who still want to go this event (at a different venue of course).

Edited by SMD1984
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Absolutely gutted. I won't be able to ever go to events in Brighton. Much too far. Much too expensive (being the main thing). Only been to Brighton once in my adult life and although I loved it, the train journey and the cost of the train journey was just too much (talking not far from £100!).

 

If the events are moving away from London to Manchester and Brighton, this pretty much cancels them out for me.

 

Shows are only going to get bigger and bigger, and that sounds like they may eventually move away from London altogether. Unless they move to the Midlands (which is very unlikely) - this will cancel out these type of events for me altogether. See it as only a negative pathway.

 

Also splitting guests over three events may work in regards to capacity but it also means chances are the guests you want could be at another event - whereas before we knew London was a good bet.

 

Also concerned about Collectormania - hope this won't stop altogether.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well that makes the decision easy for me now. London is do-able, Brighton just a step too far. Shame, looked a good line-up so far, oh well. Olympia's excuse sounds flimsy at best, certainly makes me nervous about LFCC Summer 16!

Showmasters have booked the entirety of Olympia for Summer LFCC so there won't be any other events there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

To get to Brighton that weekend in time to queue for opening we'd have the leave London at about 6:30am (and miss the pre-paid "breakfast" part of the hotel booking) and spend as much of the day travelling as we would spend actually at the con.

 

Actually most people will get there earlier. For Summer LFCC I was able to get the Olympia for 6.45ish to queue for opening. To repeat that for Brighton if you aren't local you'll have to be there the day before or drive all night as it's not doable by train to come down for the day only if you want to stand any chance of meeting the busier guests if you live north of London. My earliest train on a Fri/Sat would get me to Brighton station at about 8am, factoring getting to the venue (I don't know where it is in relation to the station but I'll guess 30 mins) it's not a terrible time to arrive but not brilliant if you want to meet any of the big guests. I wouldn't even bother trying for Sunday with the trains as they don't start early enough.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Disappointing but understandable.

 

Becoming a victim of your own success.

 

Headaches are just starting for us punters, though.

 

Major engineering works are planned on the railway line into Brighton that weekend....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...