 MEFCC 2016 attendance exceeds expectations with a sold out Friday

 MEFCC 2016 begins new pop culture event season with announcement of GAMES

Middle East in September and ANI:ME Abu Dhabi in October.

Middle East, April 12th 2016: The Middle East Film and Comic Con (www.mefcc.com), the

definitive pop culture convention in the Middle East, draws to a close and organsiers, The

Alliance LLC, announce another hugely successful exhibition with significant increases in

attendance and exhibitors from across the region and the world with tickets sold out on Friday.

On its fifth anniversary, fans were treated to an amazing line up of international celebrity

guests including Christopher Lloyd, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Randy Orton, Summer Glau, Nick

Frost, Veronica Taylor, Max Landis and Darryl McDaniels; International artists like Fabian

Nicieza and Kevin Eastman (co-creators of Deadpool and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

respectively), some amazing displays and exhibits from Marvel, Paramount, Nickelodeon, WWE,

PlayStation, EA Sports, Samsung, IMG & Meraas amongst many others.

The event was packed with content including gaming tournaments and previews at the Fanta

Masters GameZone; upcoming and classic genre films showcased in the IMAX Cine Club;

creative workshops, celebrity panel discussions and fan Q&A’s educated enthusiasts; while over

250 regional artists, collectors and entrepreneurs at the Dubai Culture Artists’ Alley

represented the multitude and growing talent in the region.

Fans competed throughout the convention with their costumes and knowledge of science

fiction or superheroes and cheered on their peers in the now legendary MEFCC Cosplay

Competition, with the winners in multiple categories winning cash prizes.

“It was great to witness first-hand the massive excitement and anticipation from Comic Con

fans again this year, not only from Dubai but from all over the region. We are delighted to have

been involved with Middle East Film and Comic Con from year one and have seen the growth

year on year cementing Comic Con’s position as one of Dubai’s leading annual events. We look

forward to seeing what MEFCC has in store for Dubai in 2017.” said Sally Edwards, Director of

Leisure Events at Dubai Tourism.

The growth of the event demonstrates the passion of regional fans and the Middle East’s

growing contribution to the dynamic world stage of film, TV, games and comics. MEFCC is

committed to creating more opportunities for industry professionals, fans and friends to get

together to share ideas and 2016 will see two new pop culture shows scheduled in the UAE,

GAMES Middle East, back at DWTC, and ANI:ME in Abu Dhabi, reinforcing the UAE’s reputation

as an entertainment and events hub.

GAMES Middle East, the premier gaming event in the Middle East, will be held at the Dubai

World Trade Centre on September 22nd to 24th. The event celebrates the culture of gaming and

caters to all gaming enthusiasts from casual to elite levels whether that’s in mobile, console/pc

or tabletop formats and will preview the year’s biggest releases and innovation from the

industry.

ANI:ME is the ultimate celebration of Japanese popular culture and anime, and will be a

regional first. Taking place at Yas Island from October 27th to 29th, this exciting festival will

showcase the best of anime and manga pop culture, including creators, directors, voice actors

and cosplayers plus, cinema, music and games as well as traditional Japanese culture activities.

”MEFCC this year was a big step forward for us as an organisation and we’re extremely grateful

to the tens of thousands of fans who continue to attend our events year after year,” says Ben

Caddy, CEO of The Alliance, “and we’re very excited to bring the same atmosphere and energy

to new formats for fans and the industry alike.”

MEFCC 2016, GAMES Middle East and ANI:ME are organized by The Alliance, a public events

and exhibitions company founded in 2015 and focuses on popular culture, music and sporting

events and festivals. Winner of ‘Best Exhibition’ at the Middle East Event Awards 2015 and 2012

for the wildly successful Middle East Film & Comic Con, it’s now promoting events that will

welcome over 200,000 fans by the end of 2016.