On Saturday 22nd June 2024, I visited the Dutch Comic Con in Utrecht. This was my first time, but they were celebrating 10 years!
Held at the Jaarbeurs, Utrecht, it’s a massive event, with over 50,000 attending each time.
From their promotion:
Lots to do
Have you always wanted to meet world-famous actors and Comic Artists or are you a fan of TV series, films, esports or Cosplay? Heroes Dutch Comic Con has it all, and more! Prepare for a great weekend full of entertainment, special encounters, share your passion with others or make new friends!
Below is the map from the programme book – it’s huge. There is a:
- Dealer hall – market with lots of merchandise
- Entertainment hall – special guests, MainStage etc
- Comic area – including artist alley -where you can even show your portfolio to the editor in chief of DC Comics if you’re an artist
- Activity hall – everything from K-pop to DnD and Cosplay villages, as well as Into the Galaxy with everything Star Wars.
- Gaming hall – Play to your hearts content
- Experience hall – Walhalla of pop culture with stands from HBO, Warner Bros and more
Press pass
As a journalist and editor, I attend many events on a “Press Pass” (Pers in Dutch). I think my purple wristband complimented my outfit well, don’t you?
I promoted the event over on TheHagueOnLine here:
and….
Fun outing for the family
I attended with my two teenage daughters, who prefer that I don’t share their photo here. They had fun dressing up, and visiting the dealer hall, where they got some great gifts for themselves and friends.
My 14-year-old put an amazing effort into creating her own costume based on an Anime/Manga character. My 16-year-old and I went with a more simple dress + wings costume. And I threw on a crown as well, because – why not?
One of my daughter’s friends is amazing at making costumes and even takes orders for wigs and other accessories. She was excited to spot her photo from last year in this year’s catalogue! That’s her below in the photo that is top left, in the middle (rainbow socks).
It’s hard to find activities that both my girls enjoy and that I do as well, so this event was a win. Personally I did find it a bit overwhelming at times, though the girls only wanted to spend about a half day there so that was ok. I decided to drive, and parked right at the Jaarbeurs. It was expensive at 30 euros for the day, but considering we had 4 of us in the car, and the convenience of being right there, it was worth it. We went early on the Saturday, arriving about 11am, and left by 3pm.
Food was expensive with long queues, which can be expected at almost any event this size. It didn’t take too long though, and was decent quality food. Overall attending Dutch Comic Con was a good experience and I really enjoyed just people/character watching.
Mainstage
I hung at the main stage for most of my visit….
Cosplay Catwalk
My favourite part was the Cosplay catwalk. I have to admit that I am not really up to date on many of the characters being represented. My daughter used to be into Genshin Impact so I recognised some of those. I was hugely impressed by the diversity, as well as the effort that went into these costumes. It was wonderful to see so many given the chance to “strut their stuff” onstage.
Australian representation
In 2023, Australia was represented at the Dutch Comic Con by Nicola Scott, an Australian comic book artist working primarily in the American industry. With a history in theatre and in costume design Nicola started pursuing a comics career in 2001 and by 2004 was the first Australian to become a staple of the U.S. mainstream.
https://www.dutchcomiccon.com/2023/10/11/nicola-scott-is-joing-our-comic-guest-line-up/
In 2024, one of the Cosplay judges was from Australia…Vye Cos is an international award winning Cosplayer. It’s her first time in NL!
You can find her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vyecos/
In my photo below, she’s in the middle.
Next edition of Dutch Comic Con
The next edition is in November 2024. For more information and tickets:
More photos
My Google album is here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2D6cFoFb86RCst2i6
My LinkedIn post
Click the image to go through to the post, text copied below.
Working on a weekend can be fun! As a journalist/editor/photographer for TheHagueOnLine and Dutch Australian I get the chance to promote & attend some cool events.
Yesterday it was Heroes Dutch Comic Con in Utrecht. My 14 and 16 year old girls came with me and kept me up to date on most of the characters and culture that I don’t know!
My favourite part was the Cosplay Catwalk. The creativity and diversity was just amazing. Loved that so many were given an opportunity to strut their stuff, cheered on by a huge and super supportive crowd. Sooooo cool to see all ages, genders and such a huge variety of costumes – many self made.
Also enjoyed a panel Q&A around “What Superheroes say about who we really are”.
Thanks Naomi van Sandijk – we had a blast.
It was my first time, but Heroes Dutch Comic Con’s 10th anniversary. Next edition is in November: https://lnkd.in/ejd4wxSu
Dutch Australian 
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