Birmingham hotel to host Europe’s largest meeting of action hero fans.
It has been over three decades since the Transformers® appeared in toy shops and on Saturday morning cartoons, enthralling children and confusing their parents. To celebrate the continued success of the brand, and with Transformers®: The Last Knight still in cinemas, this August, the Birmingham Hilton Metropole plays host to Europe’s largest Transformers® fan convention: TFNation®.
The event brings together special guests from the Transformers® cartoons, live-action films and comics to meet fans, discuss their history with the shows and participate in a number of panels and special events. Attendees have access to a large trading hall with vendors selling everything from vintage rarities to the latest releases, a costume competition with entries from all around the world, fan craft rooms, community-lead panels featuring notable YouTubers and some VERY familiar looking cars in the car park.
“Covering three decades of such a well-known show is a challenge,” states Billy Edwards, founder and director of TFNation Ltd, “but we have something for everyone. Fans from the 80’s can meet Hal Rayle, who voiced several characters during the classic original cartoon. 90’s kids will remember Beast Wars, represented by Blackarachnia actress Venus Terzo, and fans of the recent live-action movies will be very familiar with guest Mark Ryan, the actor having voiced fan favourite Bumblebee, Jetfire and the villainous Lockdown, among others”.
While the organisers have made efforts to showcase the many features on-show for fans, they admit that the biggest draw for many attendees is simply meeting other fans. Billy Edwards comments, “The Transformers® community has been growing steadily within the UK for over thirty years and while elements like the successful IDW comics and cosplay are drawing an ever-more diverse group of fans, the original 80’s children now bring their sons and daughters to the event, helping to give the weekend a family affair”.
TFNation® runs from 11-13th of August, with both weekend and day tickets available, excluding Friday. Under 16s enter for free when accompanied by an adult. Friday’s events and a Saturday evening show are included within the weekend ticket. All ticket prices include guest signatures and entry to all panels and events. For more information and to book tickets visit tfnation.com.
