USA: MomoCon in Atlanta unites 65,000 fans for a huge geek culture fest

Organisers expect around 65,000 visitors during the four-day event at the Georgia World Congress Center, where fans dressed as video game, manga and film characters moved through more than 1 million square feet of exhibition space. Attendees queued for autographs, bought handmade collectibles and took part in gaming tournaments, while vendors sold figurines, dolls and custom artwork. Many visitors said the event offered a rare sense of community and self-expression.

Many visitors say the event offers a rare sense of community and self‑expression, with unofficial meet‑ups for everything from niche indie games to obscure 1990s cartoons.

USA organisers say the convention has grown far beyond its origins on the Georgia Tech campus 21 years ago, when it welcomed just 700 people. One running in‑joke among long‑time fans is that “you can measure your age in how many buildings MomoCon used to fit into,” a nod to the shift from student rooms to one of the largest convention centres in the Southeast. MomoCon’s media director Renee Cooper estimated the gathering could generate the equivalent of more than €39 million for Atlanta through hotels, restaurants and tourism.

Artists and small businesses also rely heavily on the convention, sometimes treating a single good MomoCon weekend as the difference between breaking even and turning a profit for the quarter. For many independent game developers, getting a booth here is as much about live play‑testing and word‑of‑mouth buzz as it is about direct sales. The festival runs until May 24.