Anime and comic fans, gaming enthusiasts, and cosplayers are flocking to the 26th edition of Ani-com & Games Hong Kong (ACGHK) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), which runs until Tuesday.
Dozens of people lined up outside the halls from early morning on Friday, the first day of the event, hours before the doors opened at 10am.
On the other side of the hall doors, photographers and video journalists set up their cameras to capture the moment the first attendee entered the hall.
The first person to step through the door this year was from Macau, local media reported.
As in previous years, the first attendee spun 360 degrees as he entered the venue, with a group of reporters following him to his first stop at the event.
A steady trickle of attendees followed. Some ran across the hall to get a head start in the lines, possibly to secure access to exclusive products.
By midday, the crowds became increasingly bigger.
The city’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan visited the expo on Sunday, taking photos with various cosplayers, according to his Facebook post.
First held in 1999, the summer mega event attracts thousands of cosplayers, comic, anime and gaming enthusiasts every year.
This year’s event featured around 160 exhibitors, up from over 140 in 2024.
The venue space for the five-day event expanded this year, with 788 booths exhibiting in halls 1 and 3 of the HKCEC.
General admission ticket prices also increased to HK$45, from HK$42 last year.
Running concurrently are the Hong Kong International Art Toys Expo, with over 40 renowned art toy designers from around the world exhibiting, as well as the International Comic Masters Gathering (CMG) and the International Comics Exhibition.
Many ACGHK attendees on Friday carried large bags of their purchases and took selfies and photos with cosplayers.
In 2022, the organiser of the convention introduced new guidelines for cosplayers’ attire, calling on female cosplayers to avoid showing their underboob and wearing stockings that revealed “too much skin,” while male cosplayers were told their bottom costume must be “larger than briefs.”
Words by Khunsha Dar.
