What is Manga Barcelona and where is it held?
Manga Barcelona is an annual anime and manga convention held in Barcelona, Spain, at the Fira de Barcelona exhibition centre. It is the largest anime convention in Spain and the second largest in Europe.
Questions about Manga Barcelona
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When did Manga Barcelona start and what was it called originally?
The convention began in 1995 under the name Saló del Manga i el Videojoc, held at the Estació de França in Barcelona. It drew 1,000 visitors at its first edition. The name changed to Manga Barcelona in 2018.
How many people attend Manga Barcelona each year?
Attendance grew from 1,000 in 1995 to 163,000 at the 2022 edition. The convention crossed 100,000 visitors for the first time in 2012, when it moved to the Fira de Barcelona venue.
What competitions take place at Manga Barcelona?
Manga Barcelona hosts the Spain preliminaries for the World Cosplay Summit, the European Cosplay Gathering, EuroCosplay, and karaoke competitions. The World Cosplay Summit is an international competition held in Japan.
Who are some notable guests that have appeared at Manga Barcelona?
Notable guests have included manga artists Takehiko Inoue, Takeshi Obata, Junji Ito, and Masakazu Katsura, animator Masami Suda, game designer Peter Molyneux, music groups JAM Project and AKB48, and pop group JYJ. Monkey Punch, creator of Lupin III, attended the 2006 edition.
Why did Manga Barcelona move from La Farga to Fira de Barcelona?
The convention outgrew La Farga in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat after more than a decade at that venue. The move to Fira de Barcelona's Palau 2 in 2012 coincided with attendance nearly doubling to 112,000 visitors.