FACTS spring 2023: 30th anniversary

We went to FACTS again! I don't even know when and why we decided we wanted to go for sure. Maybe because it was anniversary edition. Maybe when Alexander Ludwig was announced as a guest. Maybe because it's been to long again that we visited a comic con. Maybe just because we always love FACTS and have so much fun. But to be honest, I don't think we need a special occasion or reason to go. We love FACTS. Of course we would go! No doubt about it. And we decided to make it a weekend and enjoy FACTS both days! 

We will tell you all about our FACTS experience today! But first, in case you're not familiar with FACTS, let us quickly explain. FACTS is a Belgian comic con. It's an event that takes place on 2 days, a weekend, in Ghent, Belgium. During this weekend, you'll find lot of comics, anime, cosplay, actresses/actors, video games, board games, merchandise, great photo opportunities and more at FACTS.  We went both days to FACTS and will show you what our weekend looked like. 

This weekend was FACTS 30th anniversary. They started in 1993. Back then it was a small gathering of  fans, united by their passion, in a pub called ‘Het Tonneke’ in Ghent. It started with forty visitors. Eversince, the event has grown (a lot!) and gained many more visitors. We were very excited to be part of this 30th anniversary. 

We LOVED FACTS this edition again. We have been to FACTS already quite often and we love it. We were lucky to be able to go 2 days this year. That gives us a bit more time to see and do everything we want to. When we entered, we definitely noticed how amazing FACTS looked. Great decors, nice photo opportunities. The overall atmosphere was amazing, FACTS was like a fairytale. There was so much to see, from so many different movies and series and everything fit perfectly together. 

I also loved the floor map that FACTS made. Totally in style! And FACTS was quite big again, a lot of areas. Of course a merchandise area, fan village, guest area, main stage, techtopia, cosplay, gaming and more! We had a great weekend again. Seeing also a lot of people we know again and catching up, seeing great panels, meeting actresses and actors, making lots of photos, buying merchandise and more. Excited is an understatement! 

We loved the guestlist FACTS had again. Alexander Ludwig (Vikings), Daniel Gillies (the Originals), Katie Leung (Harry Potter), Tyler Hoechlin (Teenwolf, Superman and Lois), Kyle Soller (Andor) and Lucie Pohl  (Overwach). Want to know more about the guests and the movies and series they starred in? Check out our movie and tv guests article! 

Like I mentioned, we were very excited. We both have been watching a lot of Vikings recently, so we couldn't wait to meet Alexander Ludwig. We also both watched Andor, so being able to see Kyle Soller was great! Daniel Gillies and Tyler Hoechlin, we met them before, but still it was amazing to be able to see them again. As a true potterhead, Liv couldn;t let the opportunity pass to meet Katie. 

As you can see we had a pretty busy schedule! Attending panels, having photo ops, getting autographs and selfies. We did a photo op with Alexander and Liv also with Katie. Liv went to get an autograph from Alexander and a selfie with Kyle. We also gave some of the guests some presents. 

I really liked how the photo ops were organized. It all went pretty fast and the photos were ready to pick up right after taking it. No time wasted. Getting the autograph and selfie was also great. Kyle really took his time to chat and that was so much fun. At some point he needed to be reminded he had his photo op, so he had to leave. 

We always enjoy attending the panels at comic con. It's a great opportunity to get to know guests a bit better, see them and ask a question yourself (if you want to). The panel set up was nice, spacious and we LOVED the decor. De design of stage was amazing, truly a fairytale. FACTS is really unique in this and we love it. It makes panels even more special. Below we will share with you some videos of panels we attended! 

The geek market was big again! And we always enjoy walking around looking for new things to buy.It's always a challenga for us to find time to be able to look at all the stands at the geek market. But I think this time we actually managed to see everyhting. Liv bought a new cap, some new t-shirts and a Jurassic Park book. Carola bought 2 Nintendo Switch Games: Pixel Junk: Monsters 2 (Limited Run) and SteamWorld Quest Hand of Gilgamech (SUper Rare Games). 

We had so much fun seeing the fan and cosplay groups again at fan village. There's always so much to see, stunning decors, amazing cosplays and great conversations to have. Seeing droids, stormtroopers, horror figures, a Harry Potter booth and more. We also had fun playing some games and making lots of fun pictures. I love seeing all this, try out new games. But also learn more about fandoms, get to know people and learn more about their costumes and passion. 

We already can't wait for the next edition of FACTS! WIll you be there too? FACTS is from 21 - 22 October, again at Flanders Expo in Gent!