A tabletop convention with 50,000 people feels enormous on the show floor, but placed against global pop-culture events, it barely registers. When Tokyo’s Comiket clears half a million attendees, and Lucca Comics & Games fills an entire Italian walled city with 270,000 visitors, Western staples like Gen Con, Origins, and San Diego Comic-Con sit in a radically different perspective.
The tree map below maps reported attendance to surface area, revealing which fan gatherings truly dominate the global calendar.
Geek conventions
How the Map Works
- Area equals attendance: Box size directly reflects total reported footfall.
- Recategorise an event: Click any convention in the directory below to vote on its primary focus (tabletop, comics, anime, or video games). The layout adjusts dynamically based on community consensus.
- Inspect sources: Selecting a convention name displays the reported metrics and source citations.
Attendance: Turnstile vs Unique Badges
Published convention attendance is notoriously inconsistent across territories. Some organisers report unique badge holders; others count turnstile footfall across all four days, effectively multiplying a weekend passholder four times. Unless an event provides audited unique visitor data, these figures use the organiser’s official headline attendance. Where audited or updated figures are available, post the primary source below to trigger an update.
Submit a Convention:
To add a missing event to the tracking sheet, leave a comment with:
- Primary Source Link (audited press release, organiser annual report, or verified press coverage)
- Convention Name & City
- Latest Official Attendance Figure (minimum 5,000 attendees)
