AnimeCon is the festival of anime, manga, cosplay and games in the Netherlands. The 25th edition returns to the Broodfabriek in Rijswijk and runs from Friday 2 May to Sunday 4 May. Visitors will find themselves fully immersed in the world of Japanese entertainment at the festival. Fans will enjoy shows, demonstrations, lectures, competitions and concerts. 

A piece of Japan in the Netherlands
Despite Japan's low yen and high popularity as a travel destination, the land of the rising sun is still often a flight too far. But at AnimeCon, we bring Japan's pop culture within reach of our visitors. The festival consists of lectures, events, shows competitions, and, of course,  anime and manga. The offering of artists for this from Dutch soil can be found at the Dealer Room, which since last year now also hosts a segregated 18+ section. 

This year, there is extra attention at the Game Room with our largest offering of indie developers from the Netherlands, many inspired by their favourite games from Japan, and as in previous years, our popular Japanese arcades can also be found here again.
And should visitors need a break, a variety of Asian specialities can also be found in the food court.

Special guests
We welcome a wide line-up of guests from the anime and games industry this year, including Damien Haas (Laios Toudenin Delicious in Dungeon, Ryoga Hibiki in Ranma 1/2 2024), and cosplay judges Tenkou (SE), Etaru (USA) and Matthew Barry (UK). On top of that, there will be  another spectacular performance by Shao Dow.

Cosplay 
AnimeCon is characterised as one of the biggest Dutch cosplay events of the year. During several competitions, Dutch contestants are chosen for international competitions, such as the World Cosplay Summit and the Tournament of Champions. 

Members of the Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten can get a free Press badge through the V.I.P. line at the registration desk during the festival. Please do bring your NVJ-Perskaart. Members of comparable international organizations are advised to contact us in advance so we can check your credentials. If comparable, we will grant you a free Press badge in advance which you can also pick up during the festival at the registration desk. We do not have a comparable arrangement for freelance photographers without press credentials. 

To sign up, fill in our contact form through the button below. We will process your application as soon as possible and inform you per email. Make sure you've read the house rules. We ask that all visitors, including press, apply for a bag permit as we generally do not allow large bags in several areas of the festival. Applying can be done via mail when signing up or at the festival's registration desk. 

Kees is one of our in-house photographers who takes the best shots for AnimeCon every year. 

For several years Kees has been taking pictures of performances by folk bands at events such as Castlefest, Elfia and events in Germany such as the Festival Medieval or the MPS. Kees also sometimes does model and cosplay photography. In addition, Kees is also one of our house photographers who shoots the best snapshots for AnimeCon every year and helps ensure that we have nice pictures for our website and social media. 

Would you like to know more about Kees visit him then on his Flickr or on his own website: http://www.keesstravers.nl/en/

Gerwin has been working as an amateur photographer for the past 18 years. For the past 9 years he has been working as a staff member of the photography and media department at the J-POP Foundation. This means that you can easily see him walking around on the AnimeCon floor with his camera, to shoot cool pictures for us, which you will then see reflected on our website and/or social media. And if you are now also a fan of VR Chat, Gerwin has also specialized in social VR photography for the past 2 years.

If you want to know more about Gerwin Derks, visit him on his twitter: https://twitter.com/MeishiFutsuu

The first time AnimeCon was organized in the Broodfabriek, the permanent photographers of AnimeCon were unfortunately not available, but luckily Nico Janssen was our savior (photographer) in need.

Nico's photographic passion is about people. Real people who really enjoy; he therefore focuses on parties, conferences, weddings and, more recently, stock and commercial photography. He is based on authenticity and liveliness.

If you want to know more about Nico Janssen, visit him at his WildHeart Photos: https://janssicowp.wordpress.com/