With stifling crowds and excessive prices, why do conference boothers nonetheless proceed establishing store?
Why would 1000’s of holiday makers willingly courageous a shoulder-to-shoulder crush, dodging strollers and enduring nameless glares, only for an opportunity to purchase one thing? Effectively, these incidents occurred to the many individuals who attended Public Backyard: a market that was held this Sept.
Such conventions and markets are prevalent within the second half of the yr and draw within the festive crowds. Nevertheless, regardless of their reputation, they usually obtain a foul popularity attributable to overcrowded crowds and seemingly frequent administration lapses.
As a frequent conference goer myself, these unorganised giant crowds depart me uncomfortable and sticky with sweat, and oftentimes my first thought is to get out of the gang as quick as attainable as an alternative of taking the time to benefit from the occasion and flick thru.
This leaves me to surprise: If crowds like those at Public Backyard are unenjoyable to guests, how would it not have an effect on boothers and organisers? Vulcan Publish spoke with a gaggle of native artists and occasion organisers to learn how difficult it’s to take part in conventions like this.
Overcrowding isn’t only a security hazard, it additionally prices boothers and organisers
Maria Manlapaz, who’s additionally recognized within the Anime, Comedian, and Recreation (ACG) conference scene as ‘Blake’ and has been booth-ing for 9 years, shared that crowd crushes have been commonplace earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic and instantly after as a result of occasions increase in Singapore.
Nevertheless, she identified that the hype surrounding occasions had since cooled down, making it much less doubtless for conventions and expos to expertise crowd crushes—not due to demand, however attributable to oversights in planning.
“I really feel like with the hype of occasions dying down, there actually is not any motive why your occasion ought to have a crowd crush aside from poor ground plan administration. It’s simply not a really fulfilling factor.”
Sheryl Tan, an area illustrator and artist, added that it’s bodily taxing for boothers when attending conventions. “We have been lifting heavy merch, speaking the entire day. Lozanges and Salonpas are your greatest associates.”
Add a crowd crush into the combination, and it turns into a warzone that may be mentally detrimental.
One other Singaporean conference artist, who solely wished to be recognized as Anna, recounted a traumatic expertise she had at an occasion she attended final yr. Though she declined to disclose the identify of the occasion, she claimed that the organisers acknowledged there can be numerous volunteers current for crowd management.
However when she received there, she realised that there was an inadequate variety of workers to handle the gang, and the venue had just one exit, making your entire occasion a hearth hazard.
“It was a extremely unsafe setting at the moment. Even the distributors needed to enable prospects to undergo their lanes, which you’re not speculated to, nevertheless it was so crowded. I couldn’t breathe. It was horrible.”
One would possibly argue that having greater crowds ends in extra gross sales. Nevertheless, Jeremy Tee, founding father of occasion organising firm Atomic Events, shared that there’s a advantageous line in the case of getting the correct quantity of crowd as an occasion organiser.
“Too little crowd, boothers don’t get gross sales. An excessive amount of of a crowd, they can not get gross sales as nicely.”
He defined that when there’s an awesome crowd in an occasion house, the conference space will begin to really feel heat, and too many individuals will clog the trail on the entrance. As a substitute of taking their time to peruse every stall, buyers would usually depart cubicles with out making a purchase order, and the shops fail to make gross sales.
The Public Backyard wasn’t the primary commerce present to attract ire for its mood-dampening crowds. Native weekend market, Large Farm Truthful, got here underneath hearth in 2023 for its poor structure, crowd administration, and issues of safety, main the occasion to cancel its second week of occasions.
Many artists and performers took to social media to share how the disorganisation and oversights from the organisers have affected their gross sales, with some stating that they deliberate to hunt refunds as they may not break even.
“It was an enormous disappointment as a result of when the artists arrived on the venue, there was no house to position their baggage, the tables have been joined collectively, and there was no strolling room,” Blake defined. “It was like one of many greatest issues that actually confirmed that artists weren’t being revered.”
Having organised smaller, 20-table occasions and decided to supply a safer and optimum occasion for native artists to showcase and promote their artwork, Blake co-founded Art Riot in 2023, which has since developed right into a Renfaire-themed Artwork Market that has housed 100 tables with 191 artists on this yr’s version.
“We hope it makes it simpler for individuals to really feel like they will take part [and] it’s much less intimidating for them,” she added.
The battle to maintain these occasions accessible but financially sustainable
Desk prices have elevated through the years, and artists must be extra selective in regards to the occasions they go to.
In line with boother and jewelry maker Alicia Khoo, a desk would price about S$250 prior to now, however the value has doubled to between S$450 and S$500. “[Singapore Comic Con] went from S$800 two years in the past to S$1,000 one thing now for one desk.”
As such, boothers have to make sure that their merchandise are priced excessive sufficient to cowl the prices and at the least break even. Nevertheless, some hauls can attain tons of of {dollars}—the truth is, my haul from Artwork Riot 2025 was barely greater than S$120, which raises questions on whether or not the costs are justified.
Blake shared that she determines the value of the merchandise by contemplating the manufacturing price and costs supplied at different ACG occasions. For instance, a luxurious badge prices about S$2 to make and would promote at round S$6 or S$8, as they’re just like what artists supply.
Many artists I’ve spoken to, together with these I’ve additionally consulted, added that they usually test in with their friends to match costs.
However some, together with Alicia, don’t all the time comply with the market fee. Certainly one of her necklaces retails at S$60, which incorporates the price of supplies, in addition to the effort and time required to make it. A single string of pearls prices S$22, and she or he has to hand-drill them to create the ultimate product.
“However I attempt to not go too insane as a result of I do know most of my prospects are between 18 and early 20s,” she clarified. “I don’t care as a lot to compete with gross sales. I simply care about at the least breaking even.”
One other concern is that boothers are unable to get a way of the sorts of merchandise that might be bought till they arrange on the occasion venue.
Alicia shared that for one artwork market she boothed at, 70% of the distributors have been promoting jewelry, saturating her area of interest and making it difficult to interrupt even. Whereas she ended up doing so, the expertise emphasised the necessity for organisers to be clear in regards to the sorts of attendees who might be on the occasion.
“These stats can be good simply to tell us, ‘Hey, you bought lots of competitors. Do you need to danger it or not?’” she added.
Sheryl and fellow illustrator Elizabeth Lim shared that they grossly overestimated the variety of prints and merchandise to supply for his or her first sales space on the Singapore Comedian Con (SGCC) in 2022, which resulted in them spending an excessive amount of on printing. “I’m nonetheless making an attempt to promote them out,” Sheryl stated dryly.
As Hobbies Truthful goals to highlight many hobbies in Singapore, Jeremy and his staff at Atomic Occasions needed to solid a large web to make sure variety. Nevertheless, convincing different companies and passion teams, similar to Taekwondo academies and 3D printing fans—a lot of whom should not acquainted with boothing—to hitch was an impediment.
“Many needed to weigh whether or not it could be value it for his or her enterprise after factoring in issues like extra manpower and transportation. Some passion retailers additionally get their major crowd on weekends, which meant they needed to take into account if they need to shut their retailer to participate within the occasion.”
Each Artwork Riot and Hobbies Truthful supply free entry tickets to their conventions, with venue and furnishings rental, in addition to manpower and advertising and marketing bills, remaining the principle prices of their occasions. In consequence, they rely closely on sales space desk gross sales to maintain.
Jeremy revealed that the primary Hobbies Truthful incurred a lack of roughly S$20,000 to S$30,000, and barely broke even for this yr’s honest.
Blake shared that the costs are set to cowl the prices of working the conference and that they extremely encourage sharing their tables with as much as three individuals every, which is a rise from the usual two supplied for many conventions.
“It’s essential to make it as inexpensive as we are able to. However the backside line is that the bills of the occasion do dictate the sales space value as a rule.”
So…why do they nonetheless do it?
For a lot of of those artists and distributors, these conventions and gala’s transcend financial causes—they use it as a approach to community with different boothers and prospects.
Alicia makes use of an old-school but efficient technique: identify playing cards for attendees to take, even when they didn’t buy her product. “My returns are [that] I get following, I get eyeballs. I get to befriend different people who find themselves like-minded.”
Elizabeth Lim, one other native illustrator who participates in conventions with Sheryl, shared that regardless of the bodily toll, booth-hopping permits them to attach with like-minded people, and the “con excessive” retains them motivated.
“Folks strolling across the occasion will cease on the sales space each time we’ve fan artwork that catches their eye, and it’s all the time very enjoyable to speak and join with them over shared pursuits. More often than not, they are going to comply with us on our social media to remain up to date with new works we are going to publish,” she shared.
Singaporean cosplayer Sera Woo has been taking part in Artwork Riot as an emcee and performer for 2 years, including that the honest stands out within the ACG neighborhood as one which encourages extra alternatives for open and like-minded people to kind new friendships and connections.
“If I’m a cosplayer and I’m speaking to an artist, there’s a larger probability of us having a extra prolonged dialog versus a traditional anime fan artwork conference the place I simply go there, I purchase the merch, after which that’s it.”
To navigate the excessive sales space prices, many boothers share tables, usually reaching out to associates or becoming a member of Discord channels arrange by the occasion organisers to seek out somebody to sales space with. “You break up the value and the desk so it’s simpler to interrupt even,” added Alicia.
Elizabeth and Sheryl additionally learnt to brighten their cubicles and introduce interactive actions to have interaction with their viewers and stand out from the opposite distributors.
“Final yr at SGCC, we had a gacha card machine with abs printed on it, and we received individuals who have been shopping for our fan artwork to rub on the abs for good luck,” joked Elizabeth.
For Artwork Riot, Blake shared that their tables are bigger, which might accommodate as much as three cubicles, and extremely encourages sharing to carry down the person sales space prices. She added {that a} portion of the cubicles can be reserved for college kids and first-timers, as their selections of occasions are sometimes restricted.
Blake additionally shared that in the case of curating artists and companies, she and her staff attempt to steadiness the proportions of product classes and fandoms to make sure the occasion affords a various vary of choices.
Jeremy additionally follows an identical ethos, having personally visited potential retailers to clarify the idea and reassure them in regards to the expertise, even providing first-time reductions and complimentary cubicles to non-commercial curiosity teams.
The corporate has additionally launched interactive zones for extra lively hobbies similar to foam blasting and mini races, in addition to a stage and workshop house for them to show and share their passion and permit attendees to personally attempt them out.
Hobbies Truthful noticed a robust turnout of practically 700 guests, with roughly 20% of the entire variety of attendees stating that they found a brand new passion by means of the occasion.
Jeremy additionally shared that the majority of their distributors appreciated how its numerous vary of cubicles and actions uncovered them to audiences past their common circles, and the pacing of the occasion allowed them to work together with them in a relaxed setting.
To make sure the occasion turns into worthwhile and may function in the long run, Atomic Occasions is trying to convert its occasion right into a paid-ticketed occasion. By doing so, they’d not want to extend sales space desk costs, and in flip, the chance of not recovering the fee can be lowered.
Nevertheless, Jeremy identified that organisers might want to enhance the worth of the ticket to proceed attractive attendees by means of activations like carnival sport tokens and taking part in fortunate attracts.
“There are other ways that you would be able to handle the expectations of the gang in order that it doesn’t really feel that they’re paying for entry and never getting something again in return. For instance, you go to a membership, you pay S$20 [to enter], however they offer you a free drink, so it’s one thing related,” he defined.
Featured Picture Credit score: Alicia Khoo, Hobbies Truthful
