FACTS 2024
Back in October, we found ourselves in Ghent for the Fall edition of FACTS. As always, the convention did not disappoint, and even though a few new remarks were made due to the new layout, we had a blast. Last week it was time for the Spring edition, and with train delays and a spontaneous tram strike, it proved to be a bit trickier to reach the convention halls. That being said, once we got there, it felt as if it was only yesterday that we had been there. With a lot of merchandise, goodies, famous guests, and interesting activities, how did this edition compare to previous editions?
It was an immediate familiar sight when many different products greeted us from a lot of different sellers in the main hall. We had our pick of the litter when it came to Pokémon cards, figurines, statues, Funko POP! collectibles, weapon replicas, posters, and much more. A fun touch is the additional hall with homemade items, which does add a bit of authenticity to the experience, rather than having the same mainstream products over and over again. The variety wasn’t too bad, but we did feel like the Pokémon cards were a bit omnipresent again, compared to other sci-fi or fantasy goodies.
The main hall was the place to be for purchasing items, while the other halls offered activities or interesting information about different fandoms. You could perhaps ask for information to become a Power Ranger or perhaps join the dark side in the Star Wars universe. There was a lot to do, and you could easily fill a few hours of your day with just strolling around, browsing the wares, and checking out the other available activities. Some bigger brands were also present, which was also quite nice. Cosplayers were also running rampant again, and we did see a lot of talented people when strolling through the different convention halls. There were, of course, quite a few dedicated cosplay activities as well.
As FACTS is now actively marketing its convention as a family-friendly event, there were quite a few younger visitors and a lot of strollers present in the walkways. We applaud the organization for making the event so accessible, but it’s often the visitors themselves that do get a bit in the way of other paying visitors. We did notice a lot of people just parking their strollers in the middle of walkways, which did cause a few blocked-off routes from time to time. This luckily didn’t happen that often.
As stated in our article of the previous edition, the food stands finally got their own dedicated zones, rather than having a few in the main hall that would block the pathways as well. The food hall had quite a bit of room to sit down, but even the hall with the kart racing activity now also received a proper seating area. This hall also had a few food stalls, which also meant you could eat your meal in peace, albeit in the glowing presence of a few neon lights to spice things up.
This year’s roster of celebrity guests was quite important, and they drew quite the crowd. Many people were queueing up to get the signatures of their beloved idols, as well as their favorite artists. The separate hall for the convention’s guest stars was big enough to ensure that the queues didn’t get out of hand, and there was still room to walk around comfortably. We do have to mention that all guests were advertised to be present the entire day, but sadly, most of them already left their spots around 5 in the afternoon. This was a big shame for convention goers who were waiting for things to quiet down a bit.
Conclusion
Even though we were disappointed to see the guests leave well before the advertised time, we did have a lot of fun on the convention grounds. In conclusion, there was a lot of merchandise, we were able to properly sit down while enjoying a meal, the hallways were wide enough to casually stroll around, and everything seemed to be well-maintained. We do hope that small kinks get ironed out in the next edition, but we are quite looking forward to the Fall edition.
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