An underwhelming opening day at Dhaka Summer Con 2023
With facilities being fantastic and organisation grand, all that Dhaka Summercon 2023 day one lacked was the gracious presence of pop culture fans
In Bangladesh, comic-cons and conventions celebrating pop culture are still somewhat of a novelty. In the past, comic-cons have drawn a sizable number of fans of popular culture. However, they are no longer as common, and some of them have even lost their appeal through time especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It may be said that fans of a certain demographic in Bangladesh had been waiting for a convention to occur for some time. And so, on 13 July, the curtains for Dhaka Summer Con 2023 were opened at Halls 3 and 4 at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB).
The event is filled with day long programmes and activities. Aside from the traditional format of comic-cons, the event is also hosting full sized concerts featuring 30 bands and musical figures throughout the three day schedule.
Thursday was day 1 of the Summer Con but saying that the venue was packed with a hefty crowd would be wrong. It was rather empty with the crowd being scattered more on the outside of the designated halls.
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The comic-con and the concerts are being held at two different halls in ICCB. The comic-con is where every pop culture aficionados gathered for their first stop. There were arrangements for all kinds of activities to entertain the attendees. From cosplay to panel discussions on trending pop culture affairs.
However, I was quite dumbfounded to see so little presence of a crowd at an event so grandly designed. Thursday being the last working day of the week probably was a reason why many couldn't attend even if they wanted to. Yet still, the crowd was very underwhelming.
The comic con itself had various stalls and corners designed for specific activities. Big name pioneers of pop culture had their stalls up with their signature items. The biggest among them was perhaps 'Kiyan's Kollectibles.' There were stalls designated to other familiar names like 'Dhaka Comics,' 'Cartoon People,' 'Antik Mahmud's stall' and 'Jamil's Comics and Collectibles.'
There were gaming corners for anyone who was interested in taking a jab at a FIFA match against others. There were cosplayers as well portraying characters they love and admire. Then again, that number too was somewhat baffling and in some cases, appalling.
One would expect the concerts to garner more attention because everybody loves to vibe with good live music. But seeing 'Dads in the Park' performing in front of a crowd consisting of barely 50 people is nothing to write home about either. 10 bands performed throughout day 1 of the convention and the crowd wasn't any better for any of them to be frank.
It is possibly the Thursday effect. Most who wanted to attend could not do so because of the time the convention opened. It is most likely just a slow start. But on the weekends that is highly likely to change. After all Summer Con 2023 has so much to offer for everyone who admires pop culture from the bottom of their heart. The organisation is grand and the facilities are fantastic. All it needs is just a bit of human touch.
