Happy Comic Con Cape Town Eve. The Mother City’s very own pop culture celebration, staged in collaboration with FanCon Comic Con, kicks off tomorrow, the public holiday Thursday, 1 May for four days, ending Sunday, 4 May. As in previous years, the event is taking place at the CTICC 2, and is running 10am to 7pm on Thursday and Friday, 9am to 7pm on Saturday, and 10am to 6pm on the Sunday.

If you’ve left it late to get tickets, at this point only the Friday and Sunday still have space, and will cost you R220 for a day pass (and R250 at the door). It seems obvious, but as a reminder tickets will not be available on-site during sold out days. As a side note, kids five and under attend CCCT free.

2025 marks the third in-person Comic Con Cape Town. Of course, at this point there are staple attractions, like various drop-in free-to-play gaming competitions with great prizes; talent-packed Artists Alley featuring its own dedicated creators’ stage; tabletop gaming; the performance and panel-rich programme of the Pop-Taku Stage; plus casual and serious cosplay contests (not to mention general on-the-floor interactions). Finally, there’s the dedicated KidsCon Zone, which this year includes meet-and-greet opportunities with Noodle and Bun, Mario and Luigi, Geoffrey the Giraffe, and the Smurfs. With this article, though, we’re interested in spotlighting CCCT’s new drawcards.

As a handy tip, you’ll want to keep an eye on the daily Comic Con Cape Town programme, or, better, get the app, and/or join the Whatsapp channel, as there are bound to be surprises announcements, like, hey, South Africa’s own UFC champion, Dricus Du Plessis, will be at the Checkers stand on Saturday.

One final note is that you won’t find the Cape Town International Animation Festival sharing the con space this year as the event is on hiatus in 2025.

1. A fresh batch of guests

      The guest line-up for 2024 was always going to be a tough act to follow, but the Comic Con Cape Town organisers have ensured that pop culture fans of every type have someone to squee over this year.

      On the heavy hitter on-screen front, there’s the Emperor himself, Star Wars’ Ian McDiarmid, along with Battlestar Galactica and The Big Bang Theory’s Michael Trucco (who’s also a frequent Mike Flanagan collaborator). Rounding out the group is voice actor Zach Aguilar, who has brought to life such characters as Tanjiro Kamado in the English language dub of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, and Byleth Eisner in Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

      Autographs from, and photos with, spotlight guests will require an extra ticket, and start from R350 and R650 respectively.

      On the comics front, local creators Warren Louw, Sean Izaakse and Anand Ramcheron will all be in attendance, and there will be a special tribute to Cape Town’s Karl Mostert, who tragically passed away one day after attending CCA last year. Coming from overseas, meanwhile, are Adam Kubert (yes, of the Kubert comics dynasty), Jim Cheung, and DC Comics editor Rob Levin. Meanwhile, returning to Cape Town is Italian comic artist Laura Braga, who was last in the Mother City for FanCon 2018.

      French artist Stephanie Lavaud is making her first CCCT appearance after appearing at Comic Con Africa in previous years, and the same goes for massively popular YouTubers and content creators Akidearest and Anime Man.

      Finally, international cosplayers Yuji Koi and Mayo Cosplay are trekking to our shores from Switzerland and Sweden respectively, each bringing over a decade of competitive experience as they help judge the weekend’s casual and serious contests. They’ll also be hanging around Cosplay Central to meet fans.

      One final note about the talent: Pay attention to their appearance dates. While most of the comic creators and cosplayers are at the show on all days, other celebrity guests may only be around on the con’s weekend.

      2) So many activations, including a Squid Game experience

      This year, Comic Con Cape Town is really dialling up the activation experiences. HintHunt mini escape rooms return, as do miniatures painting, and more. Also delivering new experiences are three huge names in entertainment and shopping.

      Netflix is celebrating Squid Game Season 2 Part 2 by treating locals to the same atmospheric activation that Comic Con Africa attendees enjoyed last year. Not to be left out, M-Net is bringing The Last of Us to life with a massive, immersive experience. Finally, Amazon has a What’s in the Box? Challenge.

      At a community level, meanwhile, over on the Pop-Taku Stage, there are Meet and Mingle speed socialising sessions, K-Pop dance offs, geek talent shows, and a fun dubbing challenge.

      3) The EGS Qualifiers debut as a prestigious new cosplay contest

      It doesn’t matter where you get the costume; you’re always encouraged to dress up as your favourite characters when you attend Comic Con Cape Town. You can even take to the stage with daily Casual Cosplay Competitions on the Main Stage, typically at 1pm – just make sure to register for free each day at Cosplay Central.

      Also, because the last day of the con in 2025 is May the 4th, the first 500 fans to arrive in Star Wars cosplay on the day will score a free Star Wars comic book voucher, which can be redeemed at the Readers Den stand.

      Talking cosplay at a more serious level, though, the Saturday of CCCT 2025 plays host to two local qualifiers that will see the winners attend prestigious cosplay gatherings oversees. At 3pm on the Main Stage, the fourth World Cosplay Summit (WCS) Regional Qualifier takes place. Teams of two must perform a 2-minute 30-second skit from a piece of Japanese pop culture, with the winners heading off to represent South Africa in Nagoya, Japan, in August.

      What’s extra exciting is that the WCS Qualifier is paired for the first time with the Extreme Cosplay Gathering Qualifer. This is the first time South Africa has been invited to compete at ECG, arguably the biggest cosplay contest in Europe. Again performance-driven, cosplayers must produce a skit solo, or in teams up to four people.

      Finally, there’s the Comic Con Cape Town Regional Championships of Cosplay on Sunday at 3pm. Considered the culminating event of CCCT every year, the Overall Champion here gets a fast pass to the Comic Con Africa Cosplay Finals in Joburg in August. Win that and they go on to compete at C2E2 in Chicago, flying the SA flag.

      4) Even more After Dark events

      Comic Con Cape Town has expanded and diversified its After Dark activities for 2025, including a Comedy Show on the Friday evening at Protea Hotel Fire & Ice from 7pm. The Comic Con Cape Town Comedy Night is hosted by Mark Palmer, and features the likes of Kurt Schoonraad, Siv Ngesi, Rob Van Vuuren, Conrad Koch, Angel Campey and various surprise guests, with all proceeds going to The Children Hospital Trust – this year’s official CCCT charity organisation.

      There’s also the Coffee and Comics gathering at Truth Coffee on the Thursday evening, where you can rub shoulders with the con’s comic industry guests; and a special improv comedy set on Saturday night. Taking place at The Outlore Base, The Curse of Improv Island is an unscripted swashbuckling adventure where the audience shapes the action.

      If you’ve never been to a Comic Con side event before, you should know you need a separate ticket (Comedy Show R300, Coffee and Comics R150, Improv Island R150) and gatherings take place at locations other than the CTICC.

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      It’s going to be a busy few days for the Mother City’s pop culture fans and geeky types. Stay hydrated, keep your phone charged, and embrace the opportunity to interact with like-minded people.