Star Wars Celebration

Members of the 501st Stormtrooper Legion march at C3
Star Wars Celebration 2015 - Short Stormtrooper

Star Wars Celebration is a fan gathering to celebrate the Star Wars franchise. It began in 1999, when Lucasfilm held the Star Wars Celebration in Denver, Colorado to celebrate the upcoming release of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Subsequent events have taken place to welcome Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, as well as honoring the 30th Anniversary of the release of the original three films. The eighth such event, the sixth to be held in the United States, took place in August 2012 in Orlando, Florida.[1]

Overview

Name Date Venue City
Celebration I April 30–May 2, 1999 Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum Denver, Colorado
Celebration II May 3–5, 2002 Indiana Convention Center Indianapolis, Indiana
Celebration III April 21–24, 2005 Indiana Convention Center Indianapolis, Indiana
Celebration IV May 24–28, 2007 Los Angeles Convention Center Los Angeles, California
Celebration Europe July 13–15, 2007 ExCeL Exhibition Centre London, United Kingdom
Celebration Japan July 19–21, 2008 Makuhari Messe Chiba, Japan
Celebration V August 12–15, 2010 Orange County Convention Center Orlando, Florida
Celebration VI August 16–19, 2012 Orange County Convention Center Orlando, Florida
Celebration Europe II July 26–28, 2013 Messe Essen Essen, Germany
Celebration Anaheim April 16–19, 2015 Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, California
Celebration Europe III July 15–17, 2016 ExCeL London London, United Kingdom
Celebration Orlando April 13–16, 2017 Orange County Convention Center Orlando, Florida

Events

Celebration I

Star Wars Celebration main entrance

The Star Wars Celebration was held from April 30-May 2, 1999, at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver, Colorado, just three weeks before the release of The Phantom Menace. An event for the fans, by the fans, Star Wars Celebration took place in the hometown of the Official Star Wars Fan Club, headed by Dan Madsen. "The Fan Club is based here in Denver," says Madsen, "so we thought it would only be appropriate that the Celebration be held here."[2]

The first Star Wars convention since 1987, the Celebration consisted of activities including actor panels, THX theater demonstrations, behind the scenes footage from Episode I, and the world premiere of the Duel of the Fates music video. The grounds boasted a vendors tent, and the museum hosted an exhibition consisting of props from the official LucasFilm archives, including Anakin's full-scale Pod Racer and a life-size X-Wing Fighter (a 3/4 scale replica made in 1996 for the Special Edition release, and still residing at Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum),[3] allowing the estimated 20,000 attendees to get a true glimpse into LucasFilm and Star Wars history.

Celebration II

From May 3–5, 2002, Star Wars Celebration II was held to celebrate the upcoming release of Attack of the Clones. The convention was moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, to make use of the larger Indiana Convention Center.[4]

Downtown Indianapolis was invaded by multitudes of Star Wars fans.[5] The initial projection of 15-20,000 people per day based on advance ticket sales was well surpassed, and reached critical mass on Saturday. The estimated final tally was a little over 75,000 people for the three-day event. The two places that received the most traffic were the Fan Club store and the autograph section, specifically for Carrie Fisher. Highlights of the event included the Rick McCallum Spectacular and Saturday night's Star Wars 25th Anniversary Concert, performed by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Indianapolis.[6]

Celebration III

The Star Wars Celebration returned to Indianapolis from April 21–24, 2005, to commemorate the release of the final film in the saga, Revenge of the Sith.[7] With over 34,000 fans in attendance over the course of four days, Celebration III brought actor panels, costume contests, fan films, and diorama building to the Indianapolis Convention Center.[8] The Lucasfilm archive provided many important props and costumes for display. One of this Celebration's most noteworthy events was the unprecedented Q&A session with Star Wars creator George Lucas, his first such appearance since the Star Wars 10th Anniversary Convention in 1987. With approximately 10,000 fans in attendance (over the course of 3 half-hour sessions), Lucas personally answered several dozen fans' questions about the saga.

Celebration IV

On May 26, 2006, StarWars.com announced Star Wars Celebration IV (C4) to be held May 24–28, 2007 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first Star Wars film.[9][10] C4 was located at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles.[11] Taking place on May 24 through May 28, the convention offered a record number of celebrities in the autograph hall, multiple exhibitors, a Star Wars art show, a Darth Vader helmet and Lucasfilm archive exhibits and many fan oriented activities. In addition, there were collector and costuming panels, including sneak peeks of the upcoming Clone Wars animated series. Fans were the first to see the footage of this series on Sunday morning as well.[12] Other highlights included conversations with Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams, a visit from Seth MacFarlane and Seth Green for special Star Wars episodes of Family Guy and Robot Chicken respectively, and an efficiently organized Celebration Store. An estimated 35,000 people walked through the doors for Celebration IV over the Memorial Day weekend.[13][14]

After the event, Lucasfilm sued the hosting entity, GenCon, for a variety of reasons, forcing GenCon into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [15]

Celebration Europe

On September 25, 2006 StarWars.com announced Star Wars Celebration Europe (CE) to be held July 13–15, 2007 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first Star Wars film.[7] CE was to be located at Earls Court in London.[16] But on November 22, 2006 StarWars.com announced due to Advance interest in Celebration Europe the event would be moved to the larger venue located at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre[17] in London.[18] The event also had on display some of the largest restored Star Wars Arcade collection, estimated at around 30 to 40 machines,[19] many of them now rarely seen in the USA or in other parts of Europe. An estimated 30,000 people attended this convention.[14]

Celebration Japan

On February 23, 2008, Lucasfilm Ltd. and the Lewis Daniel Group announced a three-day event known as "Celebration Japan", was held at the Makuhari-Messe Convention Center near Tokyo on July 19 to 21. The convention celebrated the 30th anniversary of the June 24, 1978 Japanese premiere of Star Wars. Celebration Japan included live entertainment, Star Wars celebrities, exclusive merchandise, special presentations, unique Star Wars exhibits, costume contests, and other activities.[14]

Celebration V

Lucasfilm announced in 2008 that a US-based four-day Star Wars convention called "Celebration V" would be held in the summer of 2010. In July 2008, Steve Sansweet, director of content management and head of fan relations for Lucasfilm, announced that Baltimore, Minneapolis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Orlando, Florida were competing to host this event. Organizers anticipated that 30,000 Star Wars fans would attend no matter which city was selected.[20]

Reed Exhibitions and Lucasfilm announced on December 3, 2009, that Orlando would host the event.[1] Celebration V took place at the Orange County Convention Center from August 12–15, 2010. The convention celebrated the 30th anniversary of the second Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back. It also included many features of previous Celebrations (such as Star Wars celebrity appearances, costume contests, and other fan events) as well as a special one-hour interview between Jon Stewart and George Lucas called "The Main Event".[21] Celebration V marked the first American Celebration appearance for Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and the last American appearance for Caroline Blakiston (Mon Mothma). Attendance was estimated at 32,000.[22]

Lucas also made an appearance at the nearby Disney's Hollywood Studios to take part in the "Last Tour to Endor Event", which provided special entertainment for those individuals who attended "Celebration V".

Celebration VI

StarWarsCelebration.com announced on June 2, 2011 that Celebration VI would be held in Orlando, FL at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) from August 16–19, 2012. The date was later changed to August 23–26, 2012.[23] The convention was held in the same hall of the OCCC as was Celebration V, with a very similar format. Several celebrities returned for appearances at this Celebration (including Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Anthony Daniels), and this event marked the first American Celebration attended by Ian McDiarmid. George Lucas had not been scheduled to attend, but made a "surprise" appearance.[24] The event hosted the announcement of Star Wars Detours. Attendance was estimated at 35,000 people.[25]

Celebration Europe II

It was announced at the Closing Ceremonies of Celebration VI (and confirmed on StarWarsCelebration.com) that Celebration Europe II would be held in Essen, Germany, at the Messe Essen fair venue from July 26–28, 2013.[26] Major panels were Kathleen Kennedy inaugural Star Wars Celebration appearance and the first look at Star Wars Rebels. Over 30,000 people attended the event from 40 different countries.[27] The convention celebrated the 30th anniversary of the third Star Wars movie, Return of The Jedi

Celebration Anaheim

It was announced at the closing ceremonies of Celebration Europe II that Celebration Anaheim would be held in Anaheim, California, at the Anaheim Convention Center, from April 16 to April 19, 2015 they anticipate that about 50,000 fans will be attending the first ever Anaheim event.[28]

Last year's event was one of the most anticipated due to the December 2015 release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens with most news and info on the film being kept secretive prior to the event. The entire celebration was broadcast live online free via www.starwars.com and the Star Wars' YouTube channel. The long-awaited second teaser trailer for the Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered on April 16, 2015 during the opening panel of the event which also included many of the stars of the upcoming film, new and old, director J.J. Abrams along with producer and president of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy.[29] The following day, fans were treated to the trailer for the upcoming videogame, Star Wars: Battlefront while on the third day the trailer for the second season of Star Wars Rebels made its debut. The Celebration closed out its fourth and final day with fans being shown an exclusive teaser trailer for Rogue One, which will be released in December 2016. This is the first of three anthology films, which are also known as the stand-alone or origin story films.

Celebration Europe III

It was announced on April 19, 2015 during the closing ceremonies at Celebration Anaheim, that Celebration Europe III took place July 15–17, 2016 at the ExCel center in London, England. "Jedi Master VIP Tickets" sold out immediately.[30]

Celebration Orlando

It was announced on July 17, 2016 during the closing ceremonies at Celebration Europe III, that Celebration Orlando will take place April 13–16, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. The convention will celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Star Wars: A New Hope.

References

  1. 1 2 "Lucasfilm and Reed Exhibitions Proud to Announce Star Wars Celebration V" (Press release). StarWars.com. December 3, 2009. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Engineering the Star Wars Fan Event: An Interview With Dan Madsen". starwars.com. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  3. ↑ "X-Wing Starfighter - Wings Over the Rockies". wingsmuseum.org. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "Celebration III Set for Indy". Star Wars: Community. 2004-01-23.
  5. ↑ Cook, Bob. "Star Wars Celebration II". Flak Magazine.
  6. ↑ http://www.rebelscum.com/
  7. 1 2 "Star Wars Celebration Coming to Europe". Lucasfilm: Pressroom. 2006-09-25.
  8. ↑ Britton, Bonnie (April 21, 2005). "'Star Wars' lands in Indy: Fans from around the world descend for 4-day event". Indianapolis Star. p. A1.
  9. ↑ "Celebration IV Official Announcement". StarWars.com. 2006-05-26.
  10. ↑ "Southport Reporter".
  11. ↑ "The Unofficial Star Wars Celebration IV Information Portal".
  12. ↑ "Visitors - Whats On". ExCeL.
  13. ↑ "It's a Hit: A Record-Breaking Celebration IV". StarWars.com. 2007-06-14. Archived from the original on 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
  14. 1 2 3 "Star Wars Celebration Japan to Mark 30th Anniversary of the Star Wars Saga". StarWars.com. 2008-02-23.
  15. ↑ "LucasFilm Sues Gencon".
  16. ↑ Roberts, Dustin (2006-11-25). "Star Wars Celebration Europe Moved To New Location". TheForce.Net.
  17. ↑ "Visit London".
  18. ↑ "Star Wars Celebration Europe tickets". Seatwave.com.
  19. ↑ "Mersey Reporter & Southport Reporter - News page.".
  20. ↑ Ping, Dan (July 11, 2008). "Star Wars convention may land in Orlando". Orlando Business Journal.
  21. ↑ "Star Wars Celebration V lands in Orlando". Orlando Business Journal. December 3, 2009. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  22. ↑ "Celebration V is a Crowd-Pleasing Success". StarWars.com. 2010-09-02. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  23. ↑ "Star Wars Celebration". Lucasfilm. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  24. ↑ "George Lucas Makes Surprise Appearance at Star Wars Celebration". IGN. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  25. ↑ SWC Fan FAQs on the Star Wars Celebration website Archived July 18, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  26. ↑ "Star Wars Celebration II Europe". Lucasfilm. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  27. ↑ http://www.theforce.net/story/front/Lucasfilm_More_Than_20000_People_Attended_Celebration_Europe_II_153468.asp
  28. ↑ "Star Wars Celebration 2015". Starwarscelebration.com. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  29. ↑ Merrick (April 16, 2014). "The New STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Teaser Trailer Is Here And It's Chilling!!". Aint it Cool News. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Mobile Uploads - Star Wars Celebration - Facebook". facebook.com.
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