Warriors, wizards and other costumed characters flooded the streets of Málaga in southern Spain on Thursday for the opening of the first San Diego Comic-Con held outside the United States.
Mirroring the famous California event, the four-day convention will feature blockbuster film presentations, prominent figures from the worlds of comics and video games, and fans dressed as their favourite characters.
Highlights include appearances by Hollywood action star Arnold Schwarzenegger and Welsh actor Luke Evans who appeared in “The Hobbit” film trilogy.
Gwendoline Christie, best known for her roles in fantasy-drama series “Game of Thrones”, is also set to attend.
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More than 100,000 fans are expected at the event at Málaga’s main congress centre, a figure not far below the 130,000 attendees who visit the San Diego Comic-Con annually.
The two most anticipated film premieres at the convention are “Tron: Ares”, the third instalment in Disney’s Tron franchise, and “Predator Badlands”, the seventh movie in the Predator franchise.
“The essence is the same. We share the same DNA; in some ways, we are equal,” Javier Barbera, executive director of Comic-Con Málaga, told local newspaper Sur.
Organisers hope to make the Málaga edition an annual event, he added.
Once known primarily for its beaches and historic sites, Málaga has emerged as a hub of culture and technology in recent years that has attracted major players like Google, Oracle and Huawei.
“Málaga is a city full of energy, creativity and warmth — exactly the kind of place we had in mind for this historic expansion,” David Glanzer, chief communications and strategy officer of San Diego Comic-Con, said when the event was officially unveiled in March.
Comic-Con began holding events in San Diego in 1970, initially as a low-key and rather niche huddle but has now grown to be one of the world’s biggest celebrations of pop culture.
