Jedi knights, superheroes and (real) astronaut gather at Fantasy Basel

Jedi knights, superheroes and an astronaut at Fantasy Basel Keystone-SDA

The Fantasy Basel pop culture festival kicked off on Thursday. Thousands of cosplayers, gamers, film and comic fans flocked to the exhibition halls. Astronaut Claude Nicollier also took part as a speaker.

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The first Swiss man in space told the audience about his missions in the 1990s. He showed film sequences with a view of the Earth “from above” and said that these images still touched him. The lecture was part of the space travel theme, where the “Swiss Space Museum” was also present with exhibits.

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In addition to “science”, there was also plenty of “fiction”: not far from Nicollier’s podium at the Star Wars stand, Jedi knights wielded their lightsabers. Countless visitors entered the exhibition halls in costume. In addition to Darth Vader, Chewbacca and the like, many Japanese anime figures, superheroes and steampunk costumes were also on display. Characters from Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and Harry Potter, as well as the Nintendo hero Super Mario, also remained popular.

There were also customised figures: one visitor, for example, was wearing an elaborately designed costume with wings. It was her own creation, based on a Valkyrie and a “Dragonlady”, she told a reporter from Keystone-SDA on site.

Fantasy Basel has expanded its area to 100,000 square metres for this year’s edition. Around 800 exhibitors are taking part. Guests include personalities from films, series, literature and science, as well as K-pop dance groups and comic artists.

According to the organisers, 88,000 people visited the fair last year. This year, the organising team is expecting 95,000. The festival runs until May 31.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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