It's been almost two years since an in-person MLP convention was held in the UK, but we might be about to end that drought. An official UK PonyCon blog yesterday announced that tickets for this year's convention in Nottingham on 9th and 10th October are now on sale, this having gone live at 2pm BST. Exciting stuff! Some of my trademark rambly thoughts in a moment, but first the price list:
Weekend Adult/Child/Family: £46 / £24 / £92
Saturday Adult/Child/Family: £30 / £13 / £60
Sunday Adult/Child/Family: £24 / £13 / £48
VIP Upgrade (in addition to a ticket from above) : £72
Anyone who's familiar with UKPC will note that these are substantial jumps from 2019, an increase of around 20% on the whole. The UKPC blog is commendably open about the reasons for this, which are pretty much what you'd expect: that given the changed environment since 2019, running a convention is now costlier and riskier than it used to be. Given that, I think the con has done quite well to (for example) keep the Adult Weekend ticket below £50.
There doesn't seem to be a mid-level tier this time around. There is a "Supporter" option, which is what that used to be called, but this year that term is a rough equivalent of the "Spirit Badge" some other cons have. In other words, a way of supporting UKPC's running costs that doesn't actually gain you access to the event. (It will, however, give you a special role on Discord and a place on the list of contributors.) This costs £5, but you can buy more than one I believe.
Some fairly rambly thoughts (as ever!) past the jump break.
Thoughts on the blog post
There's a lot to take in, which isn't really surprising. What most people will want to know is how Covid may affect the con. The things that immediately stand out to me the most are:
- Covid-19 Ticket Promise – if restrictions or self-isolation mean you can't attend, you can roll over your ticket to the next in-person event or get a refund. Note that if the event is cancelled entirely, the arrangements under "Event Cancellation, Postponement and Material Changes" in the T&Cs will apply instead.
- No in-person VIP Guests – given the continuing uncertainty surrounding Transatlantic travel, this is entirely understandable. But this is, sadly, final confirmation that Kelly Sheridan will not be in Nottingham.
- Event closes at 9pm – I assume this is specific to the Saturday, since UKPC has never gone on late into the evening on Sunday. Related to this is...
- No live music event – this one is a real shame, but was probably unavoidable due to the need to provide a spacious socialising area, which will be in the main hall, including the area where the stage used to be.
- Mane stage moved – it will now be in Lecture Theatre 2, a room with tiered seating that's equipped for more digital content.
- No on-site bar – I'm hoping some kind of food will still be on offer inside the venue, but it looks like those wanting a cider fix (or any other alcohol) will need to head to one of the nearby pubs. :P
To be honest, in the bizarre circumstances of this year, I find it hard to quibble with any of the above. Tickets being sold in advance only has been the norm at UKPC since 2015, so that at least is no different from normal. It seems that there will be a limited ability to transfer your ticket to someone else, although it will be vital to read "Resale and Transfer of Tickets" in the T&Cs to make sure you and the new holder comply with all the requirements.
Uncertainties
There are quite a few of these, significantly more than normal. They're mostly Covid-related. For example, government and/or the venue may or may not require UKPC to ask for contact check-in, face masks and/or proof of vaccination. (I'm fully Pfizered up myself, by the way. As Maud might say: vaccines rock.) It may also be necessary to require attendees to register individually for some events, for example if attendance at them needs to be particularly limited. Let's hope by the autumn things are good enough that all this is less of an issue.
We also don't know whether some types of event will be possible at all. An obvious example is karaoke: as things stand, there remain significant restrictions on singing in public, especially indoors. Everyone has their own preferences, but for me singing is a big part of Pony conventions and it would be a disappointment if it had to be severely restricted or prohibited altogether. Similarly, we don't know how group games such as Pinch the Parcel might be affected.
And then there's the whole "travel and accommodation" thing. For me, getting to Nottingham really means going by train, so I'd need to be at least reasonably confident of a stable and reliable service by October. For those staying the whole weekend, hotels may be more or less busy than usual, prices may be different from what people expect, services may have changed and so on.
Finally... what will demand be like? After all, this will in turn have an influence on whether vendors decide to apply, even UK-based ones for whom international travel isn't an issue. I suspect demand will be reasonably good, actually. Clearly there aren't going to be a thousand people in attendance this year. The convention is clearly planning on that basis, and I'm reassured by that mindset. On the other hand, I don't think it will be a case of only a few dozen wanting to go. Not after all this time.
So, Logan, will you be going?
Well, that's the 64 million bit question, isn't it? And right now, I can absolutely definitely state: I don't know. Helpful, eh? :P It's no secret that I adore most things about UK PonyCon, but I really don't think I can make a decision until I have a better idea how the current wave of Covid in the UK is going to pan out. My eyes are wide open that this might mean that by the time I can make a decision the event has sold out. It's a risk I will have to take.
In all honesty, I think my chances are less than 50:50; I don't do that well with uncertainty. But however things work out (or don't) for me, I am very happy to say that I wish UK PonyCon every success in providing a happy, safe and pony-filled weekend in just over three months' time. The prospect of a physical convention returning to the British MLP scene is a really exciting one, and I can't think of anyone better than UKPC to have the honour of staging it.
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