The second Indianapolis Gencon show seems headed to break all records, including the 28,000 attendees last year, the first year after the move from Milwaukee (see 'Attendance Up at GenCon Indy'). In early July, organizers announced a record number of exhibitors and a 20% increase in pre-registrants. Whisper numbers at the show included one exhibitor who told us that he'd heard that pre-regs were actually up by 50% prior to the show opening last Thursday. And if the crowded aisles and happy exhibitors early in the show were any indication, the weekend finished up with major increases in attendance over last year.
Gencon is the fourth major pop culture show to have record attendance this summer. The season kicked off with a massive increase in attendance at Anime Expo (see 'Anime Expo Up Nearly 50%'); a much bigger San Diego Comic-Con International, which may have hit 100,000 attendees (see 'San Diego Sold Out'); and record attendance at Wizard World Chicago (see 'Wizard World Chicago Over 54,000'). Good show management certainly has something to do with it, as do the long track records that all four shows have established over the past decades. Whatever the reasons, the summer shows are growing faster than the hobbies they celebrate, and Gencon was no exception.
