Supanova Pop Culture Expo

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Supanova Pop Culture Expo
Genre	Multi-genre
Venue	RNA Showgrounds
Location	Bowen Hills, Brisbane
Country	Australia
First held	2002
Organizer	Daniel Zachariou
Filing status	For profit
Attendance	10,300 in 2007, 13,200 in 2008
Official website

Supanova Pop Culture Expo (Supanova) is a fan convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy film and TV, comic books, anime, gaming and collectables. It is held annually in the Australian cities of Sydney and Brisbane.

The first Supanova was held at the Sydney Showground on Saturday 20 April 2002 and Sunday 21 April 2002. It was the successor to comicfest!, a similar convention under the same management which held its final event in November 2002. On Saturday 13 September 2003 and Sunday 14 September 2003, Supanova held its first convention in the city of Brisbane at the RNA Showgrounds^[1]. In 2008, Supanova expanded to include Melbourne (back-to-back with Brisbane) and Perth (back-to-back with Sydney in June).

One of the major attractions at Supanova are the special guests - often well-known personalities of interest to convention attendees who participate in signing sessions and panel discussions with their fans. Other notable attractions at Supanova include the cosplay competition, the "Artist's Alley" where aspiring artists can display and sell their work, and the anime theatre. Supanova Sydney 2005 also hosted an artwork masterclass and science fiction film festival as satellite events. There is a large exhibitors area at Supanova where attendees can purchase merchandise from one of the many traders present.^[2] ^[3]

Currently, Supanova's Sydney event is generally held during October at the Sydney Showground, Homebush Bay. (From 2003 to 2005, the event was held at the Wharf 8 Function Centre in Darling Harbour.) The Brisbane event is generally held during April at the RNA Showgrounds, Bowen Hills.

Supanova is managed by a team of permanent staff with Daniel Zachariou holding the title of event director. There are also a large number of volunteers, generally appointed on an event-by-event basis, who assist with the day-to-day running of the convention.