Star Wars Celebration

Star Wars Celebration is an official "Star Wars" convention held during banner years of the franchise. Beginning in May 1999 [cite web |url=http://www.celebrationeurope.com |title=Star Wars Celebration Europe] , Lucasfilm held a Star Wars convention in Denver, Colorado to celebrate the release of "".

Celebration II

From May 3-5, 2002, Star Wars Celebration II was held to celebrate the upcoming release of "". The convention was moved to Indianapolis, Indiana to make use of the larger convention center. [cite web |date=2004-01-23 |title=Celebration III Set for Indy |url=http://www.starwars.com/community/event/celebration/news20040123.html |work=Star Wars: Community]

Downtown Indianapolis was invaded by multitudes of "Star Wars" fans. The initial projection of 15-20,000 people per day based on advanced ticket sales was well surpassed, and reached critical mass on Saturday. The estimated final tally was a little over 75,000 people for the three day event. The two places that received the most traffic were the Fan Club store and the autograph section, specifically for Carrie Fisher. Highlights of the event included the Rick McCallum Spectacular and Saturday nights Star Wars 25th Anniversary Concert, performed by the Indianapolis Philharmonic Orchestra. [http://www.rebelscum.com/]

Celebration III

For the release of the final film in the saga "," Star Wars Celebration III was held in Indianapolis. [cite web |title=Star Wars Celebration Coming to Europe |url=http://www.lucasfilm.com/press/news/news20060925.html |work=Lucasfilm: Pressroom |date=2006-09-25] With over 30,000 fans in attendance over the course of four days (April 21-24, 2005) Celebration III (C3) brought actor panels, costume contests and diorama building to the Indianapolis Convention Center. [cite news |work=Flak Magazine |url=http://www.flakmag.com/film/clones3.html |title=Star Wars Celebration II |first=Bob |last=Cook] [cite web |work=Indianapolis Star |title='Star Wars' fans are a bit off-course |url=http://www2.indystar.com/articles/1/236468-7651-064.html |date=2005-04-13] The Lucasfilm archive provided many important props and costumes for display. One of this Celebration's most noteworthy events was the unprecedented Q&A session with "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, his first such appearance since the Star Wars 10th Anniversary Convention in 1987. With approximately 10,000 fans in attendance (over the course of 3 half-hour sessions), Lucas personally answered several dozen fans' questions about the saga.

Celebration IV

On May 26, 2006, StarWars.com announced Star Wars Celebration IV (C4) to be held May 24-28, 2007 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first "Star Wars" film. [cite web |work=StarWars.com |url=http://www.starwars.com/community/event/celebration/news20060526.html |title=Celebration IV Official Announcement |date=2006-05-26] [cite news |title=Southport Reporter |url=http://www.southportreporter.com/300/300-15.shtml] C4 was located at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California [cite web |title=The Unofficial Star Wars Celebration IV Information Portal |url=http://www.swcelebration.com/] . Taking place on May 24 through May 28, the convention offered a record number of celebrities in the autograph hall, multiple exhibitors, a "Star Wars" art show, a Darth Vader helmet and Lucasfilm archive exhibits and many fan oriented activities. In addition, there were collector and costuming panels, including sneak peeks of the upcoming "Clone Wars" animated series. Fans were the first to see the footage of this series on Sunday morning as well. [cite web |work=ExCeL |title=Visitors - Whats On |url=http://www.excel-london.co.uk/en/visitors/whats_on/event.html?event=651] Other highlights included conversations with Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams, a visit from Seth McFarlane and Seth Green for special "Star Wars" episodes of "Family Guy" and "Robot Chicken" respectively, and an efficiently organized Celebration Store. An estimated 35,000 people walked through the doors for Celebration IV over the Memorial Day weekend. [cite web |work=StarWars.com |url=http://www.starwars.com/community/event/celebration/news20070614.html |title=It's a Hit: A Record-Breaking Celebration IV |date=2007-06-14 |accessdate=2007-06-27]

Celebration Europe

On September 25, 2006 StarWars.com announced Star Wars Celebration Europe (CE) to be held July 13-15, 2007 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first "Star Wars" film. CE was to be located at Earls Court in London [cite web |title=Star Wars Celebration Europe Moved To New Location |url=http://www.theforce.net/latestnews/story/Star_Wars_Celebration_Europe_Moved_To_New_Location_101565.asp |work=TheForce.Net |first=Dustin |last=Roberts |date=2006-11-25 ] . But on November 22, 2006 StarWars.com announced due to Advance interest in Celebration Europe the event would be moved to the larger venue located at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre [cite web |title=Visit London |url=http://www.visitlondon.com/events/detail/708773] in London [cite web |url=http://www.seatwave.com/star-wars-celebration-europe-tickets/season |title=Star Wars Celebration Europe tickets |work=Seatwave.com] . The event also had on display some of the largest restored "Star Wars" Arcade collection, estimated at around 30 to 40 machines, many of them now rarely seen in the USA or in other parts of Europe. An estimated 30,000 people attended this convention.

Celebration Japan

On February 23, 2008, Lucasfilm Ltd. and the Lewis Daniel Group announced a three-day event known as "Celebration Japan", was held at the Makuhari-Messe Convention Center near Tokyo on July 19 to 21. The convention celebrated the 30th anniversary of the June 24, 1978 Japanese premiere of "Star Wars". Celebration Japan included live entertainment, "Star Wars" celebrities, exclusive merchandise, special presentations, unique "Star Wars" exhibits, costume contests, and other activities.cite news |work=StarWars.com |title=Star Wars Celebration Japan to Mark 30th Anniversary of the Star Wars Saga |url=http://www.starwars.com/community/event/celebration/news20080223.html |date=2008-02-23]

Celebration V

Lucasfilm has announced that a US-based four-day "Star Wars" convention called "Celebration V" will be held in either Spring 2009 or Spring 2010. Steve Sansweet, director of content management and head of fan relations for Lucasfilm, announced that Baltimore, Minneapolis, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Orlando, Florida are competing to host this event. [cite news |title=May the force be with Baltimore: City vying to host 'Star Wars' expo |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/07/07/story5.html |work=Baltimore Business Journal |first=Julekha |last=Dash |date=2008-07-04] Organizers anticipate that 30,000 "Star Wars" fans would attend no matter which city was selected. [cite news |work=Orlando Business Journal |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2008/07/14/story5.html?b=1216008000%5E1666523 |title=Star Wars convention may land in Orlando |date=2008-07-11 |first=Dan |last=Ping]

References

External links

* [http://starwars.com/celebration/ Lucasfilm's Star Wars Celebration website]
* [http://www.gencon.com/2007/swciv/ GenCon's Celebration IV official site]
* [http://www.celebrationeurope.com Celebration Europe official site]
* [http://www.celebrationjapan.com Celebration Japan official site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/celebrationeurope Official Celebration Europe Myspace site]