First UK Musical Con fan convention to take place in October

It's been announced that Musical Con, the UK's first ever musical theatre fan convention, will take place later this year.

According to publicity, "thousands of musical theatre fans and enthusiasts will come together under one roof for the first time for a weekend-long celebration of musicals at the iconic ExCeL London."

Attendees will have the opportunity to "meet the stars, celebrate the shows, and
learn from the pros as never before". Events will include a cosplay competition, fan meetups, musical lip-sync battles and show sing-alongs.

Ambassadors for Musical Con, which takes place on 22 and 23 October, include West End stars Aimie Atkinson, Kerry Ellis, Alice Fearn, Ben Forster, Jodie Steele, Trevor Dion Nicholas, Omari Douglas, Shanay Holmes, Jenna Russell and Layton Williams.

"This is from us. For the fans. It's a place you can come, be fabulous, be free, and be yourself," said Williams. Forster added: "This is our chance to say thank you to everyone who has ever bought a ticket to see us in a show."

Over 30 special guests have been announced, including musical theatre supergroup SVN, comprising Millie O'Connell, Natalie May Paris, Grace Mouat, Alexia McIntosh, Jarneia Richard-Noel and Maiya Quansah-Breed.

They'll be joined by: Kelly Agbowu, Jocasta Almgill, Luke Bayer, Nikki Bentley, Lauren Byrne, Maddison Bullyment, Tarinn Callender, Lauren Drew, Hiba Elchikhe, Emma Hatton, Sophie Isaacs, Cassidy Janson, Aisha Jawando, Idriss Kargbo, Emma Kingston, Bobby Little, Carl Mann, Jason Pennycooke, Laura Pick, Karl Queensborough, Jon Robyns, Sharon Rose, Charlie Stemp, Ivano Turco, Michael Xavier and Mitch Zhangazha.

Further guests are still to be announced.

Musicals Con is being organised by West End Musical Productions, whose credits include West End Musical Drive In and West End Musical Celebration. The event is also being supported by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT).

Emma De Souza, head of marketing and communications for SOLT, said: "We are delighted to support this incredible convention which we look forward to becoming a staple of the West End's annual events calendar, celebrating our world-leading theatre industry and its devoted audience."

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