5 By 5 Festival Cancelled

The mysterious 5 By 5 Festival announced for this year, which caused plenty of discussion on comics news groups on both sides of the Atlantic after it was wrongly linked with rumoured plans for a ComicCon in the UK, has been cancelled.

Organiser Liam Fisher told downthetubes this morning that the Festival has been cancelled "due to a lead sponsor dropping out last minute.

"To continue this year we would have to charge and that's not something we want to do," he says. "We're planning to launch the festival next year exactly how we intended it to be and we'll be presenting monthly four day film events from August onwards."

"Mystery" 5 By 5 Festival: Details Emerge

After our recent news story about rumours that ComicCon was coming to London's 02 venue next year - a report flatly denied by the organisers of the US San Diego ComicCon who have since stated categorically they had not licensed the brand to anyone for UK use - ace cult site Geek Syndicate has set the story straight with the publication of a press release from 5 by 5 Media (PDF), which offers more information on the upcoming 5 by 5 Festival.

The Festival will take place in East London in June and July and is described by 5 by 5 Media's Chief Executive Liam Fisher as a celebration of films, music, art and fashion. The confirmed content will be announced to the public in due course. In an official press release published on the Geek Syndicate site in full, Mr Fisher does not mention any of the rumoured comics guests suggested in recent days, which included Alan Moore - known to avoid conventions these days like the plague - and Stan Lee.

As for the rumours of a comics event at the 02 next year which began with a now clearly erroneous story over on ComicRelated, Mr Fisher confirms he does have plans to use the venue "for several events" but makes no mention of any reported connection with the US ComicCon.

"I have plans to hold several major pop culture events across Europe and as soon as everything is finalised it will be announced," he states. "I have plans to use the 02 Arena for several events and when these are finalised they will be announced."

Commenting on the rumours, Mr Fisher says "I really appreciate the level of interest, excitement, panic and hype already built around an incorrect 'news' story." Resisting the urge to be drawn further on his plans he says anything comics fans may have heard about them "can be dismissed as hearsay and either laughed at and ridiculed, cursed or iglnored depending on what mood you're in.

"Keep your ears open and your eyes peeled as all will soon become clear. Trust me, when the time is right, my communication will be nothing less than 5 by 5."

We hope to keep you posted on developments as they happen. Our thanks to Barry Nugent at Geek Syndicate for drawing our attention to the release and we're more than happy to hopefully help set matters straight.

• Read the press release in full from 5 By 5 (PDF)

ComicCon in the UK?

(Updated, 3 June 2009, see also "Mystery" 5 By 5 Festival: Details Emerge story): Web site ComicRelated reported earlier this week that Liam Fisher, the man behind the upcoming 5 by 5 Festival in East London which starts 18th June, had apparently secured the rights to do Comic-Con outside the US. However, downthtubes has since learnt that ComicCon has not sold any license for a UK show bearing their name in the UK.

According to ComicRelated, the first event would take place next year in the 02 Centre in London and represent the first expansion of Comic-Con outside the US and a major growth in the convention scene for the UK. However, Shane Chebsey, co-organiser of the British International Comics Show, has now had two official denials of the report from the San Diego-based event.

"I just received a second official notification from Comic Con in San Diego that they have not sold any license for a UK show bearing their name in the UK," Shane told downthetubes on 1st June. "They are now looking into the matter urgently."

Mystery surrounds the origins of this report and, indeed, the distinct lack of PR - or even, it seems, a web site - for the upcoming 5 by 5 Festival being organised by Liam Fisher, especially given that the event "celebrates the ever changing world of pop culture and brings together the world of music, art, comics, films and fashion under one roof, regardless of genres or cliques."

In fact, a quick web search for the festival turned up little more than this Newsarama thread, which reveals the festival will apparently include exclusive advance screenings of some of the biggest summer blockbusters such as Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen and G.I. Joe, a variety of themed art exhibitions, live music, fashion shows, and celebrity signings and Q&As from the likes of Stan Lee, Alan Moore, the cast of Transformers, Kevin Smith, Christopher Nolan and Jamie Hewlett.

Apparently the Festival is all free to the public. If anyone has more info or contact details for this event we're more than happy to give it more of a plug but given Alan Moore's avoidance of conventions for years and subsequent research with downthetubes contributors, we are beginning to wonder if the 5 x 5 Festival is a real event.

downthetubes is aware that several major commercial companies have looked at putting on a large-scale comics-oriented event in the UK - some have even approached us for advice and contacts. A French ComicCon will also take place this July in Paris, with a license bought from the US to use the name.

But, as yet, we'd argue only the MCM Expo seems to have begun to challenge the more popular, grassroots organised events such as the Comic Expo in Bristol and Birmingham's British International Comic Show.

• Since this news story was first posted it's become clear that ComicRelated's initial story, while perhaps correct in some respects, was not entirely accurate. Liam Fisher has since issued a press release about the upcoming 5 By 5 Festival and hinted at some of his plans for 2010: read our news story here