Armageddon Expo is a New Zealand owned and operated pop culture convention that holds multiple events around New Zealand in cities including Auckland, Wellington, Tauranga and Christchurch. The event, run by Beyond Reality Media Premier Event Management, has been running continuously since 1995. It has evolved from its roots of comics and trading cards to showcase computer and video gaming, animation, film and television, cosplay, comics, live wrestling, and retailers selling pop-culture merchandise. The convention hosts celebrity guests from the worlds of movies, TV shows, animation, cosplay, YouTube, comics and gaming. Event attendees can meet guests, purchase autographs and photo opportunities as well as watch panels featuring the guests. Armageddon Expo is one of the largest public conventions held in New Zealand.

History

Armageddon began in Auckland, New Zealand on the weekend of 2 December 1995, at the Avondale Raceway. In 1997, the expo added a Wellington event, followed in 1999 by an event in Melbourne. Over the next 17 years, Armageddon held events in Australia sporadically. In 2007, the first Christchurch Armageddon event was held; Armageddon has also hosted events in other cities in New Zealand including Hamilton, Manukau, and Dunedin. In 2019, in the wake of the Christchurch mosque shootings, Armageddon changed its policy on weaponry and military attire, banning all realistic depictions. The new policy received some public criticism, however it was generally well-accepted. Armageddon was expected to celebrate its 25th birthday in 2020, but event plans had to be altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. Armageddon Expo purchased the Auckland-based horror amusement attraction Spookers in 2020.

Highlights

Current show events include: Armageddon hosts a variety of stalls run by companies from around NZ and internationally, with merchandise including comics, gaming, trading cards, anime, steampunk and memorabilia sales. At each event, there are numerous NZ and overseas comic creators and artists also selling their products.

Venues and guest appearances

1995–1999

2000–2009

2010–2019

2020–present

Spinoff ventures

New Zealand Comic Con

From 2015 to 2017, Armageddon also operated the New Zealand Comic con in Wellington. Events included: Despite attracting nearly 25,000 guests, the last New Zealand Comic Con was held in 2017.

NZ Anime Convention

NZ Anime Convention (also known as the Dunedin Anime Experience) was a commercial anime and manga convention held in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was first held in 2009 in a growing response to include Dunedin into the Armageddon Expo family. The first event was held in the Dunedin Town Hall and from 2010 onwards at Castle Lecture Complex in the University of Otago. This event ceased after two years and was replaced by the Armageddon Expo Dunedin Show in 2012.