VidCon

Global Online Video Conference

The initial line-up of Featured Creators for VidCon Australia 2018 has been announced, with Ashly Perez (itsashlyperez), Jazza (Draw with Jazza), ChoppA (Cakes by ChoppA), Mathew McKenna, Shae-Lee Shackleford: SketchShe, Anna Akana, Damian Parker (HeyoDamo), Safiya Nygaard, Georgia Productions, Hannah Hart and Hank Green all confirmed to attend the hugely successful multi-genre video conference from 31 August to 2 September in Melbourne.

VidCon is the world's largest online video community event. It made its incredibly successful Australian debut last year, which saw huge crowds descend on Australia's creative capital in a celebration of digital video. Now, VidCon Australia is set to return to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre for its sophomore year, with upwards of 7,000 people across the country expected to attend.

Over the course of the weekend, top YouTube stars will participate in a range of Q&As, discussions, interviews, meet and greets, demos, workshops and more. The wealth of content on offer will be carefully curated with a view to inform and educate video creators, fans and industry professionals alike.

Jim Louderback, VidCon General Manager, said: "When we brought VidCon to Melbourne last year, we had such an overwhelming response from Australians. There was no question we would do it again this year. It was a sell-out event in 2017 and we're certain we're going to replicate that success again this year, with video becoming more and more popular."

"Australia has such a highly engaged and active online video community that, when we talked about expanding internationally, it just seemed the obvious choice. Almost eight in 10 people now use social media and 50 per cent of Australians are active on YouTube. Those are huge numbers, and they're only going to get bigger – across all social media platforms – with our love of visual content being the primary driver," he said.

"We've been very impressed with the strong government support that we've seen in Australia – not just of VidCon but also the general efforts to build online video market through funding digital originals," Mr Louderback said.

"VidCon's choice to expand internationally to Melbourne proves why we're the creative capital of Australia. It's a fantastic opportunity to showcase the best of our creative talent to the world," said Minister for Tourism and Major Events, John Eren.

VidCon offers a three-track ticketing format, designed to appeal to all levels of interest. The Community Track is designed for people interested in online video, its creators, and its culture, while the Creator Track is for anyone interested in the more involved ins-and-outs of online video culture, or those looking to create better content, grow their channel, break
into the industry, and meet fellow creators.

Finally, the Industry Track is for attendees affiliated with online video in any professional capacity, including anyone who is part of a production company, network, channel, advertising agency or who works in talent management, software development, branding, sponsorship, venture investment, etc.

Super Early Bird tickets for VidCon Australia are on sale now at vidconaustralia.com until 28 February. There's only a week left to take advantage of this amazing deal, with prices set to increase on 1 March, so people are encouraged to register as soon as possible.