From the new halls of the BMO Centre, to the sidewalks lining the route, more people are visiting the Calgary Expo in 2025 than in years past.
The long running event, which connects fans to their fandoms, has made full advantage of a number of changes in the city over the past year, including an expanded convention centre on Stampede Park to the necessity of no longer using Olympic Plaza for event programming to their advantage.
Vice President of Fan Expo HQ, Andrew Moyes, said that what the Calgary Expo has been able to do is put all of the expo activities into one place, unlike in previous years.
“Bigger and better, all under one roof. They’re the taglines this year. Everyone’s seen the press, everyone’s seen the videos, but now we’re living the dream. It is extraordinary to be in this re imagined, renovated, brand new BMO Center, and it’s helping us level up this show, which is so exciting,” Moyes said.
He said one of the big changes was the ability to move the expo’s artist alley from the Big 4 Building into the BMO, allowing expo attendees to not have to travel between buildings.
“We have more rooms to program. So you’ll see that we have a friend-a-verse, a zen den, a silent disco room, anime rooms, cosplay rooms. There’s an ultimate lounge for ultimate ticket pass holders and a VIP lounge. So, I mean, that is just a snippet of some of the newness and some of the that we’ve been able to show people and provide with this new facility,” Moyes said.
That bigger venue has been appreciated by fans like Riley Belcher, and exhibitors like Bow Valley College.
Belcher, who was wearing a home made Helldivers costume, said that he has had a chance to check out the new BMO Centre for other events, but the expanded Calgary Expo was really making a difference for his experience in 2025.
“Everyone’s been super great, like compliments on the cosplay, lots of people wanting photos and everything. It’s been a very fun experience so far,” Belcher said.
Jeff Clemens, Associate Dean of the Centre of Arts and Entertainment at Bow Valley College, said that he had been to the San Diego Comic Con multiple times, and that the new setup at the BMO was making the Calgary Expo closer to that experience.
“This really feels like it’s next level with the new space, and people can actually walk past us. It’s not when we set up, when we have a line going out, but we’re not blocking the whole aisle because there’s space for people to get past. So it’s really cool,” Clemens said.
“We sponsored Artist Alley, and to be across from it and see where these people are creating amazing things, and knowing that we can help them create more amazing things, that’s, that’s super cool.”
Make it and live it at the Calgary Expo
Last year, Bow Valley College set up a live green screen demonstration with professional filming cameras to show how movies were made. This year, the college showed off some of its simulated environment LED wall—cutting edge in the world of television and movie production.
“We joke every year we’ve got to get better next year, and we have, I don’t know how we’re going to do it in the years after this,” Clemens said.
He said the expo provided exactly the kind of environment the college wanted to be in, and the people they wanted to meet.
“These are our people,” Clemens said.
“We’re going to bring people in to make movies and make video games, and then for the students to show them this is a place you can come you can make cool stuff. We will help you make cool stuff, and we’ll train you to do it.”
With legendary Mythbuster Adam Savage attending the convention, he said that was one person he’d like to have visit the Bow Valley College booth.
“He’s just like us. He gets excited about a screwdriver or something tiny that you go, I can make something better because of this little thing. So it would be amazing to have him over here.”
Moyes said that’s exactly the kind of atmosphere where people care deeply and passionately about their fandom that the expo has worked to cultivate.
He said the expo, as a result, has become a real economic generator for the vendors that do participate.
“It is a big weekend for a lot of these vendors, small businesses, local comic shops that come out, and some of them have bigger footprints at the show than they have at their bricks and mortar throughout the year,” Moyes said.
“It’s a very important event for our small businesses within the city. It’s an important event, obviously, for our key partners, like the Stampede, like Victoria Park BIA and the Culture and Entertainment District, who we’re working together with on the Pow Parade—all the hotels, they’re putting heads in beds.”
Celebrities abound at the Calgary Expo
Moyes said that as a result of the show growing, the calibre of guests they have been able to attract has grown. Michael J. Fox, one of the main global stars to make an appearance at the Calgary Expo, is only doing four appearances in 2025.
“We were able to make one of them happen here in Calgary,” he said.
“John Boyega, Nicholas Holt, David Boreanaz, I mean, these aren’t people that appear at Comic Cons all the time. To have them here in Calgary, I think speaks to the leverage we have as Fan Expo HQ, based on our portfolio, but also the pool that Calgary has and the fans in Calgary have as well.”
Other celebrities, like the voice cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and comic book artist, Frank Miller, are also on the weekend docket.
Moyes said the 2025 Parade of Wonders, was a particularly special thing for Fan HQ because it’s the only expo with a parade.
This year Mayor Jyoti Gondek cosplayed as Thor—a costume she said she chose because of the recent election of Loki as dog mayor of the Culture and Entertainment District.
She said the parade is unique to Calgary, and is an amazing reason to choose to come to Calgary for the expo over other North American locations.
“Everybody should come here instead of somewhere else. You really cannot experience an expo or a comic con until you come to Canada, to Calgary, and the parade of wonders is the best way to start this off,” she said.
2025 Calgary Expo Parade of Wonders
