VidCon London took place at the ExCeL Centre in London from 14 – 17 February, its first ever convention held in the UK!
TenEighty was there in full force over the weekend, taking in everything VidCon London had to offer. From the numerous panels and stage performances, to the wide array of activities and much, much more, there was plenty to do and see. The convention received a wide array of responses from both attendees and creators alike, so we thought we’d round-up just what everyone had to say about the past weekend.
Many seemed to have a great time
Had an awesome time at #VidConLDN! Met some lovely people, recruited a bunch to interview for my PhD, heard a lot of interesting perspectives to nuance my own. The UK online video community is alive and thriving. Couldn't have hoped for more! 👌 pic.twitter.com/JbAIdlw5qS
— Zoe Glatt 🤓 (@ZoeGlatt) February 17, 2019
“The UK online video community is alive and thriving,” was Zoe Glatt‘s response to VidCon London.
WE HAD SUCH AN AMAZING TRIP OUT HERE IN LONDON & MEETING EVERYBODY 🤩🤩 THANKS @VIDCON, U GUYS ROCK !!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
— Kian & Jc (@KianAndJc) February 18, 2019
Kian Lawley and JC Caylen had an amazing trip!
London, it was so much fun. I love your history, your accents, your afternoon tea. And I loved VidCon London. It was my first time as a featured creator and being given events and panels. I think I did alright for my first go. Haha. And as always, lovely to see my Explainers! ❤️
— Rebecca Parham (@_RebeccaParham) February 18, 2019
Rebecca Parham didn’t seem to have a bad word to say about the weekend.
However, some felt the event overlooked British YouTube…
I feel like v*dxcon london didn't respect the local creator community and came in with an elitist, America-centric and corporate attitude. so many brilliant mainstay UK creators were snubbed in favour of reality stars and inflated stat short form platform creators.
— beckii kind ✨ (@BeckiiCruel) February 17, 2019
I was offered the same Mel and I said no because I’d be embarrassed to go when some friends that have a creator pass it’s just ew! Tbh looking how terrible the first one in Amsterdam was this is not a shock
— Roly (@RolyUnGashaa) February 17, 2019
Beckii Cruel felt VidCon “came in with an elitist, America-centric and corporate attitude,” a sentiment shared by other UK creators, including Melanie Murphy and Roly West, who were offered passes, but with no appearance on the panels or at any meet and greets.
Thank you vidcon 👍 pic.twitter.com/E2sUTwGut9
— ImAllexx (@ImAllexx) February 16, 2019
Alex Elmslie felt snubbed by the event, explaining in a video posted to his Twitter about why he was unable to enter the ExCeL Centre. He was advertised as attending in the lead-up to the weekend and many purchased tickets to meet him specifically:
“I asked them if I could come in. They left me out in the cold for three hours with no reply. […] I then had to get all of the people who had paid for VidCon tickets to see me – because they advertised me on the event – to come outside because they wouldn’t let me in to meet the people who had bought tickets to see me.”
He was also advertised as appearing on a panel the next day and was not informed if he would be able to attend. These mistakes led to a the formation of BeanCon, with James Marriott. BeanCon meant the pair’s fans who had purchased VidCon tickets with the specific intentions of meeting them were able to do so.
There were questions about security
I honestly don't know what vidcon expects when they ask creators to come to a convention and meet the fans, on the other hand it would be nice if fans did wait a bit so they wouldn't form huge crowds around you guys.
— Zapacunotres (@Emobayleef17) February 17, 2019
As well as complaints about the lack of organisation, many felt the rules surrounding security removed a sense of community from the event. Rebecca accidentally had a fan meetup that led to her not being allowed in public spaces anymore. Many felt this seemed a bit off, with one Twitter user tweeting, “I honestly don’t know what VidCon expects when they ask creators to come to a convention and meet the fans.”
I would say that nobody blames. It just went unhappy. @VidCon has to guarantee the safety of the people and ensure that no one gets hurt. It just went silly and that is a pity 😢
— Marcel T (@M4RC3L0993) February 17, 2019
However, many defended such decisions, pointing out the need for the safety of all in attendance. “VidCon has to guarantee the safety of the people and ensure that no one gets hurt. It just went silly and that is a pity,” tweeted one user.
There were a few more complaints…
hey @VidCon – a few people have messaged me that they haven't got their photos from the meet and greet with me, @Roxxsaurus and @AnastasiaK_xoxo – any ideas what's happened? pls help us!
— soph ✨ (@sophdoesnails) February 18, 2019
Several photos from the meet and greet with sophdoesnails, Roksana Janiszewksa and Anastasia Kingsnorth appeared to have gone missing.
Ohh @VidCon we love you, but closing the hall at like four and having the next thing start at 5:30 is not a smart move. The lower level is already cluttered with people and we have 1,5 hours to go #VidconLDN
— Ivana✨ (@Septictomlinson) February 17, 2019
A one and a half hour gap between the expo hall closing and the starting of The Night of Awesome was also criticised, as the lower level became extremely crowded.
It’s not all doom and gloom!
Okay so, quick breakdown: #VidConLDN was *amazing* and I had such a good time, met some really cool people, led a fantastic networking session, had the best time at the Creator Chat with @TheHazelHayes and learned *so much* about how to grow my channel. BEST. WEEKEND. EVER. 😄🥰
— Leximus Prime 🐿️ | @ VidCon London (@DaTigerSquirrel) February 17, 2019
A lot of creators, fans and industry professionals took to Twitter to declare what a great time they had at VidCon London and how much they felt they had gained from the weekend. Lexi of DaTigerSquirrel felt she’d not only learned a lot, but also “met some really cool people” and didn’t hesitate to call it the best weekend ever.
From the bottom of my heart thank you dazzlers for coming out to #VidConLDN and showing love. Sorry i had to say no sometimes to pictures etc but i have to do what the amazing security teams ask of me for safety. I love you all ❤️
— Daz Black (@daz_black) February 17, 2019
Daz Black couldn’t thank VidCon attendees enough.
Hope everyone had a great time at #VidConLDN, we know we did! Save journeys home everyone we don’t want no one getting hurt because that’s no fun! @VidCon
— Max & Harvey (@maxandharvey) February 17, 2019
Max and Harvey Mills had a great time!
Soft tweet but I had an amazing time seeing a bunch of you all and also a lot of my friends at @VidCon! pic.twitter.com/7txgSbWWtE
— ˗ˏˋ niki ˊˎ˗ (@NikiAlbon) February 17, 2019
Niki Albon gave us a soft tweet summing up the amazing time he had.
So there you have it…
How the YouTube community reacted to VidCon London. Be sure to stay tuned to our Events tab, as we’ll be posting about the weekend’s panels, performances and much more throughout the next few weeks! What was your favourite part of the convention? Be sure to send us a tweet to @TenEightyUK and let us know.
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For updates follow @TenEightyUK on Twitter or like TenEighty UK on Facebook.
