The Exportdrva space in Rijeka became the center of science fiction, gaming, and pop culture last weekend thanks to the Rikon 2024 convention, which attracted over 4000 visitors from Croatia and the region this year. This year's Rikon, held from October 11 to 13, 2024, featured the appearance of Doug Cockle, the voice actor of the legendary Geralt of Rivia from the mega-popular game "Witcher," as well as a rich program that brought together fans of games, cosplay, movies, literature, and Asian pop culture.
Doug Cockle, the honorary guest of the convention, delighted fans and the audience with panels and discussions. Cockle, an American actor and voice actor, not only signed autographs for fans but also talked about his behind-the-scenes experiences. In addition to voicing in well-known video games like "Witcher," "Baldur's Gate 3," and "Alan Wake II," he has also worked on many films and with famous stars - he particularly highlighted Susan Sarandon and Dolly Parton as his favorite collaborations. Cockle's arrival was certainly the most prominent part of the Rikon program, which provided visitors with a unique opportunity to meet one of the most recognized voices in the gaming world.
“We are really thrilled with Doug's approach to the audience - it was a pleasure to watch him dedicate himself to each person during the autograph signing, not just for an autograph or a picture, but also to talk and listen to his fans with genuine interest. We spoke with him later and agreed that, although this is his job, it is clear how much he enjoys it. We were most impressed by some fans who, after getting an autograph on their arm, ran to the tattoo zone and got it tattooed!”, said organizer Valentina Mišković Yoe, who, as she says, introduced the honorary guest to all the best of Croatia, including a selection of top Croatian wines.
Cosplay competition and K-pop Dance thrilled the audience
Friday was marked by Korean pop music, with the only international K-pop Dance competition held in Croatia. The competition attracted talented dancers from Croatia and neighboring countries. Awards were given for the best solo performance (Nikolina Škrlec), best duo performance (Lana Matuš, Nika Predavec), and best group (Se7en).
Saturday was reserved for the most popular part of the program – the Cosplay competition, which this year featured 23 contestants from Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia. The competition takes place in two categories - one for beginners in this craft and the master league. In the beginner league, the main prize was won by Lea Pungerčić from Slovenia, while in the master league, the prestigious “Best in Show” award was won by Vida Simić from Serbia, as the character from the game “Witcher” - Noonwraith. All contestants amazed the audience with their impressive costumes and props, especially with their creative performances, but the favorites who won the audience awards were the beginner Nex Cosplays with the Skull Kid mask from the game “Legend of Zelda” and again, Vida Simić and Damjan Silbaški, with a joint performance as the ViD arts duo.
The judging panel of the competition consisted of a trio of impressive cosplay artists - Veronica Alzate who hides behind the artistic name “Hanami Cosplayer”, a Colombian with a Zagreb address, who has won many international awards, and earlier this year, the award at the first Rijeka gaming expo. “Lonely Wolf J” - Jan Strmšek from neighboring Slovenia - who walked around the convention in his impressive version of Geralt, and Lovro Belošević from Krapina, better known on social media as “Supernaut”, where he posts educational videos about making props and costumes.
“I’m thrilled to have met Doug, I wanted to meet him ever since I started working on my Witcher costume - after playing the game. For the performance of this cosplay costume, I learned to imitate his voice, and now I had the chance to meet Doug and hear him loud and clear. He taught me some tricks on how to sound like a Witcher, it’s my favorite costume and game,” said Jan Strmšek. “This is my first time at Rikon and I’m really impressed with the quality of the organization, production, attention, and love that the organization obviously dedicates to this convention!”
Film Magic - Stunt Performers in Action
A special attention was drawn to the program dedicated to the film industry and those invisible heroes - stunt performers, featuring both local and foreign stunt performers and the director of the Karlovac Cinema Edison, Ivan Gojmerac, as the organizer of the first Croatian stunt festival. Željko Matovina, a Croatian stunt performer revealed various secrets of the craft to the audience, while the Italian stunt performer Ivan Furlani caused screams and applause from the audience during a fire demonstration - walking for a full minute in flames in front of the audience.
“We have worked on various globally known hits such as “Game of Thrones” and the movies “The Expendables”. It’s a pleasure for us to share some of those experiences with the audience at Rikon,” revealed Željko Matovina.
Another program dedicated to science, knowledge, and entertainment
With an exceptionally rich program, visitors of Rikon 2024 could participate in numerous panels that touched on various relevant topics, and entertaining quizzes were also a must. A special panel titled "Careers in the Video Game Industry: The Path to Success" was prepared with the aim of educating young people and high school students about educational and career opportunities in the domestic video game industry, providing them with useful advice on how a passion for video games can become a lucrative career. Particularly interesting was the panel "Clash of Generations: From Cult Sci-Fi Classics to Metaverse Monopolies," where there was a lively discussion about changes in the film industry and the future of science fiction.
Also well-received was the panel on the topic "Cro-Asian perspectives: Living between cultures" with guests from East Asian countries discussing their experiences living in Croatia - Kim Ji Yeon from the Rijeka Sejong Institute for Korean Language and Jonathan Yoe, an American of Asian descent, who is also part of the Rikon organization.
“It’s interesting to hear the experiences of other Asians in Croatia. I really enjoyed sharing my experiences and talking about how Croatia has developed in recent years, since I was one of the few Asians here, and now more diverse faces have come to Croatia,” said Jonathan Yoe, adding that he has been participating in Rikon for a long time and loves to share his experiences with the audience, which always asks curious questions.
Rikon 2024 exceeded expectations
This year's Rikon once again demonstrated why it is the largest and most important convention of its kind in Croatia. Rijeka finally got the festival it deserves, at the level of quality of European pop culture festivals, and Rikon has once again proven to be a unique platform for entertaining and educational content for young people.
“Every year the festival grows, but this year we are especially proud of the new location - Exportdrvo, in the city center. It’s wonderful to see how the audience reacts to the space, to hear positive comments, and to see the result of our work. Our team is small, but we work dedicatedly on this project all year round,” stated organizer Marta Glažar. “This weekend, around 4,000 visitors walked through Rikon, from the youngest fans to the most loyal old friends. We are certainly grateful for the support of the City of Rijeka and the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, as well as the Ministry of Culture and Media and various sponsors.”
Rikon 2024 has ended, but the impressions and memories remain, and Rijeka has once again positioned itself as a center of culture, fantasy, and pop culture in the region.
