A JAPANESE animé festival, which brought 3000 visitors to St James’ Park this summer, has resulted in a six figure contract win for the stadium.
Following the success of SunnyCon 2016, a three-day festival celebrating characters from
the worlds of gaming and animé (held 17-19 June), organisers have signed a five-year contract with the stadium’s catering partner, Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events.
The contract will enable the annual convention, which was originally held in Sunderland before moving to the Newcastle United ground this year, to expand its offering and capacity and SunnyCon founder Donna Yeoman, said: “It marks the start of a whole new phase for the convention.
“When we outgrew Sunderland Newcastle was the obvious choice, but this year’s event exceeded even our expectations.”
Over the course of the SunnyCon 2016 weekend, thousands of film, sci-fi, animé and gaming fans descended on the stadium dressed as their favourite screen characters, to enjoy demonstrations, talks and stalls, relating to the increasingly popular Japanese animé trend.
They also met VIP guests, such as US voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch – who also played Black Ranger for the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers – and Japanese voice actor Fumiko Orikasa.
“The event has just grown bigger and bigger,” said Donna, “but our decision to sign with Sodexo PV&E at St James’ Park wasn’t just based on capacity but also on the professionalism of the catering and hospitality team.
“They grasped the concept from the outset and backed it entirely – from providing Japanese-themed catering to publicising the convention across the region and beyond.”
Sodexo Prestige Venues & Events area sales manager, Samantha Doyle, said: “We are delighted to enter into this new, five-year agreement with SunnyCon.
“The stadium’s city centre location and our ability to provide catering to the highest standard for large numbers make us an ideal choice for large scale events of this kind and we are very much looking forward to the next SunnyCon convention.”
For further information about Sodexo Prestige and its conference and banqueting facilities at Newcastle United call 0191 201 8525 or e-mailcandb@nufc.co.uk