Iceland hosts online gaming conference

This weekend Iceland is hosting ‘Fanfest’, a conference which is expected to draw more foreign visitors to the Nordic island than almost any other convention ever held.

Fanfest is a chance for those who love EVE Online, a multiplayer online space game developed in Iceland, to gather together in Laugardalsholl concert hall in Reykjavik to share their passion.

This year’s event will the third, with each year attracting more and more participants. The last two Fanfare events were held in Loftkastalinn Theatre and Hotel Nordica (now Hilton). This year, however, a larger space was required.

“We won’t fill Laugardalsholl, but if the festival’s popularity will continue to grow we may need a larger venue for 2009,” CCP CEO Hilmar Petursson told a local news source.

Nearly 1,000 foreign visitors are expected to visit Iceland over the weekend for the conference. “I can’t remember at the moment whether a larger convention has ever been held in Iceland, nothing except Airwaves has attracted more people,” Petursson said.

Airwaves, a popular annual musical event held this year between October 17th and 21st, attracted 2,000 foreign visitors.

Most of those planning to attend the conference from abroad will be coming from Britain, however others will make the trip from as far away as Australia and New Zealand. “People come here to meet the people they’ve been playing with, meet us who designed the game and talk about what is happening in the world,” Petursson said.

“It is much rather a celebration of the EVE Online game itself than for people to come here for something particular they want to see,” Petursson concluded.