PRESS RELEASE

PopCon Seoul, first-of-its-kind international pop-culture event to be launched in April 2017 The annual event promises to be the ultimate 3-day geek carnival experience

Universal Events & Entertainment (UEE)—a premier international events company and subsidiary of UAE-based Al Ahli Holding Group—will be hosting a first-of-its-kind pop- culture event, PopCon Seoul from April 21 to 23, 2017 at SETEC (Seoul Trade Exhibition and Convention) in Seoul.

UEE has successfully launched AsiaPOP Comicon (APCC) in Manila during 2015 and 2016 to an overwhelming response with fans in Manila who cannot wait for 2017’s edition to hit their city while UEE also launched PopCon in Dubai this year. The overall event is much more than a comic con which includes comics, collectibles, cosplay, animations, gaming, movies and television as it incorporates every element of pop lifestyle trends such as beauty, makeup artists, fashion influencers, unique children play zone, sporting, fitness, digital and social media activation that will tap into various segments of consumers to make it one great immersive experience under the same roof.

PopCon Seoul will have all the pop-culture integrated together offering a unique immersive experience of East-meets-West activations that Korean fans have been craving for. PopCon Seoul promises to bring popular mainstream Hollywood celebrities, talents and artists who will be sharing the platform with popular and rising talented Korean artistes.

“We have been impressed with Korean’s passion and enthusiasm for pop culture as they have been the trendsetters in many fields within the region. Korea enjoys an immense fan following for various segments that include Hollywood, music, animation, gaming, toys and cosplay and while they have left their global footprint within other pop-culture elements such as beauty, fashion, sports, fitness, lifestyle and digital activation making it imperative for Al Ahli Group with its subsidiary Universal Events and Entertainment to bring PopCon Seoul, truly a pop culture carnival not witnessed before in the country” said Abdulla Mahmood, Director- Marketing and Business Development, Al Ahli Holding Group

Star-studded Extravaganza

In the last two years, APCC Manila and PopCon Dubai featured a powerhouse Hollywood guest lineup that included X-Men star Nicholas Hoult, Avengers star Paul Bettany, Game of Thrones stars Nathalie Emmanuel and Joe Dempsie, Netflix’s Stranger Things sensation and Luke Cage’s Theo Rossi, Arrow heartthrob Colton Haynes, 5 times UFC champion Randy Couture, Japanese musical legend Hiroshi Kitadani, voiceover genius Jeremy Shada, along with a roster of internationally-acclaimed cosplayers and artists.

With the track record of talent and artistes UEE has lined up, the initial year of PopCon Seoul promises to boast another stellar set of celebrity guests and artists during April 2017 which will ensure that die-hard fans will be able to get their dream-come-true moment for meet and greet sessions with their favorite hero. First announcement of talents and artists will begin from January 2017.

Cosplay Competition and Beauty Fest

UEE is proud to announce that The Cosplay Authority Global Challenge aka The CAGE, the region’s biggest and first–of-its-kind cosplay competition, will be launched during PopCon Seoul. It aims to promote the spirit and craftsmanship of cosplay through costume and prop-making workshops, as well as provide a platform for cosplay enthusiasts and fans to compete on an international level.

The grand champion will be determined by an impressive panel of expert judges from various areas of cosplay and stands to win a cash prize to be announced shortly which will surely motivate talented Korean cosplayers in the country.

Besides The CAGE, PopCon Seoul will introduce BeautyFest, an activation dedicated to beauty and fashion, which was launched in Dubai PopCon recently with the attendance of popular international beauty celebrities such as Chrisspy Makeup, Etienne Ortiga and The Real Fouz and was hosted by E! Fashion Police TV presenter Giuliana Rancic. BeautyFest at PopCon Seoul will feature international and local beauty-related brands together with well- known beauty influencers who will conduct workshops and panels while having meet & greet sessions with fans. More activations and surprises are lined up which will excite the various fans and geeks in the region.

“We are confident that we will offer Korea a unique experience and our relationships with key Hollywood studios ensures that we will be able to bring exclusive content which will be bigger and grander than what has been offered in the region before,” Mahmood added.

Tickets to PopCon Seoul will be announced soon. For more information and event updates, please visit www.popconseoul.com and official Facebook Page will be launched soon,

###

ABOUT POPCON SEOUL PopCon Seoul will be an international pop culture convention themed around comics, film, toys and collectibles, animation, games, cosplay, superheroes, beauty, fashion, lifestyle, sports, fitness, social media, digital activation and everything pop culture. The event will attract several internationally renowned artists, celebrities and pop-culture icons to PopCon Seoul, and draw the attention of ardent fans. PopCon Seoul will feature exhibitors from genres of pop culture and top studios from the across the globe, to bring popular brands and exclusive content for the show.

Focusing on delivering the ultimate fan experience, PopCon Seoul aspires to bring geek culture mainstream and stand tall as a perfect launch pad to unveil new products and first look of movies for

the Asia Pacific region providing a galore of potential opportunities for SMEs in the entertainment business to reach out to big brands and the vibrant creative talent pool from APAC. While the event will serve as a mega licensing avenue for studios to establish a direct access to potential clients through B2B networking, the larger purpose of the event will remain the outreach and communication for celebrities and brands with their fans and engage with them on a one-on-one basis.

ABOUT UNIVERSAL EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT Universal Events & Entertainment (UEE), a subsidiary of Al Ahli Holding Group is a premier and dynamic international events Management Company, headquartered in Singapore committed to be the forefront of pop culture/comic con events globally. The passionate and dedicated team combined has over 4 decades of event management experience in the area of pop culture.

Universal Events & Entertainment prides itself in bringing world class celebrations of pop culture globally that delivers the ultimate fan experience whilst assisting brands to tap into the pulse of pop culture. We aim to build and engage communities and fans at our comic cons worldwide. UEE will kick off a series of comic cons events globally in Manila, Dubai, Seoul and USA in the near future.

> PR Contact Company Name E-mail Phone

UEE Denise Tan [email protected] +65-6248-0863 PR agency

Access Communications Jee Yoon Jung [email protected] 02-2036-9934 / 010-7113-4006 & Consulting Co.