AIREMAGEDDON: Popular Harrogate Convention AireCon To Host Final Event in 2027

Harrogate based AireCon has become a regular fixture on the games convention calendar over the years. Spawning two spinoff events - ACNWand ACWest - the latter of which is taking place at the Ramada Telford at the end of next month (30th September - 3rd October), AireCon has come along way since AireCon 0 in July 2015 which attracted 28 attendees and was held in organiser Mark Cooke’s flat. The 2026 event attracted around 5000 people at the Harrogate Convention Centre.

Along with the annoncement of the 2027 dates came the news that it will also be the last ever Airecon. Affectionately named AIREMAGEDDONthe show will be taking place from 11th-14th March, with tickets going on sale on 11th September at 5pm.

Breaking the news on social media earlier this afternoon (27th August), organiser Mark Cooke simply said “It’s true, tickets for the LAST EVER AireCon go on sale in 2 weeks”

AireCon moved from it’s previous home in Bradford to Harrogate in 2017, with AireCon 3 attracting 683 attendees. It more than doubled in size for AireCon 4 with 1593 attendees and has kept growing ever since. No physical event was held in 2021 due to Covid, so they ran an online show called AireCan’t, which was there only online event.

The AireCon website carried the following announcement:

After more than a decade of dice, cards, games and friendships, we have some big news to share: the next AireCon will be the last AireCon.

AireCon began back in 2015, when Mark and a group of friends decided to put on a little gaming event. The first gathering, now affectionately known as AireCon 0, was the beginning of something none of us could quite have imagined.

Since then, with your support, AireCon has grown into a much-loved fixture of the UK tabletop gaming calendar. The next event will be our 12th public AireCon, alongside AireCon 0, ACNW, ACWest and the rather unusual AireCan’t (our online-only event during the COVID years) bringing the story of AireCon to its final chapter.

There have been countless games played, new friendships made, old friendships strengthened, tournaments won and lost, late nights, early mornings, questionable snacks, and an enormous amount of fun along the way.

Most importantly, AireCon has always been about the people. Everyone who has attended, volunteered, exhibited, demoed games, run events, helped behind the scenes, or simply turned up with friends has been part of what made AireCon what it is.

Why is it Ending?

When AireCon moved to the Harrogate Convention Centre in 2017, we couldn;t have asked for a better home. We built a fantastic relationship with the team there, who were always a pleasure to work with and genuinely seemed to enjoy havign AireCon at the venue.

there was also a shared understanding of what AireCon brought to harrogate and the wider region. It wasn’t simplly an event taking place in a building - it brought thousands of visitors to the town, filling hotels, restuarants, pubs and shoips, with many returning year after year..

Over time, however, a combination of factors has made it increasingly challenging to run AireCon in a way that preserves the character and spirit that made it so special in the first place.

With that in mind, we’ve made the very difficult decision to end AireCon on a high, with 2027 being the last event. This also means the end of all AireCon events, including ACNW (no more scheduled) and ACWest (the last one will be in October).

But we’re not going quietly…

Far from it.

We’re already hatching plans to make the final AireCon the biggest and best AireCon ever and we’re going to make sure we go out with a bang.

In fact, we’ve already started referring to it as AIREMAGEDDON.

Expect games, events. guests, surprises, ridiculousness and probably a few things that we haven’t quite figured out how we’re going to pull it off yet. After all, we’ve got one last chance to throw everything at it.

AireCon will be missed, having become one of the biggest tabletop gaming conventions in the UK, with only UK Games Expo (Birmingham NEC) and Salute (London ExCel) attracting more attendees. AireCon was probably the third largest UK show, with both Dragonmeet (London ExCel) and Tabletop Scotland (Edinburgh) attracting similar numbers, and Bournemouths Beachhead Tabletop Games Expo not too far behind.

Thanks to Ben, Mark, Nabil, Rick and all of the AireCon crew for all the effort and enjoyment they brought to the hobby over the years and here’s to a fantastic finale!