A New Year for VeXpo: Saturday Experience

VeXpo 2026 has officially closed its doors for another year, and just like the previous iterations, we at Anime Atelier attended the VTuber convention on Saturday, September 19. This time we went as regular attendees and got to experience everything the event had to offer.

The 2026 VeXpo was the biggest yet for the event which celebrated its third iteration. From companies promoting their talents, artists sharing their work, meet-and-greets, to lively concerts filled with sing-alongs, games, and various fun activities, it truly feels like there was something for everyone. Of course, not everything was perfect, but we're pleased to share our thoughts on the experience and overall event!

Stepping Foot At VeXpo 2026

VeXpo is the UK's first VTuber-focused convention created by fans for fans, and as mentioned above, this is the third year that it's running. The focus of the event was bringing together the VTuber community, highlighting unique talents from all over the world, and simply building popularity and helping fans discover new acts. This event is run by volunteers who were monitoring every panel and booth to make sure fans are getting the most out of the convention experience and letting themselves enjoy the thrill of the event.

This year VeXpo was held slightly later than the previous two years, starting on September 18 and running until September 20 at the NEC Birmingham. The convention has been expanded, taking up both halls 9 and 10 compared to the previous year's single hall. This additional room did help with the badge collection flow on Saturday and Sunday; however, there had been some complaints regarding the organization of the collection points on Friday, which was the Community Day (no artist alley). Adding the extra room helped the overall feel of the convention, allowing for more space for those who wanted to eat or rest. At times, the extra space made certain areas feel a bit empty, as there wasn't much to explore.

VeXpo as a convention is growing every year and will surely learn to fill this space as time progresses. It is evident from the number of ticket sold that this growth isn't slowing down anytime soon but it begs the question to if they will be able to effectively grow with demand. If this year is anything to judge by, the VeXpo convention has proven to have the potential to become a well-loved gathering of the VTuber community that will continue to bring together fans from all over the world.

Showstopping Concerts

As always, the concerts were highlights of the event, spanning all three days and often being scattered throughout the day. Saturday had three of them, and although we were sad to have missed the other ones, we really enjoyed the ones we got to see.

Each performance featured unique Vtubers from both indie and corporate projects, all with different approaches to the songs that they sing. Similar to last year, there were a couple of technical issues, but everyone who was involved handled them quickly and efficiently so everyone could enjoy the concert.

The first concert we attended was the ChromaSHIFT 3D concert. This concert was circus-themed, and the talents sang some of the classics well known to the anime community and 90s kids. The Chroma girls performed as 3D models, and even though the concert was pre-recorded, it still felt interactive.

The second concert, Group and Agency, involved Chroma Shift (Akugaki Koa, Riki Poppet, Cersea Soulstorm, lalabell Lullaby, and Enya Ignis), Variance Project (Avaritia Hawthorne, Katya Sable, Leia Memoria, Cecilia Lent, and Embyr Sparks), Algorhythm Project (Tequila, Dev, Effy, Famine, and Midnight), Beastiez (Kairyu Crocodile, Tori Oriane, Piapiufo, and Beribug), and Aegia Link (Triggerfish, Lan Phila, Maefae, Eru Erudite, Veilyn, Kumisa Umare, and Kyuru Rin).

The Group and Agency concert had a huge variety of different talents and showed how well so many of them worked together. We enjoyed how well they interacted with the audience through their songs. It was nice to see fans who didn't know the VTubers singing along. We also got to discover a few more artists whose streams we plan on enjoying going forward.

The final concert that we attended was the Premium VX Factor; this was a paid concert where the tickets were released prior to the event on ConCat. This is where things got a bit tricky for us: we bought two tickets on the same account. However, the service wouldn't let us pay for the second ticket for this specific concert, in spite of it being displayed as a "guest" ticket. We raised the issue to the VeXpo team prior to the concert, but there was no communication leading up to it, and we were unable to sort it out on the scene. Eventually, only one of us got to go in (Jodie).

In spite of the troubles, the VX Factor concert ended up being a blast. This performance was themed after X Factor, a British talent television show. Each participant acted as if they were a contestant on the show. It also included a sizable list of VTubers: Oshiriko, Hakos Baelz, Victoria Roman, Mint Fantome, Phoebe Chan, Dr. Nova, Mono Monet, Paige Terner, Rem Kanashibari, Yae Yugiri, Ao Wuwu, Rara Rocoa, Terra 404, Lyko Lianna, and last but certainly not least: Matara Kan.

Each participant had a unique approach and variety in their song choices, leading to many sing-along moments among the crowd. Sadly, due to the Birmingham trains, we had to leave before the final act, but judging from the voices of many excited fans, Hakos Baelz ended the night on a high note.

Exploring the Panels

There were many panels that went on during the Saturday; however, there is one that stood out the most and the one we were most excited for. Of course, it was the Ironmouse and CDawgVA (Connor) Q&A panel. CDawgVA was there in person with Mouse on the screen, and it was really interesting to see how they bridge the "technology gap" with their insane chemistry. This chaotic duo delivered in every way, and the audience was more than entertained.

Activities, Games, and Workshops

In addition to the concerts and panels, VeXpo 2026 also hosted a wide variety of exciting activities happening throughout the entire duration of the event.

On Saturday, the one event that stood out the most to us was YoshinoArt's Live 2D demo and Q&A. Yoshino, the Italian VTuber and rigger, taught the crowd how to create cute, chibi-style emotes using a variety of tools and carefully explaining what she was doing and how she did it. She encouraged everyone in attendance to give it a go and listened to each question from the crowd before carefully answering it.

A fan favorite activity this year was the "Maid of England" booth, which was essentially a British take on a maid café. This experience was made incredibly fun by some incredibly enthusiastic members of the team who made sure every attendee had an interactive experience. Although we didn't get to experience their service directly because of time constraints, every time we walked past, they always brought a smile to our faces.

Meet-and-Greets With VTubers

High volume of attendees and the lottery ticket system made it so that we didn't actually get to take part in any of the meet-and-greets. Side note: the prices greatly differed between various VTubers, which to an extent is understandable.

The paid meet-and-greets were set up in separate areas in the convention hall where the VTubers were presented on a screen with a microphone and sound system set up to allow fans to communicate with their favorites in real time. Some of the IRL guests, such as voice actress Ashleigh Haddad, were present and doing in-person meet-ups. In addition, there were some featured smaller VTubers that were set up to roam on tablets guided by volunteers, allowing them to interact with attendees and get a tour of the event.

Some booths allowed fans to strike up a conversation with VTubers even if they missed the ticketed events, and that was quite nice to see. It made the experience more special for both fans and the talents, especially if you realize how it's a lot harder to interact with some of the bigger names in the industry.

Artist Alley

Artist alley was the most noticeable change at this year's VeXpo due to its size upgrade. It offered an eclectic variety of artists. Some of them we've seen before, but some were new names. Some of them were using the opportunity to promote their own VTubers, network, and meet potential fans. This felt like a good opportunity for them to show off their unique styles and talent, but it was also an interesting experience for attendees because you are not only buying merchandise; you are also potentially discovering a new favorite streamer.

This year's artist alley was sponsored by the Variance Project, which had a booth located directly opposite the artist alley for fans to interact with their talents.

The only thing that we wished was better in terms of how the alley is set up: with the expansion, it felt like some stalls ended up being awkwardly positioned in corners, and they were quite difficult to reach if it was busy. Of course, it's difficult to place this many artists without any hiccups, and we enjoyed seeing how lively it was.

Coming to the End Of VeXpo 2026

Overall, VeXpo 2026 has shown that it is a solid contender for a go-to event for VTuber fans. While the community has been present at many of the established anime and gaming conventions all over the world, this event is probably the first of its kind in Europe and maybe wider. Focusing solely on VTubers (and streamers to an extent) was a gamble that paid off if we're to judge by the sheer number of attendees this year.

As was the case with previous years, the concerts were a highlight and definitely some of our favorite moments. Judging by the online reactions, these sentiments are shared by many. We enjoyed activities that we could just leisurely walk up to and enjoy, and there is definitely something special about sharing these moments with fellow fans.

And that is a wrap on our reporting of VeXpo 2026! We hope you enjoyed our recap, and we look forward to hearing your opinions on the event that is sure to grow in the upcoming years.

You can find last years Vexpo review here.

Photos by Alysha Parkinson