Lucca Comics and Games Marks 60 Years With About 80,000 Fans a Day
Around 80,000 ticket-paying fans a day filled Lucca Comics and Games for its 60th anniversary edition, according to Variety. The festival ran from 28 October to 1 November 2026 in the Tuscan city of Lucca. It calls itself Europe's largest Comic-Con, a fan convention where studios and publishers show new work to the public.
Organisers capped ticket sales at 80,000 admissions a day. Tickets went on sale on 1 September.
The biggest crowds gathered for the cast of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri came with showrunners Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz. A showrunner is the producer who runs a series day to day. Over 8,000 fans gathered at Piazza della Magione to greet them. It was the cast's first visit to the festival. The show's third season is set to debut on 20 November 2026, according to CGMagazine.
HBO brought its Harry Potter series to the festival with a pavilion. It had props and temporary tattoos of the Hogwarts house crests. A filmed message from John Lithgow, who plays Albus Dumbledore, and Nick Frost, who plays Hagrid, was also shown. No one from the show appeared in person, and no footage was previewed.
Other highlights came from across comics, anime and games. The live-action version of the Japanese football manga and anime Blue Lock had its European premiere at the festival. A premiere is the first public screening. Frank Miller announced a new collaboration with the artist Peach Momoko, inspired by Japanese horror stories. Go Nagai, the creator of Mazinger Z and Devilman, was honoured with a special exhibition called Sun, Heart, and Steel.
Italian author and television presenter Alberto Angela led the Star Wars parade dressed as a Mandalorian, the armoured bounty hunter from the films. The crowd was a mix of cosplayers, families and longtime readers, and the parade drew cheers all the way down the street.
The festival also hands out its own prizes. The Lucca Comics Awards grew out of the Gran Guinigi and Yellow Kid awards given at Lucca since 1966. Board games have their own honours too, including the Gioco dell'Anno award for the best board game published in Italy in a given year. The 60th edition was billed as a Diamond Anniversary celebration.
For the fans who made the trip, the festival offered a little of everything in one place: a look at upcoming TV, a chance to meet the people who make it, and a tour through six decades of Italian and Japanese comics. For the studios, it was a rare chance to talk to a large European audience in person.
