It’s scarcely feasible to detail the monumental change that led to the urban Kazakhstan of today; 30 years of evolution that have left parts of the socio-economic landscape unrecognisable to anybody who might be returning after a long break – perhaps anything over a decade.
There is also a stark contrast between that reality and the expectation (as with so many things), and the actor Paul Anderson summed it up aptly when he said:
“I was really impressed when we drove in from the airport to the hotel. What I saw outside the window… I honestly thought I’d landed in Los Angeles.”
The Brit, alongside several other headliners, was in Astana for the 2026 Comic Convention, an event which saw over 76,000 people attend over the four days to witness, or participate in the annual wash of colour supplied by the cosplay, music, fan culture, gaming, comics, and, as a song says, much much more.
Comic Con International reports that some of its events are even bigger, notably San Diego, which sees 130,000 fans packing into a convention centre that the event has by now outgrown, leading to overspill venues that similarly operate at capacity.
Comic Con Astana had to be located in two major arenas, Barys Arena and Alau Ice Palace this year, having already more than established itself, its 2026 guests travelling in from as many as 40 countries.
Yet when it comes to this idea of ‘establishing itself’, could the very success of this major event – in what was until not too long ago a small town in the Kazakh steppe – be seen as the final box ticked by a country which has edged gradually up the list of must-visits?
Inextensive research reveals that there is a Comic Con practically every week in the USA alone. Simply hosting visitors in superhero costumes lining up for a selfie with their third-favourite soap star is no sign that the host city ranks alongside some of the major world population centres, while the bash last week in the Kazakh capital was an occasion to rival almost all of the global conventions.
Astana isn’t even all that big, in global terms. It has a population of 1.67 million.
The Tokyo Comic Con welcomes an average of 75,000-90,000 people, many of whom from abroad, but this is in a city area of some 30+ million and in a culture with the richest pedigree of anime and comics perhaps anywhere to be found. No, nobody does all this like the Japanese.
The corresponding New York event sells a lot more tickets than Astana, but has the advantage of not only its 8.5-million population, but also far more again who can get on a flight into the Big Apple as easily as many people would just go and get on a bus.
It was more than a few buses that delivered the many passionate fans to the two venues this week.
Didar and Tamerlan are both from within Kazakhstan and both 15. The appearance of two famous actors was what inspired them to come, although Tamerlan was a bit miffed to have missed one of his heroes.
“I actually wanted to see Jaime Lannister, and I thought he was here today, but I messed up. It turns out he was here yesterday. I’d like to get an autograph from a Hollywood star [Paul Anderson]. He has worked with many directors, so I’d like to get something from him.”
Didar was happy to step back from the thrills of the day to reflect on what it means for his country, going forward.
“I think it can help Kazakhstan get more recognition around the world and make more people know about us. Because maybe 10 or 15 years ago, we were seen as just an ordinary steppe, not really as a country.
“It’s already on a huge scale. They’re using two arenas this year, for all four previous years, it was held in one venue.
“I think it could grow and grow. Maybe we can invite IShowSpeed, because there have been a lot of requests for him. And he himself wanted to come to Kazakhstan.”
WEproject and Город 24. Алматы. Астана. Бишкек. Ташкент. Душанбе
Tamerlan has more interest in the music than the amine and the AI adaptations, while Olya and Lera flew in from Russia hoping to see Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Paul Anderson. Neither of them were disappointed.
“I was visiting Lera at her house, then I told her that Paul Anderson had been confirmed for Comic Con Astana. She decided to come with me on the spot, but I had already decided because I was keen to see the actors from One Piece, too.”
Lera felt that more comic book stands might fit an event of this size, and she would like to see somebody from Marvel come to a future event, but overall, the two Russian girls feel that Comic Con Astana more than holds its own even when compared to the one in their enormous capital, Moscow.
Nikita is from Kostanay, in northern Kazakhstan. He believes that because of the event’s increasing significance, Robert Downey Jr. and Cillian Murphy could be attracted to come.
“Why not?” was his simple response, shrugged shoulders with a knowing smile, showing the confidence that people are coming to have in their country these days.
A few cosplayers from different parts of Kazakhstan were lining up to meet Paul Anderson and talked about what brought them here, all sharing a long list but all agreeing that this should definitely be an annual event that could grow and grow.
“The most important thing is bringing people together and showing our culture. It lets people see Kazakhstan and how beautiful the capital is. World stars come here. Overall, the most important thing is the development of tourism.”
Yet through all the excitement, one of them had some feedback for event organisers.
“They shouldn’t invite bloggers who have nothing to do with the culture, because they’re not really relevant to the event and nobody comes to see them. Yesterday, Egor Shkred came, and people were just asking him to say hello. That was basically it. I felt sorry for him, because nobody was asking about his life or his work. It would also be really cool if they invited more of our own Kazakh actors.”
Kazakhstan-born Arthur had come all the way from Germany and was touched by the variety, not only of costumes but also guests.
“You meet people from all different countries, and there’s a very diverse crowd.
“I came for Iñaki Godoy, basically. And not only for him, but among the headliners, he was the one I knew. And since there wasn’t such a huge line for Paul Anderson, I thought, ‘Why not?’ I decided to go see him, too. Maybe I’ll watch Peaky Blinders later as well, since he’s in it.”
Granted, any teenager can dress up and doubtless many can buy tickets for things like this. But that over 76,000 people came to a single Comic Con in a remote, albeit impressive city, says a lot about how quickly that city has become established as a cultural powerhouse across the region.
