The fifth anniversary edition of Comic Con Astana, Central Asia’s largest contemporary pop culture festival, took place in Astana from August 6 to 9. More than 76,000 people from over 40 countries visited the festival during its four days.
The 2026 edition became the biggest in the history of Comic Con Astana. Hundreds of events were held at two major venues — Barys Arena and Alau Ice Palace — covering movies, TV series, comics, animation, video games, cosplay, and modern pop culture.
This year, Comic Con Astana brought together participants and guests from more than 40 countries. Among them were representatives from Russia, China, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Italy, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Cyprus, Thailand, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, and other countries. Well-known actors, artists, cosplayers, bloggers, and content creators travelled to Astana, making this one of the most internationally diverse line-ups in the festival’s history.
More than 16,000 people attended the festival on its opening day, setting a new record for first-day attendance.
Headliners of Comic Con Astana 2026
For the first time, Comic Con Astana featured four international headliners. They included Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, best known for playing Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones, Paul Anderson, who played Arthur Shelby in Peaky Blinders, and One Piece stars Iñaki Godoy and Taz Skylar.
The actors met with fans at Q&A sessions, took part in autograph and photo sessions and shared their impressions of Kazakhstan.
“My first impression of any country is its people. I have to say, I was welcomed very warmly in Kazakhstan. People here are open and friendly. I was also shown photos of Kazakhstan’s landscapes — there are some incredible places. Now I definitely have to come back to see them for myself, especially Mangystau,” Nikolaj Coster-Waldau shared.
The actor also promised to “pass the torch” of visiting Kazakhstan to author and screenwriter George R. R. Martin, creator of A Song of Ice and Fire.
British actor Paul Anderson also praised the festival highly.
“I am who I am. I don’t know how to pretend or put on an act, and I usually speak honestly about my experiences. So I can genuinely say this: this is the best Comic Con I’ve ever been to,” the actor said.
The festival also welcomed international bloggers, artists, cosplayers and content creators, including Jay Kim, Kirill Soerov, Danya Kraster (SuperCrastan), Jane Kravitz, Karrambaby, Dobryak, Dalbek, FixEye, Egor Shkred, Paolo Pantalena, Anya Hahadetka, Ten Yujin, Domer Grief, Nowkie and others.
20 million tenge prize pool for the cosplay contest
One of the main events of Comic Con Astana was the international cosplay contest. Cosplayers from more than 20 countries took part, with 64 finalists competing in 20 nominations.
The Grand Prix of 4.5 million tenge and the title of “Comic Con Astana 2026 Arena Champion” went to Russian cosplayer Frau_Haku for her Lae’zel costume in the Reaper’s Embrace armor from Baldur’s Gate 3.
The first-place prize of 2.3 million tenge went to Russian cosplayer Horn, who portrayed Eredin Bréacc Glas from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Kazakhstan took second place. Astana-based cosplayer Gol.D.Moon received 1.6 million tenge for her Hunter costume from Monster Hunter.
Third place and 1.2 million tenge went to the Astana team Muzhitsky Dozhd for their costumes of Adeptus Astartes, elite Space Marines from the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
Among the special awards, the organizers’ choice went to the Astana team Te Samye. Their interpretation of the Brotherhood of the Black Rabbit from Lies of P won the title of “Comic Con Astana Superhero” and a prize of 1 million tenge.
The Super Family award, worth 800,000 tenge, went to a family from Almaty dressed as Baba Yaga and Vasilisa. Another team prize of 800,000 tenge went to the Serbian group BabySitters for their Battle Queens costumes from League of Legends.
Fans also had the opportunity to choose their favorite contestant. The audience award, “Comic Con Astana Crush,” went to cosplayer Staayshia from Temirtau for her portrayal of Katniss Everdeen as the Mockingjay from The Hunger Games. She received 600,000 tenge.
The total prize fund of the international cosplay contest was 20 million tenge. The competition featured characters from Marvel Rivals, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, Warhammer 40,000, Monster Hunter, The Legend of Zelda, K-pop Demon Hunters, Silent Hill, The Witcher and other popular franchises.
Presentations of new creative projects
Comic Con Astana also continued to support Kazakhstan’s creative community. The festival gives local artists, cosplayers, illustrators, writers, developers and digital creators a chance to present their work to a large audience.
One of the projects presented this year was Tengrida: Cyber Steppe, an art film that combines cyberpunk aesthetics, artificial intelligence and elements inspired by the culture of the Great Steppe. Visitors saw a three-minute AI-animated episode about Tengrida, a heroine who enters a cyber arena to help people see the truth and restore justice.
The project was created by Almaty-based cosplayer Aruzhan Zhunusova, who also designed the character. Tengrida was first presented at Comic Con Astana in 2025. After receiving strong interest from the audience, the character became the basis for an original universe. The next stage of the project will be its participation in the Astana AI Film Festival.
Another major premiere at Comic Con Astana was the exclusive screening of the trailer for Toxic, Kazakhstan’s first superhero series, created by Freedom Kino and TV. The series follows Farhat, an ordinary young man who gains a new superpower every day after a mysterious accident. The creators presented the trailer at the festival for the first time. Combining action, humor, drama and modern visual effects, Toxic offers a new take on the superhero genre from Kazakhstan. The series is scheduled to premiere on September 10.
Hundreds of people behind the festival
According to the organizers, around 500 people are involved in the organizational headquarters and in preparing the venues and building the festival spaces. Including contractors and other external specialists, the project team becomes about three times larger.
“Over the years, Comic Con Astana has grown not only in the number of participants and guests — the perception of geek culture itself has also changed. It has become part of modern urban culture and a space where people of different ages and interests can find each other”, said Comic Con Astana producer Natalya Abrashkina.
The fifth Comic Con Astana ended with record attendance and a strong international presence. The festival brought together fans of movies, TV series, comics, video games and cosplay with international stars and a new generation of Kazakh creators.
