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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Eurofurence
Eurofurence (commonly abbreviated EF) is a furry convention, initially held in changing places in Europe every year, but staying in Germany since 2004. It was originally started in 1995 as a private gathering by nineteen European furry fans who met on the Internet. Attendance has been steadily rising since then, to 5,241 at Eurofurence 28 (held in 2024), making it the largest furry convention outside the United States and seventh largest worldwide. The name of the convention derives from its then-contemporary American counterpart ConFurence, emphasising the European nature of the gathering.

Since the year 2000, Eurofurence is no longer organized by individual persons but rather by the German Verein Eurofurence e.V., which serves as an administrative body for the convention.

Contrary to most American furry conventions, Eurofurence traditionally took place at youth hostels. In 2007, Eurofurence was first held at a hotel (the Hotel Ringberg in Suhl).

Graph of attendees at Eurofurence by year

Eurofurence by year

Below is a table of statistics regarding each year Eurofurence has been held. Since 1999 (possibly except for 6 and 9), the convention has had at least one guest of honour yearly. Since 2002, the convention has had a "theme" every year, with T-shirt designs and venue "dressing" to reflect the theme.

Convention Dates Location Attendance Theme Guest(s) of Honour
Eurofurence 1 30 June–3 July 1995 Kaiser-Wilhelm-Koog, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany 19 N/A N/A
Eurofurence 2 18–22 July 1996 Linköping, Östergötland, Sweden 35
Eurofurence 3 21–24 August 1997 Bodstedt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany 59
Eurofurence 4 1–5 August 1998 Heeze, North Brabant, Netherlands 94
Eurofurence 5 22–25 July 1999 Berlin, Germany 112 Lisanne Norman, author of the Sholan Alliance series of books
Eurofurence 6 10–13 August 2000 Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany 160 Unknown
Eurofurence 7 22–25 July 2001 Kirchen (Sieg), Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany 230 Lisanne Norman; Lee "Chairo" Strom, Fursuiter, Puppeteer, and member of the Further Confusion organising team since 2003; Mark Merlino, co-founder of ConFurence, the original Furry Convention
Eurofurence 8 15–18 August 2002 Oberbernhards, Hesse, Germany 260 The F.I.A. (Furry Intelligence Agency) Dr Samuel "Uncle Kage" Conway, Chairman of Anthrocon
Eurofurence 9 21–24 August 2003 Samopše, Středočeský kraj, Czech Republic 165 Cunning Little Vixens Dr Samuel "Uncle Kage" Conway, Chairman of Anthrocon
Eurofurence 10 26–29 August 2004 Olpe, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany 295 EFX : The Movie Timothy Albee, Creator of Kaze: Ghost Warrior
Eurofurence XI 21–24 July 2005 Nürnberg, Bavaria, Germany 380 Songs of the Old Ages Heather Alexander, Celtic Folk/World Rock Musician
Eurofurence 12 23–27 August 2006 405 The Hounds of Blackwhite Castle Dark Natasha, furry artist, winner of Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration at the Ursa Major Awards in 2002
Eurofurence 13 5–9 September 2007 Suhl, Thuringia, Germany 585 The Unlucky Thirteen Lance Ikegawa, costume designer and Steve Gallacci, Creator of Albedo. Alexander James Adams appeared as musical guest.
Eurofurence 14 27–31 August 2008 777 From Dusk till Dawn Watts Martin, writer and fanzine editor/publisher, and Steve Gallacci.
Eurofurence 15 26–30 August 2009 955 1001 Arabian Nights Jimmy Chin, furry artist and fursuiter
Eurofurence 16 1–5 September 2010 Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany 973 Serengeti Stan Sakai, comic author, creator of Usagi Yojimbo
Eurofurence 17 17–21 August 2011 1,066 Kung Fur Hustle Jim Martin, a distinguished Puppeteer
Eurofurence 18 29 August–2 September 2012 1,278 Animalia Romana Peter S. Beagle, novel and fantasy fiction author, creator of The Last Unicorn
Eurofurence 19 21–25 August 2013 1,376 Aloha Hawaii! Warrick Brownlow-Pike, Andy Heath and Iestyn Evans from the BBC comedy "Mongrels"
Eurofurence 20 20–24 August 2014 Berlin, Germany 2,015 CSI Berlin Kyell Gold, Ursula Vernon, Sofawolf Press and Sardyuon
Eurofurence 21 19–23 August 2015 2,095 Greenhouse World Rhubarb the Bear and Cosmik
Eurofurence 22 17–21 August 2016 2,573 Back to the 80s Dorothy Hearst, Author of The Wolf Chronicles book trilogy
Eurofurence 23 16–20 August 2017 2,853 Ancient Egypt Pepper Coyote (Musician) and Clockwork Creature (costume and design studio)
Eurofurence 24 22–26 August 2018 2,911 Aviators - Conquer the Sky Joaquin Baldwin (Animator, photographer)
Eurofurence 25 14–18 August 2019 3,414 Fractures in Time Claudya 'AlectorFencer' Schmidt, Author of Myre
Eurofurence 26 24–28 August 2022
(Originally 19–23 August 2020) 		3,495 Welcome to Tortuga Fox Amoore and JoJoe
Eurofurence 27 3–7 September 2023 Hamburg, Germany 3,408 Black Magic Pechschwinge
Eurofurence 28 18–21 September 2024 5,241 Cyberpunk Iris Schleuss
  1. ^ commonly called EFX by the organisation committee
  2. ^ Steve Gallacci was unable to attend the convention due to family matters.

Main events

  • Pawpet show - Furry handpuppet story with custom plot, music and effects
  • Enter the Arena - Fursuit dance contest
  • Big Blue Dance - Disco with live DJ, light effects and live mixed background animations
  • Group Photo
  • Fursuit parade
  • Art Auction - Bidding for art
  • Dealers' Den - Possibility to sell/buy merchandise and art
  • DDR Tournament

References

  1. ^ "List of in-person furry conventions by attendance". en.wikifur.com. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Eurofurence Archive". Eurofurence. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  3. ^ Staff writer (23 August 1997). "Internet-Fans treffen sich in Bodstedt". Ostsee-Zeitung (in German).
  4. ^ Frank Hommel (8 September 2007). "Mit 'nem Tiger im Fahrstuhl". Freies Wort (in German). p. 2. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009.
  5. ^ Heike Hüchtemann (8 September 2007). "Rollenspiele abseits des wirklichen Lebens". Freies Wort (in German). p. 13. Archived from the original on 7 July 2009.
  6. ^ Staff writer (8 September 2007). "Eine Welt für sich". Thüringer Allgemeine (in German).
  7. ^ Conference Guests Archived 8 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine page (2007).
  8. ^ Conference Guests Archived 14 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine page (2008).
  9. ^ Guest of Honor Archived 26 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine (2012).
  10. ^ Guests of Honor Archived 13 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine (2013)
  11. ^ "Eurofurence 20 - Crime Scene Berlin - Aug. 20. - 24., 2014". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  12. ^ "Guests of Honor". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  13. ^ "Eurofurence 21 - Greenhouse World (Aug. 19 - 23, 2015)". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  14. ^ "Our Guests of Honor - Eurofurence 21". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  15. ^ "Eurofurence 22 - Back to the 80s". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  16. ^ "Guests of Honor - Eurofurence 22". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  17. ^ "Eurofurence 23 - Ancient Egypt". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  18. ^ "Guests of Honor - Eurofurence 23". www.eurofurence.org. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  19. ^ "Eurofurence 24 »Aviators - Conquer the Sky!«". Eurofurence 24 - Aviators - Conquer the Sky!. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  20. ^ "Guest of Honor: Joaquin Baldwin". Eurofurence 24 - Aviators - Conquer the Sky!. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  21. ^ "Welcome". Eurofurence 25 - Fractures In Time. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  22. ^ "EF25 Hella Lots to Talk About!". Eurofurence 25 Schedule. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  23. ^ @Eurofurence (30 April 2020). "Friends, it is with deep regret that we must announce the cancellation of Eurofurence for 2020. We did not come to this decision lightly: the safety of our attendees, staff, hotel personnel and many others is paramount..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ "Welcome". Eurofurence 26 - Welcome to Tortuga. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  25. ^ "Guests of Honor". Eurofurence 26 - Welcome to Tortuga - On the High Seas. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  26. ^ "Eurofurence 27: Home". Eurofurence 27 - Black Magic. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  27. ^ web@eurofurence.org. "Eurofurence 27: Guests of Honor". Eurofurence 27 - Black Magic. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  28. ^ "Eurofurence 28: Home". Eurofurence 28 - Cyberpunk. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  29. ^ "Eurofurence 28: Guests of Honor". Eurofurence 28 - Cyberpunk. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
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