BUCK

By years – photos, videos, and reports

About the event

BUCKcon took place from Friday to Sunday, usually in late August (in 2016 in early April), and during its existence, it was one of the biggest brony events in Europe. It was taking place in various parts of Manchester – with the exception of the final year, in Bridgewater Hall and/or Manchester Central.

The convention did not have an official pre-party, but due to its size, you met other attendees in the city quite easily. In addition to visitors from Europe, it was also visited to a greater extent by overseas bronies.

Summer Sun Celebration was a series of concerts and other musical performances usually held on Friday night in the Manchester Central Hall and featured brony artists not only from Europe. The concert with thematic music of various genres and DJ performances was a magnificent party with a unique atmosphere.

Saturday’s and Sunday’s classic con program corresponded in size and scope to the overall size of the event: panels with several VIP guests from MLP: FiM production, who usually had their own panels in addition to guest group interviews, many community guests with project presentations and discussion panels.

There was also a cosplay show and competition, autograph sessions, workshops, music games, and other competitions of all kinds. A unique panel was the Celestia stage where less-known musicians from the community had short concerts. Overall, the program was very diverse and there was plenty of room for spontaneous fan fun events.

There was also a large number of vendors, so the purchase of merchandise was more a matter of choice and the prices – these were usually above average, which is not uncommon for events of a similar format. In addition to vendors, community guests often offered their works for sale in the same hall.

The after-party was rather unofficial: several took place in different places – some in the evening after the con, others in the form of a joint breakfast the next morning. There the past weekend was discussed over food and drink, plans were made for the future, and then most of the participants headed home.

BUCKcon was organized by BUCK Events Ltd.

History

The first year with around 500 participants was of great interest. The following year, the event became one of the largest MLP events in Europe and was in many ways unique not only in the number of visitors but also in the composition and wide scope of the program.

The main advantage of BUCKcon was to invite guests that many other events could not afford and also to offer a wide program “from fans to fans”.

However, the rapid pace was very difficult to maintain – the preparation and organization of the event cost a lot of time and effort of many people. Fatigue also grew over time. And when the number of fans started to decline after the rocket growth of previous years, the organizers were faced with the decision of whether to reduce the event or organize the last year and end the con. In the end, they decided on the latter, as stated in the official announcement.

The statement said that the organization team would continue to operate and organize smaller MLP events. In the end, it was disbanded in August 2017. However, the accounts on the social networks of the con are still alive and, in addition to occasional contributions, refer to the UK PonyCon.

Also, there is still an e-shop with BUCK merch up and running, where you can find and buy merch from the convention.

Mascot

The mascot of BUCKcon is Britannia (aka “Britty”) – a white unicorn pony with a red mane. Her cutie mark is the Royal Apple with a heart instead of a cross on top and is often depicted in a white hood, with a Roman military helmet and/or the British flag. Her faithful companion is the manticore named Roary.

BUCKcon mascot should not be confused with the mascot of the UK PonyCon, which is also called Britannia.