Story Snapshot: Anime Expo’s 35th edition drew 422,000 attendees across four sold-out days in July, Anime Expo 2026 attendance.
The convention returns to the Los Angeles Convention Center July 2–5, 2027, with credentials on sale early 2027.
Anime Expo 2026 attendance exceeded 422,000, the highest figure in the convention’s history.
Moreover, the wrap-up notes that the total surpassed 422,000, per the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation.
The four-day convention ran July 2 to 5, 2026, at the Los Angeles Convention Center and sold out. SPJA said attendees came from more than 65 countries and that the event delivered an estimated economic impact of more than $115 million to local hotels, restaurants, and businesses.
The previous high was set a year earlier, when Anime Expo 2025 reported turnstile attendance of more than 410,000 and an estimated $110 million in economic impact. Turnstile attendance counts each attendee on each day, so a person using a four-day badge is counted four times, as Anime News Network explained in its coverage of the figures. SPJA does not publish a unique-attendee count.
A bigger downtown footprint
This year the convention grew past the convention center itself. SPJA said the Anime Expo footprint expanded to include Crypto.com Arena, The Novo, Peacock Place, and L.A. LIVE, with a closure of Figueroa Street that the organization described before the event as “a festival corridor that connects fans across the expanded campus.”
Programming ran to more than 1,400 hours, up from 1,300 in 2025, and included world premieres, screenings, concerts, cosplay showcases, and guest panels. The pre-show schedule listed a J-POP SOUND CAPSULE concert at Crypto.com Arena, a Vocaloid concert at The Novo, and premieres for Magic Knight Rayearth, Kagurabachi, and Black Clover Season 2.
Industry participants named by SPJA included Aniplex of America, Bandai Namco, CD PROJEKT RED, Crunchyroll, HoYoverse, Hulu, KADOKAWA, MAPPA, Square Enix, and VIZ.
“It’s been a privilege to see Anime Expo continue to inspire and bring together a wonderful community of talented artists, creatives and fans in Los Angeles,” said Ray Chiang, CEO of SPJA, in the release. “We are very honored to spotlight and uplift the talent behind Japanese animation and pop culture for the past 35 years, and we look forward to doing so for years to come.”
Back to LACC in 2027
Anime Expo will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center July 2 to 5, 2027, which falls on a Friday through Monday. Credentials for AX 2027 go on sale in early 2027, according to SPJA. The convention’s registration page currently reads “Coming Soon.”
The 2027 confirmation follows a period of public uncertainty. In its 2025 wrap-up, SPJA said it was “actively evaluating the City of Los Angeles as its longtime home for Anime Expo,” citing questions around the convention center’s long-planned expansion, rising labor and venue costs, and the event’s growth. The $2.6 billion expansion and modernization project broke ground in October 2025 and is scheduled for completion in 2029.
Anime Expo began in 1991 as “Anime Con,” organized by members of UC Berkeley’s anime club, and was incorporated as Anime Expo in 1992. It moved to the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2008, when unique attendance stood at about 43,000, according to SPJA’s own history.
Sources
- Anime Expo, “Anime Expo 2026 Wraps Its 35th Edition” (July 10, 2026)
- Anime News Network, “Anime Expo Sets New Record of 422,000 Turnstile Attendees” (July 11, 2026)
- Anime Expo, “Anime Expo 2026 Returns With Expansive Programming and a Multi-Venue Downtown Los Angeles Experience” (June 30, 2026)
- Anime Expo, “Anime Expo 2026 Reveals Full Schedule” (June 25, 2026)
- Anime Expo, “Anime Expo 2025 Wraps Four Days of Celebration” (July 2025)
- Anime Expo, About
- Urbanize LA, “$2.6 Billion LA Convention Center Expansion Breaks Ground” (Oct. 2, 2025)
