One of the UK comic scene’s most iconic conventions now has a new venue and a new date as Thought Bubble Comic Festival 2019 moves to Harrogate in November.

The annual Thought Bubble Comic Festival 2019 has been a mainstay of the UK comics scene for over 12 years. Starting life in a basement of Leeds Town Hall, it spent many happy years in the Royal Armouries before over the entire city centre in 2018 with it’s festival marquees. But now it is to have a new venue as Thought Bubble 2019 is set to be based in the Harrogate Convention Centre and will run from the 4th to the 10th of November (with it’s annual convention running on the 9th and 10th of November).

When asked for the reasons behind this festival organisers explained: “Despite the amazing years we’ve had 2018 was a difficult year at Thought Bubble. We unfortunately had issues with Leeds City Council which took months for us to resolve and made it incredibly difficult to deliver the festival last year. The move to the city centre and the issues around our working relationship with the council has highlighted the fact that there is no space big enough in Leeds to host our convention. We’ve spent the last few months trying to find solutions to make the festival work and doing everything in our power to find an alternative space in Leeds. We’ve looked at the possibility of moving back to the Royal Armouries but we still have the issue of space and having to build a marquee which has been less than ideal with the cold weather in November and the high winds we experienced last year in September. Unfortunately it has become impossible to continue our convention event in Leeds.”

Founder and Festival Director Lisa Wood went on to sas that she and her team have searched for a venue that will do the festival justice and have found an amazing new home:
“We’re delighted to be moving to Harrogate Convention Centre. The scale of the venue, with an amazing bar area, means we can host our much loved Saturday night party under the same roof. A beautiful Edwardian hall will also give us plenty of options for panel areas and on stage presentations. The convention centre is super accessible and we’re  excited to use the convention centre to build on our reputation of presenting activity that is inclusive for all.”

Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre, said: “Welcoming Thought Bubble to Harrogate is really exciting for us. During its time in Leeds the show has evolved into one of the most vibrant events of its kind in the north, if not the whole UK. We’re really looking forward to working with the organisers, artists and visitors  to build on that foundation. I’d say to fans of the event to come and experience our town and our venue and let’s take Thought Bubble to the next level.”

With last year’s event featuring some of the most exciting and innovative indie and small press comics of the year, we hope this new venue and date will allow it to continue being the beating heart of the UK comic scene.

To find out more about the move, some of the guests coming to Thought Bubble in 2019 and also to purchase tickets visit www.thoughtbubblefestival.com