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Blackpool Magic Convention, the World's biggest magic convention, is held annually in Blackpool, England. The convention features top quality magic shows, magic lectures, magic competitions, and magic dealers. The highlight of the event is a world-class gala show featuring performances of magic stars from all around the world. Usually the convention runs for three days and three nights over the last weekend of February each year. The line-up of magicians for this year event were Shimada Haruo, Shoot Ogawa, Mahka Tendo, Fukai, Topas, Scott and Muriel, David Stone, Helder Guimaraes, David Solomon, Michael Close, Lennart Green, and many many more.

 

I have come to this convention 3 times and it has been always a wonderful event. This year I and a group of 10 members of the magic society at the university went to the convention. We arrived Blackpool at around 2 pm on Friday. After checked in to the hotel, we quickly headed to Blackpool Winter Garden, the venue of the convention, for registration. From this moment three days and three nights full of magic, magic and magic began !!!

 

We warmed up by looking around the dealers' stalls as we had some time before the first lecture started at 4 pm. The first lecture was David Sousa's lecture. David explained his theory about how to make audience seeing a magician on stage clearly. To me, it was boring as I am not doing manipulation nor stage act. The following lecture was by Valerie from France about quick change. I liked this lecture because I did not have much knowledge about quick change magic and Valerie did a good job in her explanation. We then went out for dinner and came back for the European Magical Close-up Competition.

 

Twelve competitors were invited to take part in the close-up magic competition. The level of all competitors was extremely high so it was enjoyable to watch. I was impressed by two performers, Charming Choi from Korea who performed a very nice matrix with music and Olmac from France who amazingly showed a very visual card routine. The winner was Olmac and the runner-up was Charming Choi.

 

The late night lectures were given by David Stone from France and Lennart Green from Sweden. David Stone's lecture was excellent and well prepared. It was informative and very entertaining. David himself was fabulous for both his skill and personality. He explained his one coin routine, bottle production, the methods to produce glasses full of liquid from sleeves. He also demonstrated his new gimmick which makes a signed card appearing in a cell phone. Lennart Green started his lecture by showing a shot performance. He clumsily haphazardly and messily shuffled a borrowed deck but still was able to deal perfect poker hands. He then gave a lecture on card tricks which relied on mathematic principles. The lecture finished at almost 1 am. It was a long day and we were tired so we went straight back to our hotel for a good sleep.

 

On Saturday, I woke up at 9.30 am. After breakfast, it was already late so I skipped Martin Sanderson's lecture but attended the next lecture by David Solomon. Mr Solomon is a card magician from Chicago. His methods were simple but the effects and presentation were good. I enjoyed all tricks in his lecture especially a very nice Oil & Water routine. Also the afternoon lectures were from J.J. Sanvert, J.C. Wagner, Lior Manor and Geoffrey Durham. However, I decided to skip the lectures to have time for the international close-up magic shows which ran at the same time.

 

The theme of Blackpool convention this year, once again, was "Close-up Colossus". There were as many as 16 top-notch close-up magicians invited. Because I did not spend time in lectures so I arrived close-up room early and was able to sit at the front row. Eight performers of Saturday included Shoot Ogawa, Kotya Kimlat, Crist Priest, Patrick Przysiecki, Michael Close, Richard Sander, Helder Guimaraes, and Lennart Green. It was a great pleasure to watch these world-class magicians performing their excellent routines live in just a metre away in front of my eyes. I was also lucky to help some of them during the shows. Shoot Ogawa performed spectacular tricks with coins, cards, thimbles and wands. Michael Close showed "card, forehead and salt shaker" routine. Helder Guimaraes did a card routine similar to his FISM act. Richard Sander presented his marketed items including Interlace, Extreme Burn, and his new rope routine called Fibre Optic. Lennart Green performed card tricks in a clumsy manner but bewildered everyone. My favourites of the day went to Shoot Ogawa for his highly skilled sleight of hands and to Lennart Green for his truely impossible tricks.

 

After the show I had time to wander around in dealers' halls. More than 100 magic dealers from all around the world presented. Two huge halls were fully packed of magic stuff. There were many things to see and buy. I bought a deck of ordinary playing cards, couple of DVDs and a few accessories. I also watched a number of magic items being demonstrated in dealers' halls until the closing time at 5.30 pm. I missed Geoffrey Durham's lecture as my friends and I went out for dinner.

 

Saturday's evening show in the Blackpool opera house was called "UK vs the rest of the world". The first half of the show consisted of six acts from UK performers. Bob Wooding started the show with his very entertaining balloon twisting act. Danny Hunt and Annette did an escapology. Graham Jolley did a funny mentalism. Brian Sefton showed a classic manipulation act. John Archer performed a hilarious yet strong mentalism. Martyn James closed the first half with an illusion show. The second half consisted of another six performers from outside the UK. Fukai from Japan produced light at his finger tips and mouth. Rafael from Belgium performed a very nice "Vampire" act. Shawn Farquhar from Canada did an excellent ambitious card routine with the song "Shape of my heart". Roxanne from Germany presented her "Spider web" act. She did colour changing costume, colour changing rose, colour changing lips before levitating herself on a big spider web. Topas, also from Germany, played bongo while manipulated billard balls. The last performer was Japan's Shimada Haruo performing his well-known manipulation act with cards, candles, and doves. The show finished at 11 pm. My friends and I went to a bar in Ruskin hotel for drinking and chatting. We then went to bed around 2 am.

 

Sunday morning, I managed to wake up and have a breakfast early, while all my friends were still asleep, as I wanted to attend the morning lecture by the current FISM champion from Portugal, Helder Guimaraes. It was an excellent lecture on card magic. I particularly liked the card across routine which invloved two signed cards, two wine glasses and two different colour decks. After the lecture, it was still early so I went to close-up stage to find the best seat for today's show. 

 

There were another eight performers for Sunday's close-up show but I saw only one session which consisted of only four performers, J.J. Sanvert, Will Houston, David Stone and Lior Manor. David Stone was, no doubt, my favourite. He performed coin routine, bottle production, signed card in cell phone and ended with the productions of his own shoes.

 

In the afternoon there were lectures by Shoot Ogawa, Kotya Kimlat, Michael Close and Richard Sander. I attended all these lectures. Shoot Ogawa's lecture was crowded because the lecture was very good. Shoot showed and explained his thimble manipulation, matrix and reverse matrix, a nice and easy wild card routine, and also muscle pass technique in detail. The methods were apparently more amazing than effects. I was really stunned by his quick and so skilful hands. Kotya Kimlat explained his lightning fast culling technique and also gave advices for working close-up performers. Michael Close taught two card tricks, one of them was his version of torn and restored card routine. Richard Sander demonstrated his new rope trick, "Fibre Optic". I and my friends then went out for dinner in preparation for the gala show so I missed the second half of his lecture.

 

International gala show at the Blackpool convention has always been superb and this year was no exception. Mahka Tendo from Japan began the show with his FISM card manipulation act. Rafael performed comedy dove and linking rings routines. Antje Pode, a female juggler from Germany, juggled two big suitcases and a purse with her feet while she laid on her back. She was the only non-magician but she stole the show with a thunder applause from the audience. Scott and Muriel from Holland performed a comedy twister, sawing in half, and chair suspension. David Sousa from Portugal presented his award-winning manipulation act. Valerie performed quick change. Topas produced a dozen of large speakers out of an empty box. He then produced an extra large speaker and Roxanne(!) to finish the first half. The second half started with the world's youngest illusionists from Japan, Yamagami Brothers. The two cute and talented siblings did floating a light stand, rope penetration, vanishing a stereo, sawing in half and spiker illusion. Scott and Muriel performed again with a funny cowboy act although it was a mime rather than magic. Topas re-appeared on stage as a boy in a toy room. He manipulated wooden balls, made a teddy bear growing up, floated a horse stick, and vanished a rocking toy horse.

 

Finally, the legendary, Shimada Haruo, ended the show with his parasol and dragon act. I have long waited to see this act and I was not disappointed. It was one of the best performances I have ever seen. The act was spectacular with costumes, props, and fire effects. From the quality of the performance, I could not believe that Shimada was almost 70 years old. He and his beautiful assistant both dressed in traditional japanese. At the beginning he magically produced several japanese umbrellas from thin air. Later he put on a kabuki mask and his costume changed colour. Then a large chinese dragon came out. Shimada in kabuki mask brandished a samurai sword to fight the dragon. The dragon used its tail to catch him and cover his body. As a finale, a person under the dragon's head was revealed as Shimada and the person under the kabuki mask became his assistant. A fantastic exchange ! A great act to close the convention.  

 

That's it, another wonderful time at Blackpool. However, I missed a number of lectures and performances. The main reason was that the lectures and performances overlapped so no one could possibly attend all of the convention. I was also too tired to do everything I wanted to do. In some events I was just not interested such as the children's entertainer competition, kids' show lectures, and the lady's event for magicians' spouses.

 

Overall, Blackpool convention was absolutely breathtaking. I had an incredibly amazing weekend in which I could hang around with friends who love magic in a magical atmosphere. It was a great experience to be in such a convention which is second to none in the world. I will not be able to go to Blackpool next year because I am going home for good but I hope I can be back to Blackpool convention again in the future.

An introduction movie to MagicSoc Gala show at the University of Nottingham. Three members of the magic society magically transform from normal students into smooth looking magicians.