Kingvention is a convention about American entertainer Michael Jackson held in London, England. It is produced by British author Pez Jax under Sixteen11 Media Group Limited and fully named "Kingvention: The First European Michael Jackson Convention".
History and Organisation
The idea for the convention was founded in 2013 by Pez Jax and Mayah Thomas following attendance to various Michael Jackson events across Europe and the idea to create a Michael Jackson UK Convention where the name Kingvention was created in 2014.
The First Kingvention was held on September 12, 2015 and due to its success, Sixteen11 Media Group Limited continued to organise the event in 2016, 2017 and 2019.
The format of the event is as follows: Special guests who worked with the Pop Star Michael Jackson speaks in a live Interview on Stage with Pez Jax; Various Exhibitions, Merchandise stands and an after-party for one day only.
The convention is non-profit and rely on ticket sales, sponsorship and donations.
In 2019, after three years at the Park Plaza Victoria, the convention moved to the Pullman London Hotel to accommodate increasing demand for tickets.
Kingvention 2015
Kingvention 2015 was held at the Park Plaza Victoria in Central London, UK on September 12, 2015 in front of over 250 Michael Jackson fans.
Guest Speakers:
- Rob Hoffman, Engineer on the Michael Jackson HIStory Album. [1]
- Diana Walczak, Sculptor of the Statue from the Michael Jackson HIStory Album cover.
- Jonathan Morrish, Former VP of Comms at Sony Music Europe.
- Eddie Wolfl, Photographer.
The 2015 edition included:
- "Diana Walczak Collection" where for the first time in Europe, the bust of Michael Jackson used to create the History Album Cover was displayed, and documents and pictures of Walczak creating the statue;
- "Behind The Scream" Gallery: An exhibition of Eddie Wolfl's pictures of Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson during the filming of the music video of "Scream" released in 1995;
- "The Making of Moonwalker": An Exhibition of story boards from the Michael Jackson Movie "Moonwalker";
The convention opened with a live performance of Michael Jackson's "They Don't Care About Us" by Batala London, a Brazilian Samba drumming band. [2]
Kingvention 2016
Kingvention 2016 was held at the Park Plaza Victoria in Central London, UK on September 10, 2016 in front of over 300 Michael Jackson fans.
Guest Speakers:
- Dan Beck, former SVP Marketing & Sales Manager at EPIC/SONY.
- Thom Russo, Technical Engineer: Dangerous Album.
- Yuko Sumida Jackson, Dangerous World Tour Dancer.
- Jonathan Morrish only appeared on the Q&A panel.
The 2016 Edition included:
- "Captain Eo: From page to Screen", an Exhibition of the Disney's 4D movie's story boards;
- "The Making of Moonwalker": An Exhibition of story boards from the Michael Jackson Movie "Moonwalker";
- "Steven Paul Whitsitt Gallery" showcasing images of Jackson on the set of You Are Not Alone, Childhood, Scream and the HIStory Teaser taken by Photographer Steven Paul Whitsitt
The convention opened with a live performance from the London International Gospel Choir (LIGC) interpreting some of Michael Jackson's songs. [3]
Kingvention 2017
Kingvention 2017 was held at the Park Plaza Victoria in Central London, UK on September 30, 2017 in front of over 320 Michael Jackson Fans.
Guest Speakers:
- Dorian Holley, Vocalist: Bad, Dangerous, HIStory Tour, Vocal Director: This Is It.
- Eddie Garcia, Bad World Tour, Dangerous World Tour Dancer The Way You Make Me Feel, Smooth Criminal, Speed Demon: Short Film Dancer.
- Steven Paul Whitsitt, Personal Photographer: HIStory Era.
The 2017 Edition included:
- "The Making of Moonwalker": An Exhibition of story boards from the Michael Jackson Movie "Moonwalker";
- "The Live Gallery": An exhibition of photography of Michael Jackson Live on Stage.
The convention opened with a live performance from SupaFresh Dance Movement. [4]
Holley also performed live few of Michael Jackson's song on Stage. On September 29, Garcia taught the choreography of "Thriller" to around 25 fans [5].
Kingvention 2019
Kingvention 2019 moved to the Pullman London Hotel & Shaw Theatre in Central London, UK on September 21, 2019 in front of over 400 Michael Jackson fans.
Guest Speakers:
- Larry Stessel; Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing for Epic Records and responsible for the worldwide marketing of Michael Jackson's albums and singles including for "Off The Wall", "Thriller" and "BAD".
- Darryl Phinnessee, Vocal Director / Vocalist - Bad, Dangerous, HIStory, This Is It.
- Siedah Garett, Singer/Songwriter - I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Man In The Mirror, Keep The Faith, Dangerous World Tour.
The 2019 Edition included:
- "Forever Neverland": This mini informative exhibit is a celebration of Neverland Ranch. Through first-hand interviews and stunning images, walk through the gates of Neverland and learn about a place like no other
- "Behind The Mask": When Michael Jackson turned into his Moonwalker robot, the design team were set the challenge to make Michael a living movie robotic superhuman. Through never before seen Polaroids and images and the return of Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker Robot Bust, Behind The Mask looks at the creative process, direct from the studio images.
The convention opened with a live performance from Otis Phoenix aka "The kid of Pop" [6] & Funk of the Future, a London base Dance group.
Kingvention 2020
There is currently no information on a 2020 edition of the event.
Sponsors
Since the creation of Kingvention in 2015, sponsorship is playing a huge part in the process and success of the event and throughout the years, the sponsors have been:
London Audio Visual; Park Plaza London Victoria; HMV; Pyramid International; Rapidity; GB Posters; Helms Briscoe; King of Shop; Danilo Calendars; Tech AV; Ripley's Believe it or not; Madame Tussaud London; Thriller Live; The Pullman London...
Donation
During Kingvention 2015, 2016 and 2017, Kingvention collected and donated for The Mayhew Animal Home, a charity for domestic animals in London
For the first time since the creation of Kingvention, the organizers asked for some help in 2019 to create a 3 storey-high Michael Jackson mural in front of the Shaw Theatre. Despite the target of donation was not met, the mural was created with an image of Michael Jackson during the Thriller short film. The mural got the attention of passerby and media.
External links
See also
- Batala London Official Website
- LIGC Official Website
- SupaFresh Dance Movement Official Website
- The Kid of Pop Official Website
References
- ^ "Rob Hoffman's Kingvention Announcement". MJVibe. 2015-06-19. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
- ^ Batala London at the Kingvention, retrieved 2020-01-06
- ^ "Echoes Magazine | Kingvention 2016: Dangerous Times". Retrieved 2020-01-06.
- ^ Supa Fresh at Kingvention - The European Michael Jackson Convention, retrieved 2020-01-07
- ^ S3-EP4 Masterclass with Eddie Garcia, London, retrieved 2020-01-07
- ^ THE KID OF POP - Otis Phoenix KINGVENTION 2019 Michael Jackson Tribute JAM #thekidofpop, retrieved 2020-01-07