Comic Con Astana 2026 Draws Game of Thrones and One Piece Stars

Comic Con Astana returned to Kazakhstan’s capital from August 6 to 9, with stars from Game of Thrones and Netflix’s One Piece among the headline guests. The event followed a record year in 2025, when the festival attracted more than 75,000 visitors, including over 10,000 from abroad. Held at Barys Arena and the Alau Ice Palace, the fifth edition of the festival drew fans of film, television, games, comics, and anime for autograph sessions, actor meetings, cosplay competitions, and gaming. [video width="360" height="640" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/7641361931360792851.mp4"][/video] Among the biggest names at this year’s festival was Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who played Jaime Lannister throughout all eight seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones. The series has a history at Comic Con Astana. Pilou Asbæk, who played Euron Greyjoy, was the main international guest at the inaugural event in 2019, when demand for information briefly crashed the festival website. Other international guests in 2026 included Iñaki Godoy and Taz Skylar from Netflix’s One Piece. South Korean K-pop group Kandis also appeared after gaining recognition among Kazakh audiences through Silk Way Star. The group attracted further attention by performing Orda’s Kesh Meni in Korean and took the Comic Con stage on August 9. Cosplay was another major part of the program, with KZT 20 million, around $40,000, offered in prize money for the international competition. Guests included German duo Kamui Cosplay, known for their elaborate costumes and props. Comic-Con began in San Diego in 1970 as a gathering of around 300 comic book and science-fiction fans. It has since developed into a major international pop-culture convention, inspiring events around the world, including Astana’s edition. Comic Con arrived in Kazakhstan in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted its early development. After a four-year hiatus, the festival returned in 2023. Attendance passed 50,000 the following year, when Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen was the main international guest. The festival’s growth has also brought an economic return for the capital. Astana authorities estimated its impact in 2025 at around KZT 3.5 billion, approximately $6.5 million, including spending by visitors outside the event itself. Comic Con is one of a growing number of international events being held in Astana. In the first half of 2025, the city hosted more than 25 such events involving over 120,000 participants from 40 countries. During the same period, Astana received 735,700 tourists, including 177,100 from abroad, according to the city’s Department of Investment and Entrepreneurship Development. For international visitors, Comic Con also presents a side of Kazakhstan far removed from the country’s more familiar association with Silk Road history. Its focus is contemporary pop culture and the global fan communities surrounding it. Final attendance figures for Comic Con Astana 2026 had not been released at the time of publication.

Future Games 2026 Begin in Astana, Kazakhstan

The third edition of the Future Games has opened in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, bringing traditional sport and esports together through digital technology. The opening ceremony was attended by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, and Rustam Minnikhanov, head of Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan. The competition runs from July 29 to August 9 and features more than 800 athletes from more than 50 countries competing for a prize fund of $4.75 million across eight disciplines. They include phygital football, phygital basketball, phygital martial arts, a phygital shooter, phygital dance, and tournaments in Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and PUBG: Battlegrounds. Opening the Games, Tokayev said the tournament would provide fresh momentum for the development of the international phygital movement. “I am confident that the Future Games in Astana will give a powerful boost to the international phygital movement at the intersection of traditional sport and the gaming industry. It combines sport and intellect while also bringing together physical ability and intellectual potential,” Tokayev said. The Future Games have been held since 2024. The inaugural event took place in Kazan, while the second edition was hosted by the United Arab Emirates. The competition combines digital and physical formats, with athletes first competing in virtual contests before continuing the same discipline in real-world sporting events. The Times of Central Asia previously reported that Kazakhstan had originally been scheduled to host the second Future Games in 2025 but postponed the event by a year after redirecting public funds to deal with the aftermath of devastating spring floods. Several members of Kazakhstan’s parliament later proposed postponing the 2026 Games as well because of concerns over public spending.