Singapore-based event organizer SOZO has announced on Tuesday that they will hold AFA Station online event on August 29 and September 5-6.
The organizer says that they plan to have a dedicated platform for the online event, which will include video streaming, interactive content scheduling and community functions. They are also promising to have exclusive curated guest appearances and performances, as well as online chatroom with fellow attendees and an e-commerce marketplace platform.
The organizer may announce the upcoming online event’s activities and guest appearances in the coming days.
The organizer did not mention whether if their annual Anime Festival Asia event has been canceled or the upcoming online event would serve as its replacement for this year.
“The current situation with COVID-19 has impacted us greatly, hindering our company to hold any events. In order for our company to survive in this new normal, we’ve had to pivot ourselves to innovate in these current times,” said SOZO managing director Shawn Chin.
Chin adds that that AFA Station may not replace their physical events, but this will “push the envelope” on what they can do to bring the festival experience that everyone had loved online.
“We seek the help of everyone to support our latest initiative, and hope that this will at least help us survive to a time where we can come back, bigger and stronger than ever before,” Chin added.
SOZO previously held the special one-day streaming event AFA United last April 26, which included appearances from personalities who had been part of their physical event in the previous years.
Anime Festival Asia is an annual anime and pop-culture convention series across several countries in Southeast Asia, which started in Singapore in 2008.
The event is considered as one of the largest anime and pop-culture events outside Japan and the most attended event in the Southeast Asia. The event has since expanded to several countries in the region, like Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
The regional event is well-known for its “I Love Anisong” concert series, which has featured popular Japanese music artists
