The Summer of Sonic is a fan-created event that has received official support from SEGA Europe. The event has grown from a humble event to a convention that is expecting a 300-person strong turnout.
Created by games journalist, SPOnG regular and creator of Sonic fansite 'The Sonic Stadium', Svend Joscelyne, and co-organised by SEGA Europe's Community Manager Kevin Eva, the Summer of Sonic event will take place at the Covent Garden Dragon Hall Trust on Saturday the 9th August.
The hall will be defined by various 'Zones', each symbolising a faction of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise or fan community. The 'Games Zone' will feature televisions connected to consoles so attendees can play Sonic games old and new, while a special preview of
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood will be available for the public to play, weeks ahead of the game's UK release.
The event features a merchandise cabinet with Sonic collectibles. It also features "Elson's Fruit Corner" - an art area, named after famed community artist Elson 'Darkspeeds' Wong. Tables will be set up for fans to draw and create artwork as they please - works will be placed on the back wall, while an art contest will enable attendees to get creative in order to win some great prizes.
The following 'Sonic Celebrities' will all be involved in a Q&A session taking place in the afternoon on the main stage:
Richard Jacques is a world-famous video game composer that has crafted soundtracks to many best-loved SEGA classics, including
Metropolis Street Racer,
Jet Set Radio,
OutRun 2 and
Headhunter and, of course,
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Richard will be performing various SEGA with singer, TJ Davis - who provided vocals for the
Sonic R and
Sonic 3D soundtracks.
Nigel Kitching, a comic story writer and artist (Trident Comics'
Saviour,
2000AD and Egmont Fleetway's
Sonic the Comic) will be signing items at the Comics area.
Lee Brotherton created remixes for
Shadow the Hedgehog, the soundtrack to Sony PSP title
Sonic Rivals and the theme for
Silver the Hedgehog in the 2006
Dreams of an Absolution will also appear.
More announcements and special guests are yet to be made, and more information can be found on the official
Summer of Sonic website. Please check the website throughout the week for updates and more details, including travel locations and terms and conditions of entry.