Star Wars Celebration, 6 trip tips
For me, being a Star Wars fan tended to mean quietly enjoying it at home with friends and family, the movies, shows, games, books, and searching out the odd piece of memorabilia or collectable that I liked to have about the place. That was until Star Wars Celebration came to the UK in 2023.
I’d watched panels online from previous events and enjoyed the hype, seeing the actors talk and watching the live reactions to announcements, so it felt like a golden opportunity when it came to the UK for the first time in years. With about 6 devices ready for the frenzy, my Sister and I were lucky enough to get four-day tickets and the excitement began.
Attending Celebration sparked something a new way of enjoying Star Wars for both of us, it was phenomenal. The atmosphere was electric and exclusively love, fun, positive energy and good vibes. Being around thousands of other people with whom you have something so excitedly in common, and being surrounded by the best version of that thing is really like being a kid in a sweet shop.
I’ve got plenty more to say about the fun we had at Celebration London 2023, and I feel so lucky to also be going to Japan 2025. As the excitement really starts to build I’ve been reflecting on what my first experience of Celebration in London taught me about the event and what you can do to best prepare.
I hope these tips are helpful if you’re also going to Japan!
1) Talk to EVERYONE. One of the most amazing parts about Celebration was all the people we met. I can’t think of any other time or place I’ve been where literally everybody was so positive, and unbelievably excited about the same thing as me in that moment. It took me a little while to properly make the most of it, but once you realise you’ve got something so fundamentally in common, and there are memories, thoughts, and takes to share, and something to relate to with everybody around you, it makes it so much more fun. We had chance meetings and selfies with so many people that turned out to be so awesome. Like randomly meeting somebody in a queue who I’d seen online before the event, or managing to complete a clone helmet pin set because we happened to sit next to the right people who needed the one I had. Star Wars gets some criticism for the toxicity of its fan base online but I’m here to tell you that does not remotely exist at Celebration.
2) Plan your bag. Packing a good bag is essential. Take a water bottle, snacks, a phone charger and battery pack (you’ll take lots of pictures), and whatever you need for any autographs you’re getting. This might be paint pens, a portfolio folder for photographs, a poster tube, or some protectors for POPs or figures. Having these accessible and ready to go in a comfortable bag saved so much time and made carrying everything round so much easier. Also make sure its big enough to fit anything new you pick up in it, and has a few compartments. I’ve also heard its worth carrying some plain cards and a marker to get signed in case you bump into anybody unexpected!
3) DO prepare for Queues. You will spend time in queues, unless you have VIP there is probably no way around it, whether for a panel you want to get into, the store, for autographs (we queued three hours for Anthony Daniels), or just in the morning to get in to the event if you get there early. We got some new comfortable trainers (shoes) and took two amazing pop up stools which packed reasonably well into our bags, these turned out to be an AMAZING buy. That said, the time in the queues wasn’t too bad at all. Sure there’s always something else you could be doing or seeing but its when we met some really cool people.
4) Plan your must-do’s. There is so much to do and see! We made a plan for each day before the event, looking at all the panels, guest appearances on the live stage, thinking about which vendors to visit, autograph and photo-op schedules. Then we pretty much threw it out the window when we got there! Apart from paid autograph and photograph times, and any panel and store slots we got in the lottery, we pretty much wandered and did what we felt like. Its a good idea to pick the short list of things you MUST do, which might include certain fan panels, exclusives to head straight for at vendors, but don’t think you can plan every minute. There are too many distractions to stick to a precise plan and you never know what will happen!
5) Take your chances. If you see something you want to do, somebody you want to talk to, something you might want to pick up, or a short autograph queue that tempts you…do it! This was when some of the best things happened. Like just spending time around the Live Stage because the vibes were good and being there when the Ahsoka trailer played, or when Diego Luna, Katee Sackhoff or Genevieve O’Reilly came out. Happening to spot somebody in a Phasma costume at the end of the day for our selfie checklist, or jumping at the opportunity to get into the store when it had a short queue and getting the things we wanted to grab, fate had our back! There were also things I regret, like not getting Carl Weathers autograph. Just do it.
6) Enjoy the build up. The fun doesn’t just start when the event does. It starts as soon as you get tickets! So have fun speculating, creating wish lists and planning the trip. This will be a big undertaking for a lot of people for the next event in particular. Also do some saving up! There is loads of great content online, particularly on YouTube to help you prepare and get excited. I can really recommend Tony at Star Wars Sith on YouTube who has a wealth of content and I found invaluable in the run up to London, and to help prep for Japan.
I hope this helped whether you can make it to Japan, or maybe a future Celebration. If you get the opportunity, do it, you wont regret it!
MTFBWY
