Furry BlackLight
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Furry BlackLight | |
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Other names | FBL, formerly as Fursuit Blacklight |
Location | |
Website | |
Status | Ongoing |
First iteration | January 19, 2013 |
Organizer(s) | Anthrofur |
Subject | Furry |
Resources | Photos, videos, reports: Furry BlackLight resources |
Furry BlackLight is a French furry convention.
Contents
Overview[edit]
Furry BlackLight is the largest furry convention in France, bringing together many enthusiasts from different parts of the world every year. English and French are spoken at the convention, which features activities such as a Dealers' Den, shows, a concert, panels like fursuit games, and several lounges for fursuiters, artists and gamers. Attendees could also win a partial fursuit made by Brek Creations between 2017 and 2024.
In comparison to most other furcons, FBL does not host Guest of Honors nor does it contribute to charities, furry or not.
History[edit]
Created by Furnace in January 2013 under the name Fursuit Blacklight, the first iteration was a one-day furmeet organized in honor of Hai, a German fur. Bringing together 17 attendees, this first day of under-blacklight activities (karting, minigolf, laser game, etc.) was a great success and was subsequently repeated, marking the start of an annual tradition.
Expansion and evolution[edit]
Over the years, FBL has seen its attendance grow, requiring increasingly complex organization. In 2017, a "board" was created to support the management of the growing event, allowing a quality experience to be maintained while meeting attendees' expectations.
In 2018, the board changed the venue's name from "Fursuit Blacklight" to "Furry BlackLight". This change reflected a desire to represent the diversity of furry fandom better, as the former name might have suggested that the event was mainly aimed at fursuiters, which was not in line with what FBL intended to be, an open to all furry community members.
2023[edit]
In 2023, Furnace left the FBL's board, and the remaining members took over the venue's management and the Anthrofur association. This handover marks an important milestone in the convention's history, ensuring its continuity and paving the way for new opportunities in the future.
Themes[edit]
- 2013: ?
- 2014: Revenge
- 2014: Level 3
- 2015: 4 Play
- 2016: Give me five!
- 2017: ?
- 2018: ?
- 2019: Alchemy and Black Magic
- 2020: n/a (COVID-19 pandemic)
- 2021: Space Travel
- 2022: Steam Ages
- 2023: Welcome to Olympus
- 2024: Ride the Retrowave
- 2025: Gold Rush
Attendance[edit]
- 2013: 17
- 2014: 27
- 2014: 34 (14 fursuiters)
- 2015: 66 (28)
- 2016: 89 (41)
- 2017: 150 (64)
- 2018: 265 (110)
- 2019: 317 (129)
- 2020: n/a (n/a. COVID-19 pandemic)
- 2021: 551 (235)
- 2022: 655 (298)
- 2023: 750 (370)
- 2024: 800 (416)
- 2025: TBA
Years[edit]
2017[edit]
FBL 6 (October 27-29[1]) was the first to take place at the Mercure hotel in Maurepas, as well as the first to include a Fursuit Lounge, managed by Orthank and several other rooms directly into the hotel, including a Main Stage.
2018[edit]
This year, to encourage non-fursuit participants to join the convention, the name is changed to "Furry BlackLight"[2]. The event was also extended to a four-day event and took place on November 1-4, 2018[3], in the Mercure Hotel in Maurepas. This edition featured a Dealers' Den for the first time, and a special menu was offered in conjunction with the hotel, which proved to be a great success, resulting in long waits in the dining room, as the hotel teams were not expecting this.
2019[edit]
FBL 8 "Alchemy and Black Magic" took place on October 31-November 3 in a new hotel: the Hyatt Regency Paris Charles de Gaulle next to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.[4] Following this change of venue, the outdoor activities are removed in favor of new events, the return of a theme, a mermaid panel at the pool, games over several days, riddles, ... A total of 317 attendees registered from 9 different countries, including 129 fursuiters and 55 artists.
2020[edit]
No physical event this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A virtual dealers den was proposed on Discord on October 30 and 31, 2020.
2021[edit]
FBL 9 "Space Travel" took place on October 29 to November 1, 2021. Due to some difficulties with the previous venue, a new hotel hosted the event: the Hilton Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. This edition was also marked by the presence of several measures related to COVID[5] (wearing a mask, no snack exchange, ...) but it still allowed more than 500 people to meet and enjoy the return of activities like the Just Dance tournament or the Furry Olympics, and some new panels like the Watch & Talk.
2022[edit]
FBL 10 took place on October 29 to November 1, 2022. This 10th edition welcomed 655 furries from 17 countries with the "Steam Ages" theme. The second fursuit dance contest of the FBL was organised with 17 contestants, and the snack exchange was also back at this edition. The convention also introduced "Unleash the Beast" as well as "Fifty Shades of Gear" with an After-Dark Dealers' Den, new meet & greets, and more flexible rules for wearing certain accessories such as puphoods or latex outfits during some dances and parts of the hotel. Finally, a new webapp was introduced[6], which included the events list, maps of the hotel, news, contact information, photoshoot registration and other features.
2023[edit]
FBL 11 took place from November 1 to 5, 2023 and was the first 5-day edition. The theme was "Welcome to Olympus", and this edition, which was handled by a reduced number of board members, saw a number of adjustments, such as a main stage twice as large during the ceremonies, using the part of the room reserved for the Dealers' Den the rest of the time, and a new registration system that greatly reduced waiting time on site. At the closing ceremony, new board members were introduced, as well as a nearly 10-minute aftermovie, shot on-site by Murrpy[7].
2024[edit]
FBL 12 took place from October 30 to November 3, 2024. The theme "Ride the Retrowave" has been unveiled at the 2023 closing ceremony with a dedicated video made by Oskar.[8] For the fourth time, an aftermovie was produced on site by Murrpy and PotitCerf, in a cooperative format, and unveiled at the closing ceremony.[9]
References[edit]
- ↑ Fursuit Blacklight 2017 Information
- ↑ First mention of the new name on the official Twitter
- ↑ Furry BlackLight official website.
- ↑ F.A.Q. - Furry BlackLight 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ↑ FBL9 Covid Guide
- ↑ FBL Web App
- ↑ Furry Blacklight 11 Official Aftermovie
- ↑ FBL12 Theme Trailer
- ↑ Furry BlackLight #12 - Official Aftermovie
External links[edit]
- Furry BlackLight on Facebook
- Furry BlackLight on X
- Furry BlackLight on Telegram
- Photos on the Fursuit Archive
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Events
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Groups
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See also
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Ongoing and proposed conventions and recurring events in Europe · Map | |||||||
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Lists: Attendance (yearly, online) · Theme · Upcoming · Photos, video, reports · Marriages - Timelines: Attendance · Charity · Camping · Finance · Online - Categories: Discontinued · Hoaxes · Meets · Terms
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Aural Alliance Festival · CastleCon · EAST · Eurofurence · Furvester · H-Con · HerbstCon · Mephit Mini Con · Rügen Furcon · Wild Times
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Other
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AnthroIrish · FinFur Animus · Flüüfff · Furizon · Furrnion · Furtastic · FurryEST · Ice Fur Cabin · NordicFuzzCon · SillyCon
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