\n SMASH! was founded in 2007 by Katie Huang and Paul Aeria. An accomplished artist in her own right, Katie was looking for an event with a stronger focus on art than most conventions in Australia had at the time (Paul just had some free time). Katie and Paul were quickly joined by others and the event expanded into a full-fledged anime and manga convention.\n<\/p>\n
\n Later on, the organisers formed SMASH Inc, an incorporated non-profit organisation, to keep the SMASH! convention running after they had moved on. To this day, the convention still has a strong focus on art and creativity, despite almost doubling in size from its original incarnation, the fun, humour and irreverence it had retained from when it was just a couple of people sitting in Hyde Park saying ‘We should put on an anime convention’<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n The first SMASH! was held at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales and attracted an incredible 1,435 people. Which, you know, is pretty good for the first one.\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n SMASH! built on the success of the first event and brought Hidenobu Kiuchi, the first Japanese seiyu (voice actor) to an Australian anime convention. The location was again the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales and this time 2,295 people came along.\n <\/p>\n \n In its third year, SMASH! expanded into a two-day event. This time 2,709 people crammed into the Roundhouse and helped make 2009 the biggest event we’d run to date.\n <\/p>\n \n In its fourth year, SMASH! brushed away a tear and moved to the Sydney Town Hall. It also brought over a stunning five international guests. Despite being just one day, attendance increased to 2,810 (so many in fact, that we had to close ticket sales and turn people away!).\n <\/p>\n \n Following up 2010 was always going to be hard but the Sydney Convention Centre ensured a stunning success. Attendance in our fifth year was 5,405.\n <\/p>\n \n 2012 was our best year yet, with over 6,000 people attending the convention!\n <\/p>\n \n 2013 was even bigger, with over 8,000 attendees! It was a phenomenal year! Alas, the year ended on a bittersweet note as it was our last convention at the Sydney Convention Centre.\n <\/p>\n Want to see our special event? Check it out on the 2013 Vocaloid night website<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n 2014 had over 13,000 attendees! With new guests, our transition to our new home at Rosehill Gardens meant that we had more space, more events and a lot more fun!\n <\/p>\n \n 2015 was a time of experimentation. With new events, more artists and more exhibitors, SMASH! expanded into new horizons! We also held the first ever Australian Anisong.\n <\/p>\n \n 2016 was when we really grew into our new home! With more events, itasha cars, we were bigger and better than ever before! We also held our first After Hours Party to celebrate 10 years of SMASH!.\n <\/p>\n \n 2017 was our farewell to Rosehill Gardens but in spite of our sadness, we celebrated as hard as we could with our attendees, exhibitors, volunteer and guests. At SMASH! The party continued After Hours with some really cool tunes performed by our international guests.\n <\/p>\n \n What does the future bring? Well it’s our sixteenth year in the running and we plan to make it even bigger and better! We\u2019re planning a great line-up of special guests and events, and are doing everything we can to deliver a better year than ever. For that we need all the help we can get \u2014 Join Us<\/a> and become part of the SMASH! experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SMASH! was founded in 2007 by Katie Huang and Paul Aeria. An accomplished artist in her own right, Katie was looking for an event with a stronger focus on art than most conventions in Australia had at the time (Paul just had some free time). Katie and Paul were quickly joined by others and the … <\/p>\nPast years and guests<\/h2>\n
SMASH! 2007<\/h3>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\nSMASH! 2008<\/h3>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\nGuests:<\/h5>\n
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SMASH! 2009<\/h3>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\nGuests:<\/h5>\n
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SMASH! 2010<\/h3>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\nGuests:<\/h5>\n
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SMASH! 2011<\/h3>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\nGuests:<\/h5>\n
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SMASH! 2012<\/h3>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\nGuests:<\/h5>\n
\n
SMASH! 2013<\/h3>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\nGuests:<\/h5>\n
\n
SMASH! 2014<\/h3>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\nGuests:<\/h5>\n
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SMASH! 2015<\/h3>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\nGuests:<\/h5>\n
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<\/h5>\n
I ♥ anisong guests:<\/h5>\n
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SMASH! 2016<\/h3>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\nGuests:<\/h5>\n
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10th year anniversary guests:<\/h5>\n
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SMASH! 2017<\/h3>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\nGuests:<\/h5>\n
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After Hours guests:<\/h5>\n
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SMASH! 2018<\/h3>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\nGuests:<\/h5>\n
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SMASH! 2019<\/h3>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\nGuests:<\/h5>\n
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I ♥ anisong Guests<\/h5>\n
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SMASH! 2022<\/h3>\n
\n <\/i>\n <\/div>\nGuests:<\/h5>\n
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Hololive English Guests:<\/h5>\n
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THE FUTURE<\/h2>\n