Check out our new logo up in the header, METROCON fans! You’ll see us using this new logo on our website, our merch, and all over the convention and social media this year. We wanted to not only modernize and clean-up our logo as we continue to grow and define our community even further, but we wanted to symbolize several different things with our new logo. We’ve also expanded our color palette (which you may recognize from our 20th Anniversary branding). If you’re a design geek like me, you might have picked up on a few key notes, but we love letting you in behind the scenes when we can so you can see what we’re going for when we work on things like this. Some of the things featured in our new branding:

The famous sunset pinks and golds of Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The strength, solidarity, and boldness of our community.

The walls of safety we’ve built up around “the gear” to keep this community safe.

An emphasis on “METRO” (who we are) over “CON” (what we are).

A distinct Japanese touch, to show our love for the culture that our favorite fandoms generate from.

The Japanese wave pattern featured in the “O” balances the high-technology approach we take to putting on events with the very traditional, human element we know makes a community like this thrive (as well as pay homage to the Bay that our convention center sits on).

We hope you love the new branding as much as we do – we can’t wait to see how it looks on the badges this year!

From 2004 – 2023, we had a “Versus” theme – pitting two ideas or aspects of fandom against each other, in the tradition of great fan debates and crossover video games.

As METROCON continues to evolve, we have introduced a new style of “Theme” for 2024 and beyond. We have often had a secondary theme at the event that we talk about at closing ceremonies – some idea or concept that has resonated with our team and our interactions with the community throughout the year, or some message we want to bring to the forefront of the event. We want our event to more accurately reflect that overarching “theme”, and not be based inherently on conflict and divisiveness like a “versus” theme. Even if the competition was always friendly and playful, it’s just not at the core of what METROCON is trying to do anymore. You’ve got plenty of reasons to argue with strangers on the internet – let’s not go around inventing more of them lol.

We’ve also opted to retire our METROCON Mascots starting in 2024. You’ll see some new, amazing faces and cosplay guests from around the convention community hosting events and participating throughout the weekend, and we’re working closely to bring you our NEW mascot, a character we intend to keep in the 2D world – you should be meeting them very soon!!

We’re excited to theme the event in a new way – it probably won’t affect your METROCON experience much, but maybe you’ll take just a little more away from your time at the event!

Check out 2024’s theme “Legacy of Dreams” and more info about the convention on our About Us page by clicking here.

Past “Versus” themes included:

2004: Schoolgirls vs Catgirls – 2005: Ninjas vs Pirates – 2006: Kawaii vs Kowaii – 2007: Anime vs Video Games – 2008: Light vs Dark – 2009: Sci-Fi vs Fantasy – 2010: Ninja vs Samurai – 2011: Monsters vs Hunters – 2012: Agents vs Outlaws – 2013: East vs West – 2014: Old School vs New School – 2015: Brains vs Brawn – 2016: Order vs Chaos – 2017: Faithful vs Fallen – 2018: Guardians vs Invaders – 2019: Virtue vs Vice – 2021: Mortals vs Machines – 2022: Weird vs Wild – 2023: Anime vs Video Games: Remastered