THE scheduled arrivals of two icons from film, TV and the gaming world have been announced in the lead-up to Bahrain’s most popular pop culture event … with more stars set to come.
Vikings and Bad Boys for Life star Alexander Ludwig, as well as Carolina Ravassa, the voice star of the Overwatch and Valorant video games, are set to appear at the Bahrain Comic Con 2023 (BCC 2023).
It will be staged by Dallah Promotions on October 6 and 7 at the Bahrain International Circuit. “We will be announcing another three to four celebrities from a wide variety of fandoms, including gaming, film, TV shows and wrestling,” Dallah Promotions managing partner Salman Bukhari told the GDN.
“This year is going to be even bigger and better and more details will be announced in the lead up to the event!”
E-sports are set to be a focus of this year’s event, in line with ‘keen interest’ in the sector expressed by Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Colombian actress Ms Ravassa, best known for voicing Sombra in the Overwatch video game and Raze in Valorant, will be attending the event to talk about her voice-over work and more.
The 38-year-old actress’ successful voice-over work includes Grand Theft Auto V, Just Cause 4, Far Cry 6, as well as a number of children’s animated television series.
“Here comes the party – super excited to see you at the Bahrain Comic Con!” Ms Ravassa told fans in a video posted on social media. “We’ll do all the call signs you want, and we’ll talk video game chat. See you there!”
From the silver and small screen dimension, Canadian actor Mr Ludwig, who most recently played Sergeant Declan O’Brady in the Guy Ritchie movie The Covenant, will be appearing at BCC 2023.
Mr Ludwig has an extensive list of film credits, the most recognisable of which include Cato in The Hunger Games, Braden Higgins in Grown Ups 2 and Dorn in Bad Boys for Life.
The actor also played Bjorn Ironside on the popular historical drama television series Vikings.
“I’m so excited to be in Bahrain at the Comic Con for my first time ever on October 6 and 7,” the 31-year-old actor and musician told fans online. “I cannot wait to meet you all, I can’t wait to give you all a big hug and thank you guys for having me – I am very excited!”
According to Mr Bukhari, organisers of BCC 2023 are busy booking more celebrities despite difficulties due to the ongoing Hollywood industrial action.
Both the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) have gone on strike, with TV and film production essentially grinding to a halt, including many promotional appearances.
Much of the SAG-AFTRA dispute comes over streaming royalties and studio usage of artificial intelligence to scan actor faces and voices to then generate performances digitally without hiring the actor or performer.
“The strike is causing us a few booking challenges, but the celebrities have been trying their best to be as flexible as they can to ensure BCC happens and is successful,” Mr Bukhari added.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
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