27 July 2025
(Photo: Intent/Oleksiy Kravchuk)
Odesa Comic Wave, an all-Ukrainian festival of geek culture, cosplay, anime and comics, took place in Odesa for three days from July 25 to 27.
As Karen Chorba, a member of the organizers' team, told Intent 's correspondent, the festival brought together many people from different parts of the country.
For example, many representatives came from Kharkiv and Kyiv. The total number of festival participants, those who actually participated, not just spectators, reached 156 people, not counting assistants. The festival also had a prize fund totaling 76 thousand hryvnias. According to Karen Chorba, this prize fund was the second largest in Ukraine.
He also noted that the festival was the largest such event in Odesa in the last 6-7 years. The lack of infrastructure is becoming a problem for holding such festivals in the city.
"There are no territories and premises for such festivals in Odesa. Previously, they were held on the territory of the Odesa port, but they started to raise the price and it became financially impossible to hold the event there. The Palace of Sports was an alternative, but you can't touch anything there, you can't mount anything, and it's very hot. The Philharmonic is also not suitable for this. However, now we are holding such a festival for the first time at the Odesa Film Studio," said Karen Chorba.
Geeks are people who share a love of comics, video games, board games or anime. The term "nerd" is close to geek, meaning someone who is passionate about science and IT. Around the images of geek and nerd, geek culture has formed, a subculture of people interested in computer technology, science, fiction, and gamemaking.
The festival also featured a jousting tournament organized by the Tangar & Co.
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