By: Ciaran Duggan
From the terrifying
Darth Vader to the cute and cuddly ewoks; Star Wars Celebration had
everything. Star Wars Celebration Europe II was the first Celebration
that I have attended and I hope it will not be the last.
Visually, the Messe Essen center is stunning! You enter and marvel
at the vast and amazing stock of clothes (prominently from Her Universe), comics, toys and tattoo stores. Moreover, my eyes were treated
to some glorious models of Jabba the Hutt and his cronies, the Mos Eisley
Cantina and a giant Imperial walker. The models looked fantastic and
this was complimented by the memorable art show which displayed a number
of phenomenal drawings and paintings. The art in the Rancho Obi Wan Experience was equally aesthetically pleasing. The Rancho Obi Wan Experience was one of my highlights; Star Wars fans were given the opportunity
to meet the great Steve Sansweet (who gave autographs for free, I might
add). I was even fortunate enough to speak to one of the Celebration
hosts, David Collins, who appeared at the Ranch.
Furthermore,
stars of the films were out in full force on the Celebration stage.
Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Jeremy Bullock
and Dave Filoni were just some of the fantastic guests on show to the
Star Wars fans. The stage was hosted by none other than the extremely
funny, Warwick Davis. The guests participated in scene re-enactments
(a personal favorite of mine was the re-enactment of Leia meeting Wicket
for the first time) and Galaxy Quest...ions (a Star Wars quiz), wherein Mark Hamill prevailed as the winner.
However, my
favorite moment was being given the opportunity to see the screening
of the Return of the Jedi -seeing it on the big screen for the first time-in the huge Gruga Park. The film was
witnessed by most Star Wars fans present at the convention and the sight
of seeing thousands of Star Wars fans, all together, watching ROTJ is
one I'll not forget. Return of the Jedi was jam packed with two and a
half hours of excitement, nostalgia
and fun. Cheers roared upon hearing "It's a trap!" from Admiral
Ackbar, claps erupted at the death of the Emperor, boos seethed at the
appearance of Hayden Christensen as Anakin's ghost and some fans even
got up and danced to the "Yub Nub" ewok song.
Star Wars
celebration was truly something special. No matter our backgrounds or
where we live or even what football team we support, we all have one
thing in common...Star Wars! It is clear that each Star Wars fan has
a unique opinion about the films and we may not all agree with each
other, but it's the passion for Star Wars which brings us all together.
Star Wars is special, that much is clear, it is something that we as
fans ultimately cherish. The next Star Wars celebration will take place
in Anaheim, California between 16th and 19th April 2015. I am sure it
is going to be a cracker! To sum up, the force was certainly with Star
Wars Celebration Europe II.
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