Fan Expo Toronto attendees call chaotic weekend a 'nightmare' and demand bigger venue
Attendees of the 2026 Fan Expo Canada are calling this year's convention a "nightmare" after an extremely crowded weekend at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre that left hundreds of visitors frustrated, uncomfortable and, in one reported incident, injured.
The annual pop-culture convention, which took place from Aug. 27 to 30, drew huge crowds to the city's main convention hall, but event-goers say the sheer number of people inside the venue made it difficult to navigate, let alone safely enjoy, the event.
Guests have since taken to platforms like Instagram and Reddit to share their disappointing experiences with the crowds, with everything from accessibility to the Artist Alley area — where narrow aisles reportedly left little room for people to stop and browse — being described as a torturous ordeal.
Signs of overcrowding were already visible to many the moment they set foot inside the convention centre, but things got serious when an escalator going towards the Wolverine Sentinel head reportedly broke down amid the crowds.
According to online accounts, the escalator's brakes failed, causing it to plunge at full speed. "The escalator began moving really fast (with people on it), and everyone on it just began falling," someone described online. Unfortunately, some people did not make it out unscathed.
A firsthand account confirms that "the escalator cut a guy's leg really badly and EMS and security assisted him."
Screenshot via @choogiwa.
2026 Fan Expo Canada is also under fire for reportedly selling additional day passes on Aug. 29, despite the venue already being what some describe as dangerously packed and perhaps well over capacity. The overcrowding also affected some of the classic installations people flock to, including Artist Alley.
Screenshot via @fangirlreport.
"They need to rethink the aisles for Artist Alley. It was much narrower than in past years. And this caused a massive crowding issue to the point a lot of people couldn't even take time to look at what those artists offered," a Redditor complained.
For the unversed, the expo's Artist Alley is a section of the con that features professional and amateur artists and their work for purchase.
Rather than comfortably browsing tables, some attendees say the congestion made it difficult to move through the area, with some also reporting fainting spells. "Four ambulances were called to the south building today around 4 p.m. because someone fainted. Someone else fainted outside the north building around the same time," another online user recounts.
Now, some attendees are calling for organizers to make significant changes before next year's event, including finding a larger venue or expanding the amount of space available throughout the convention.
Photo by: Fareen Karim.
One suggestion making the rounds is moving the event to Exhibition Place. "I think they should move it to the convention center at the CNE; it's much larger and able to accommodate way more people."
Another person chimed in on an Instagram reel, saying the expo, which first came to Toronto as Canadian National Comic Book Expo in 1995, has "needed a bigger venue since 2018."
Photo by: Fareen Karim.
Regardless of the complaints, the 2026 Fan Expo Canada drew massive crowds and promised a stellar roster of celebrities. Still, capacity and crowd management remain increasingly important considerations for organizers.
The expo's organizers were not available for comment at the time of publication.
Fareen Karim
