Anime Festival Asia (AFA) Singapore: Dates, Tickets & Venue (Singapore)

A weekend of cosplay, merch and anisong

Picture a convention hall full of wigs. Cosplayers in foam armour pose against pillars while photographers kneel on the carpet. Rows of booths sell figures, acrylic stands and limited-run goods from Japanese studios and publishers. Somewhere a main stage runs voice actor talks and premieres all day.

That is Anime Festival Asia, usually shortened to AFA and branded C3AFA. It is one of Southeast Asia’s largest anime and pop-culture conventions. The Singapore edition is the core event of the series, and it has filled a late-year weekend on the city’s calendar since the late 2000s.

When and where the 2026 edition happens

The 2026 edition takes place over a weekend in late November. The organiser publishes the exact days, the venue and the full programme on the official C3AFA website and its social channels.

Earlier editions mostly used Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre in the Marina Centre district. It is a multi-level venue with large column-free halls, and it sits inside the Suntec City complex beside the Fountain of Wealth. Past festivals have used one level for exhibition booths and another for stage events and the concerts.

Passes, concerts and what each ticket covers

AFA has generally sold two kinds of ticket:

• Exhibition day passes: entry to the booth halls, the main stage programme and the cosplay areas, sold for a single day or the whole weekend.
• I Love Anisong concert tickets: the festival’s evening concerts featuring Japanese anime-song performers, ticketed separately with assigned seating categories.

Some past editions also bundled premium passes with priority entry or exclusive merchandise. Prices and tiers belong to each year’s edition and appear on the official ticketing page. Many fans pick their days around the stage schedule, since guest appearances are usually tied to one specific day.

Getting to the Marina Centre halls

Late November falls in Singapore’s northeast monsoon season, when heavy afternoon downpours are common. The good news is that you can reach the Suntec halls from the MRT without stepping outside.

• Esplanade MRT (Circle Line): an underground walkway through CityLink Mall runs straight into Suntec City.
• Promenade MRT (Circle and Downtown Lines): the exits lead directly into the Suntec City basement.
• City Hall MRT (North-South and East-West Lines): a longer but fully covered walk through CityLink Mall.

Taxis and Grab rides drop off at the Suntec City driveways. When the halls empty out at the end of the day, though, most attendees just take the train.

Cosplay, queues and paying at the booths

AFA moves at its own pace. Its customs are worth knowing before you walk in.

Photographing cosplayers. Fans ask before they shoot, and they wait for the cosplayer to pose. Blocking a walkway with a group photo is frowned on. Big shoots usually move to the designated cosplay zones or the open spaces outside the halls.

Costumes and props. Past editions have published rules on prop weapons, sizes and materials, plus changing-room access. Cosplayers usually travel in partial costume and finish getting ready on site.

Merch queues. Popular booth exclusives tend to sell out, so dedicated collectors usually head straight for those booths when the doors open. Some booths have handed out queue tickets or capped purchases per person.

Paying. Card and contactless payments are normal across Singapore, and so is PayNow by QR code. Smaller creator tables in the artist area sometimes prefer PayNow or cash, so regulars carry a little of each.

Autographs and stage sessions. Signings with guests have often needed a separate entitlement, such as a purchase voucher or a ballot win. A day pass alone doesn’t guarantee one.

Eating and wandering around Suntec

Convention food stalls sell out quickly, so most attendees eat in the malls nearby. Suntec City has a large basement food court and dozens of restaurants on its lower floors. Raffles City, above City Hall MRT, has a food hall with more options.

For a break from the halls, walk ten minutes south to Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay and the Marina Bay waterfront. Bugis Junction and the Bugis Street shops are one Downtown Line stop away. Cosplayers often head there in costume once the convention day ends.

AFA weekends are busy across the Marina Centre area. Hotels within walking distance of Suntec tend to fill with out-of-town fans, many of them from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Visitors staying further out usually choose somewhere on the Circle or Downtown Line for a direct ride.