Diary of a first-time Star Wars Celebration attendee

When Star Wars Celebration 2023 was announced to be in London last year (on my birthday, no less), I was elated. Legitimately. I’ve never been to a Celebtration before. I’d have gone in 2016 if I’d known it was here earlier than a week before it was, but thems the breaks. Anyway, I thought I’d use the opportunity to journal my experience, and give you all a bit of an idea of how things went, from the perspective of someone who’s never done one of these before. So, with that in mind, I’ll hand you over to the me of the night before. Enjoy!

So, I’m writing this from my hotel room, the night before the start of Celebration Europe 2023. I thought it’d be wise to jot down a few thoughts before the main event kicks off. Y’know. Since I’m doing this “diary” thing.

My celebration started, in earnest, at 1pm today. The reality is I’ve been at Celebration, mentally, for the past fortnight. But I digress. Train down to Marylebone, underground to the hotel, and my zone 1 base camp is set up. Being the diligent adult that I am, I thought it’d be wise to actually do the journey from the hotel to the conference centre the day before. I’d selected this hotel because the new(ish) Elizabeth Line runs from the nearest underground station to the ExCel directly, so OF COURSE TFL scheduled works on that specific line for this weekend! Fortunately, there’s a DLR stop pretty close, but still!

I’m glad I did that journey, actually. For a couple of reasons. One, I now know where I’m going. Good job, me. Two, while I got my badge in the post a few weeks ago, I didn’t receive a lanyard. Appreciate that some people didn’t actually get anything before this weekend, but it gave me an opportunity to pick one of those up before the hustle and bustle of tomorrow. But I got a chance to see the place before it really kicks off. Or, rather, see some of the place. Of course, the vast majority of the building was sectioned off. But the artwork that’s hung up is lovely.

A quick trip to the Disney store (the last remaining physical one in the country) to see what cool stuff they have (very little, sadly) and it’s back to the hotel, just in time for the England women’s team vs Brazil. On TV. Not really what you’re supposed to do when you’re in one of the best cities in the world for a weekend, but hey ho!

I think I’m going to head down to a supermarket or something before heading to bed, if for no other reason than to get some fresh fruit in. Yes, I heard all your podcasts. All the survival guides were legitimately very helpful. I’ll sign off on this for now. Next time you hear from me, I’ll be GUSHING.