Welcome! The Summer of Sonic is a celebration of Sonic the Hedgehog. In 2006, Svend Joscelyne of The Sonic Stadium created a website inviting the worldwide fan community to contribute content for the birthday of SEGA’s mascot character. In 2008, that was taken to a real life environment as we held the first ever convention specially for Sonic the Hedgehog! Over 300 people turned up to the Covent Garden Dragon Hall Trust on 9th August from all corners of the world, and everyone had an awesome time!

This website has now become an archive for memories of the London event - if you wish to send any of your photos of videos, please contact Svend. You can browse videos and photos below - if you want to learn more about the event that took place, feel free to use the links in the top or to the side.

Photo Archives

• Casanova (Attendee) - 6 Photos
• C.S. Baker (FastFeet Media) - 59 Photos
• Graham Cookson (SEGA Nerds.com) - 28 Photos
• HelenBaby (Attendee) - 14 Photos
• Rio (Attendee) - 25 Photos
• Thrungus (TFMX) - 59 Photos

The Cake

Designed, baked, iced and slaved over ovens for hours by Joanne ‘Jemnezmy‘ Wheatley.
Joanne also baked over 170 cupcakes for the event, which went alongside cakes made by some of our attendees.

Promotional Pieces

Created by Elson ‘Darkspeeds‘ Wong.

The Summer of Sonic 2008 Live Feed is closed.

Using VLC (click here to download) or other equivalent media player, you can watch the event unfold during the day. Most of the day you may find a bird’s eye view of the convention due to the amount of work everyone is doing in the hall. Due to this we cannot commit to specialised live programmes, but we will do our best.

During the peak times later in the afternoon, we will focus the action on the main stage. This will include the Q&A Session and The Sonic Hour Live. Please check the Schedule for times of when these events will take place.

Because of quality issues, we will not be able to provide a live feed to Richard Jacques’ live performance with TJ Davis and Lee Brotherton. The Summer of Sonic will record it and provide a download of the video later in the weekend.

Special Event:

Richard Jacques, Lee Brotherton, TJ Davis Performance
Main Stage: Legendary music composer Richard Jacques will stage a very special performance for attendees of the Summer of Sonic convention, teaming up with Dreams of an Absolution star Lee Brotherton and re-uniting with Sonic R vocalist, TJ Davis. Richard will perform many SEGA classics on the piano including Outrun, Shenmue and of course, many favourites from Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic R, Sonic 3D and more. Included will be an exclusive rendition of Dreams of an Absolution with Lee Brotherton, a duet with TJ and LB, plus a few secret surprises.

10:00

Doors Open

During the Day:
Main Stage / Projector: When no scheduled occasions are happening on the main stage, we will be playing various mixes of Sonic the Hedgehog music from the past and present day. The projector will be used to display montage videos from the community; you can expect to see some messages from fans overseas as well as trailers for upcoming Sonic titles.

Games Zone: A dedicated area in the corner of the hall will be set up for visitors to play old and new Sonic the Hedgehog games. There will be a special Nintendo DS pod featuring Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood - play time will be limited to ten minutes or so, in order to give others a chance to experience the game. Tables will be set up with two televisions hooked up to PlayStation 2’s and various classic consoles. A seating area will be available for people to play wireless Nintendo DS/PSP games together.

Guinness World Records: One of the tables in the Games Zone will be dedicated to playing Sonic 2 on the Sega Mega Drive - with players getting turns to get the fastest time on Emerald Hill Zone Act 1. Times for Act 2 are also recorded. The top four timed players will get a chance to win not only an official Guinness World Records certificate on the main stage at 1:30pm, but will also play in a Sonic 2 Multiplayer tournament for a Sega Prize Pack full of goodies!

Art Zone / Elson’s Fruit Corner: Several tables will be placed together for fans to sit and draw Sonic the Hedgehog artwork at their leisure, while chatting with friends. Elson Wong, aka Darkspeeds, will be there on occasion to draw and help give pointers too. Roareye Black and Lily Valdemar from the Sonic Showcase Network will also help and will have information boards covering various forms of fan creation.

Comics Zone: A small area will be dedicated to the Archie and Fleetway publications of Sonic the Hedgehog, and sample comics will be available for people to take away and read - be sure to bring it back so others can read them after you! Later in the day, Sonic the Comic writer Nigel Kitching will be officially signing material in the Comics Zone area.

Merchandise: A cabinet will be present at the convention, showing some choice items of Sonic merchandise from years past to the present day. Special information cards in the style of a Sonic Chronicles conversation will be on display to detail the pieces we will have in the cabinet. Special lots such as a group of original Sonic the Comic prints by artist Nigel Dobbyn will appear here.

Outside / Queuing Up: For those that are unfortunate enough to be waiting outside the hall to enter the convention, show organisers and Special Guests (including Sonic the Hedgehog himself) will periodically step outside to meet those patiently queuing up. We don’t want you guys missing out on any fun either!

If you would like to leave the hall for a while due to humid weather or to respectfully let others in who are waiting outside, there are a number of bars, restaurants and shops that you can sightsee with friends. Covent Garden is right around the corner to Oxford Street, London’s busiest shopping area. For families and friends looking to enjoy good weather, Bloomsbury Square Gardens is a short walk from the venue - see a map of the surrounding area on the Dragon Hall’s website.

10:30

Welcome to the Summer of Sonic!
Main Stage: The co-ordinators of the Summer of Sonic convention introduce the day’s events to you on the main stage. Svend Joscelyne is the creator of Summer of Sonic and an experienced media journalist - he is the founder of The Sonic Stadium website. SEGA Europe Community Manager, Kevin Eva is one of the co-heads organising the show along with Svend, and will be on hand to detail just what’s happening in each Zone throughout the day. Kevin runs popular fan comic Sonic Wrecks.

11:00

Sonic Arrives!
Show Floor: Sonic the Hedgehog himself will appear to pose with attendees. He’ll be popping in and out of the hall periodically as the crowds can sometimes get too much for him - even a hero like Sonic gets shy - but will be around most of the day to keep fans happy.

Games Contest 1
Main Stage: Online gaming website Sonic Cage Dome present the first of two challenges throughout the day. The morning challenge will be set on Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, and will see a shortlist of hand-picked volunteers take the stage and play a tournament of speed stages. The finalist will win ultimate victoly, plus a heaving Sega prize pack full of goodies!

11:30

Art Contest
Art Corner: Headed by the Art Corner Managers, fans will be set a creative challenge with which to take pencils to paper and get drawing! What the theme or challenge will be is a surprise for the day, so be prepared for anything! The challenge begins at 11:30am and will end at 12:30pm - submissions into the contest should be made to one of the staff at the Art Corner for judging.

12:30

Games, Art Contest Winners
Main Stage: Allan - also known as ‘Roarey Raccoon’ - will host a judging ceremony that will determine a winner from the entries into the Art Contest. The artist deemed the winner (or winners) will grab themselves a special Sega prize pack, brimmed with goodies.

13:00 - [Lunch Break]

Snacks and small drinks will be available for attendees to have for free while we take a breather for lunch. There won’t be any facilities for any meals; Covent Garden is home to many different restaurants and snack bars if you fancy something more satisfying for your hunger. The following events will be taking place during our break:

T-TIME Special
Main Stage: Adam Tuff, infamous hatted Sonic fan, will stage a short quiz on the main stage while the Summer of Sonic takes a break for people to grab some food and have lunch. A few audience members will be asked to volunteer for a Sonic quiz that will get more challenging the further you progress! Prize packs are awarded to winners and participants.

13:30

Nigel Kitching Signing
Comics Zone: Sonic the Comic legend Nigel Kitching will be situated at the Comics Table for half an hour to officially sign items of your fancy. If you miss him, he will be around the hall before and after the signing chatting to attendees and enjoying the show.

Games Contest 2
Main Stage: In association with the Guinness World Records, Sonic Cage Dome return on stage to bring the fastest four players in the Emerald Hill Zone Challenge together in a speedrun deathmatch! The four players will be trying Emerald Hill Zone Act 1 again to beat their times and try for an official Guinness World Records certificate and the chance to end up in the 2009 Edition of the Gamer’s book.

Afterwards, the four players will engage in a short Sonic 2 Multiplayer tournament, with two groups of two players tackling an entire Zone each and the final consisting of the unchosen stage. The winner will get a Sega Prize Pack stuffed to the very top with awesome merchandise!

15:20 / 15:30

This page contains Terms and Conditions for entry and participation at the Summer of Sonic convention, taking place on 9th August 2008. All attendees are required to read and abide by these Terms and Conditions - they are for your safety and well being, as well as to ensure the event goes with few problems. Those who have not read the Terms and Conditions will still be expected to abide by these clauses, or risk ejection from the convention and any potential future ones.

1. Entrance

1a) Upon arrival at the Covent Garden Dragon Hall Trust you will be asked by a member of Summer of Sonic Staff to supply your Username, Full name, Address, contact telephone number and e-mail address, and to agree to all rules mentioned in the Terms of Entry, which will be displayed at the event, for security and safety in the event of emergency (such as fire) and if the need arises, to contact you if you have won a competition and are not around to collect any prizes associated with it. Failure to do so will result in your entry to Summer of Sonic being denied. If you have not registered on the Summer of Sonic website, and therefore do not have a Username, you will be denied entry into Summer of Sonic.

Your details will not be used outside of Summer of Sonic other than any legal requirements or to send prizes, and will be deleted after there is no longer any need for them as a record.

1b) Before entering the hall you may be asked by either a member of Summer of Sonic Security Staff or the Covent Garden Dragon Hall’s Security team, to be searched for any hazardous or banned items from the hall. This includes, but is not limited, to alcoholic beverages, any item which could be considered a weapon or any item designed to cause disruption and/or a public nuisance. Failure to comply will result in you being denied entrance into Summer of Sonic, and in extreme cases being detained and reported to the police.

Please note that if you are female, you may request a female member of Summer of Sonic Staff to search your bag, however Covent Garden Dragon Hall’s security staff may search your bag.

1c) If you have signed in as a group (you have said you will bring family members and/or friends) you must sign in as a group that must include the person who signed up on the Summer of Sonic website (who will be referred to as the party leader from here on). If the party leader is not present at the time you attempt to sign in or the party leader signs in without you present, you will be denied access.

1d) Upon being cleared for entrance, each group will be given a goodie bag with various items in, as well as one free raffle ticket for a prize draw. Then every person will have their hand stamped, which will allow you re-entry into Summer of Sonic if you leave at some point, and will also be necessary to use any of the functions at Summer of Sonic.

1e) Please note that due to hall capacity, you may have to wait to be allowed into the hall in which Summer of Sonic is taking place. If this happens, you have not been denied entry and you will be allowed to enter when another person leaves the hall.

1f) Summer of Sonic Staff will be identifiable by the Sonic-City stamp on the back of their right hand (this differs from the SEGA stamp on visitor’s hands). A member of Summer of Sonic Staff will always be at the entrance to the hall and at a designated control area by the stage where the DJ is situated.

2. Behaviour

2a) Both when inside the hall and queuing for the event, all members are requested to act both courteously and friendly to all other guests at Summer of Sonic, especially to younger members. Any and all anti-social behaviour towards both staff and guests will be dealt with severely and may prevent you from entering the event, or you will be removed from the event and denied re-entry. This includes, but is not limited, to bullying, abusive language or gestures, and the influence of any un-prescribed drug or abuse of any kind of drug.

2b) If you are worried about the behaviour of anybody at Summer of Sonic, we advice you to contact a member of Summer of Sonic Staff immediately. We ask that you do not try to antagonise anyone’s behaviour by trying to deal with it yourself. The member of staff will contact a member of either Summer of Sonic security or the Covent Garden Dragon Hall’s Security team to deal with the situation.

2c) Please note that any notice or order given to you by Summer of Sonic Staff or the Covent Garden Dragon Hall’s Security team is non-negotiable. Summer of Sonic staff reserves the right to deny you any further access to Summer of Sonic at any time if we believe it is necessary.

3. Theft

3a) All items are bought to Summer of Sonic are the sole responsibility of their owners.

3b) Theft of any kind from either the Summer of Sonic event or any member attending will be dealt with accordingly. Any and all accounts of theft will be reported to the police, and any member of public who donates footage for inspection, and the Covent Garden Dragon Hall’s may be used as evidence in both catching thieves, and prosecuting them.

3c) Please report any missing item to a member of Summer of Sonic Staff. While we can not guarantee that it will be found, we will do our best to find it. In the event that an item is found after the owner has left and has not reported it, we will be unable to return it.

4. Prohibited Items

4a) Items prohibited from being brought into the Covent Garden Dragon Hall include, but are not limited, to Alcohol, any non-prescribed drugs with the exception of those available without prescription from a chemist or superstore, any and all weaponry including replicas and any items that are made with the purpose of public disruption or nuisance.

4b) While it is not prohibited to bring in cigarettes, it is illegal to smoke within the confines of the Covent Garden Dragon Hall, including the area directly outside it. Any person found smoking within the building will be denied further access to Summer of Sonic.

5. Liability

5a) Actions that result in the damage if any equipment or property owned by SEGA or the Covent Garden Dragon Hall will result in charges of Criminal Damage.

5b) Any charges due to damage on any external property at Summer of Sonic caused by an action that results in damage will passed on to the respective party who caused the damage.

6. Advice for Under-16s

6a) Attendees of all ages are welcome, but visitors under 16 years of age should be accompanied by a suitable parent or guardian - the organisers accept no responsibility for those attending the event.

6b) Be careful when meeting anyone who is a stranger, or someone you have only ever met online. For more information please go to http://technomom.com/writing/meeting.shtml

6c) If you lose your parent or guardian at any time, please see one of the members of Summer of Sonic Staff who will help you find them. If you are unsure, please go to the area you signed in, or the DJ on stage.

7. Copyright

7a) The Summer of Sonic is a free-to-attend event based in Central London, UK. Event created by Svend Joscelyne, presented by The Sonic Stadium and Sonic Wrecks, supported by SEGA Europe.

7b) All content Copyright © The Summer of Sonic 2008, fan content published is the Copyright © of respective artists and fans. Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright SEGA. All Rights Reserved.

The Summer of Sonic is taking place at the Covent Garden Dragon Hall Trust in Central London. The nearest London Underground station is based in Holborn, which is a few minutes walk away. For a detailed map from the station, please visit the Dragon Hall’s website at:

http://www.dragonhall.org.uk/

In order to get to Holborn Tube station from other areas of the country, please refer to your local train service. In most cases you will need to travel via Kings Cross St. Pancras or London Liverpool Street, but you may have to arrive to London via another major station depending on where you live.

If you have to arrive by any other means, please take the Dragon Hall’s address so you may plan your journey effectively, either using Google Maps or the AA Route Planner.

17 Stukeley Street
London WC2B 5LT

When you arrive at the Dragon Hall, signs towards the main hall, where the Summer of Sonic is taking place, will be clearly visible. You may meet Sonic at the door!

The event begins at 10am and finishes at 5pm - you won’t miss a thing by arriving later or leaving earlier than expected, so please come and go as you please. All stage shows will be recorded and and shown on the Summer of Sonic website, so if you have to leave before those winners are announced don’t sweat it!

It’s been a while since the original Summer of Sonic in 2006, where we proved that all Sonic fans can put aside their differences and work towards a common goal - showing their pride to be a Sonic fan. Be it the classic games or the modern releases, there’s a moment we will always fondly remember in the series. It was difficult to think of how to advance this concept, until it hit me that Sonic the Hedgehog has no ‘conventions’ to speak of. No common ground where we can physically get together and enjoy the games, comics and other things in the blue blur’s name.

This is why the Summer of Sonic has been resurrected in 2008 - the setting and the scene may have changed, but the aim has not. To celebrate how far Sonic the Hedgehog has come and to enjoy the company of people who know what you’re talking about when you say “Thunder Shoot”, “Ultimate Life Form”, “Ray the Squirrel” or “Get A Load Of This!”. This Summer could be the start of something special, and I hope you will enjoy it with me.

Here I want to thank all the people who have made this event possible, those who have helped spread the word, and those who are like me in thinking that, amongst all the hardships that are cast against Sonic fans in general, that there is something to be proud of in being a part of the Sonic community. Thanks again!

~ Svend ‘Dreadknux’ Joscelyne

Credits

Many thanks to the following people for their support, involvement and otherwise investment into the Summer of Sonic convention project in 2008.

• Svend Joscelyne / The Sonic Stadium
• Kevin Eva / Sonic Wrecks, SEGA Europe
• SEGA Europe
• Covent Garden Dragon Hall Trust
• Elson ‘Darkspeeds’ Wong
• Joanne ‘Jemnezmy’ Wheatley
• Sonic Spriters Network
• Sonic Cage Dome
• Sonic Yoda
• Richard Jacques
• TJ Davis
• Nigel Kitching
• Nigel Dobbyn
• Lee Brotherton
• Contributors and Volunteers: James Maloney, Lewis Clark, Allan Fildes, Jonathon (Turbo), Adam Tuff, Joshua (Urtheart), Mike Taylor, Phil Sims, Graham Seward, Jay (Discoponies), Concept: Mobius Staff, Mark Kidley, Miranda Ketchen, Rory Joscelyne, Jess (Violet)
• The Sonic Community, and all at SSMB.
• … and You.

Those Who Helped Spread The Word

• Sonic Yoda
• The Sonic Stadium
• Sonic Cage Dome
• Sonic Wrecks
• RadioSEGA
• Darkspeeds
• Eurogamer (even though they said it was a SEGA event)
• Official Nintendo Magazine
• Destructoid
• SPOnG.com
• Ripten
• Gaming Today
• SEGA Nerds
• videogaming247
• Gamespot UK
• Games Asylum
• TSSZ News
• Today’s Gamer Site
• Girl Gamers
• Sonic Press

Help spread the word - let us know and we’ll link you back!