Even though we have known already for a while that it is coming, it does not make it any easier to announce or even grasp what it actually means. Especially when it is about something that has been a part of our lives for so many years. So without any further long intros, with all the sadness in our hearts, we are announcing that AniMatsuri 2024 will be the last AniMatsuri.
We had a discussion on possibly ending it already last year, but our wonderful long-time sponsor, the city of Tartu, showed us so much support and encouragement to still keep going that we decided to give it a go and try out something new (winter event last year and now a summer event), to give us the spark that we needed to keep on going. At our height, that was 2019, we were highly motivated, full of all big ideas and plans, but then the pandemic came, and with a bang, the spark started to fizzle out. Sadly, even though we have tried, it never re-ignited.
A lot has happened in the past four years that has affected everyone, including our wonderful and dedicated team. It has become harder to have the motivation to organize an event and sadly, motivation is the main drive that keeps a volunteer-run group going. Long-time visitors probably also have noticed that the organizational part is not the same as it used to be. While we can still pull off a good event, things have started to have big delays which affect everyone involved, including those participating – either as visitors or part of the program, but also inside the organizing team. And this is not an acceptable way to run an event. After a long time of discussions and deliberations, with a heavy heart we made the hard decision.
There are no words to describe how thankful we all are for those wonderful 15, soon to be 16 years. AniMatsuri has changed so many people’s lives, from those who attended to those who organized it throughout the years. Many would not be where they are without it. We want to say our most heartfelt thank you to our long-time sponsors and partners, every program contributor, shops and artists, every cosplayer and competition participant, every organizer and volunteer, and every visitor who has helped to make AniMatsuri what it has become. Thank you and we love you. 
For those of you that have plans to participate in the cosplay competition, things are going forward as planned. The main prize winner will be flown out to the wonderful YuniCon in Austria this autumn and we will be sending the Estonian representative to NCC in summer 2025. Everything will go on as usual, just without the event going forward.
We don’t know what the future holds. Maybe, in a few years’ time, another event will happen, but for now, we will keep our focus on making AniMatsuri 2024 a wonderful event to remember for everyone. We hope to see you all there to say farewell.
Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts.
– AniMatsuri organizing team
A big thank you to our artist Katerina Solomko, who created yet again another masterpiece, this time with our mascots Sousuke, Wilhelm and Aki as they appeared for the first time back in 2011, 2012, and 2008 respectively.
