Attending YouTuber events is a fantastic way to raise the profile of your channel.
At these meet-ups and conventions, you get to network with other creators, lay the groundwork for content collabs, and keep up with the latest YouTube trends. Many events also offer a fan track, so you can interact directly with your audience!
Plus, there are usually plenty of businesses in attendance who want to work with influencers. Play your cards right, and you’ll go home with a lucrative brand partnership.
But what are the biggest YouTuber events and conventions? A lot of the classic events of pre-pandemic times were postponed or even cancelled during it. So where to start?
We’ve done the research, asked savvy creators, and compiled a list to help you. Here are the best, can’t-miss events for YouTubers in 2023. They’re located both in the US and abroad and include all different pricing options. Pencil them into your schedule!
Contents
Overview: YouTuber Events & Conventions 2023
Here’s a quick overview of 2023’s major conventions and events for YouTubers, streamers, and other video creators:
| Event | Start date | End date | Location | Pricing | Ticket sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAX East | Mar 23, 2023 | Mar 26, 2023 | Boston, MA | $67 (day pass) $247 (4-day pass) |
open |
| Clamour Creator Summit | May 16, 2023 | May 18, 2023 | Scottsdale, AZ | free with invite | applications open |
| VidCon Anaheim | Jun 21, 2023 | Jun 24, 2023 | Anaheim, CA | $55 (1-day Community Track) $110 (4-day Community Track) $155 (4-day Creator Track) $699 (4-day Industry Track) |
open |
| RTX | Jul 7, 2023 | Jul 9, 2023 | Austin, TX | TBA (2022: $52 day pass, $98 weekend pass, higher-priced VIP passes) | TBA |
| VidCon São Paulo | Jul 7, 2023 | Jul 9, 2023 | São Paulo, Brazil | TBA | begins March 6 |
| Playlist Live | Sep 1, 2023 | Sep 3, 2023 | Orlando, FL | $150 (3-day Creator Community Experience) $200 (3-day Industry Experience) $500 (3-day Premium Experience) |
open |
| VidCon Baltimore | Sep 29, 2023 | Sep 1, 2023 | Baltimore, MD | TBA | begins Apr 11 |
| VidSummit | Oct 3, 2023 | Oct 5, 2023 | Dallas, TX | $995 (includes 2022 recordings) | open |
| TwitchCon | – | – | not confirmed Las Vegas, NV |
– | – |
| Buffer Festival | TBA | TBA | Toronto, Canada | TBA (2022: CAD 100 3-day pass) | TBA |
Let’s now talk about them in a little more detail.
US-Based YouTuber Events in 2023
If you’re based in the US or need a good excuse for a trip to the States, here are the best events and conventions for YouTubers like you!
Playlist Live
Orlando, Florida. September 1 – 3, 2023
Price: All passes are 3-day.
- Creator Community Experience: $150 (same price for Guests and Parents)
- Industry Experience: $200
- Premium Experience: $500
Playlist Live is one of the premier influencer events in America, styling itself as a ‘festival, concert and convention all rolled into one’. It has been around since 2010, and this will be its 17th edition.
Since Playlist Live has hit capacity for the venue over the years, it now uses an application system: Individual creators and fans can apply for the passes, and the team will select them – giving preference to active and aspiring creators. Those selected also get to buy passes for up to 4 guests.
Clamour Creator Summit
May 16 – 18, 2023.
Provisionally, the venue is the Talking Stick Entertainment District resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. It costs nothing to attend, and there are discounts for rooms. The event is by invitation only, but you can apply for one!
The Clamour Creator summit is a conference set up for online video creators – and the brands wanting to network with and sponsor them – only. The summit is set in a private resort, letting creators combine fun with business – perhaps more so than at other events. There are no fans and no media coverage, allowing creators to speak their mind and voice their concerns freely.
Clamour also runs a fan event, Clamour Live, with details to follow in the new year.
Last year’s trailer for the Clamour Creator Summit – an event for creators and those who want to work them.
VidSummit
Dallas, TX. October 3 – 5, 2023.
Price: $895 (currently, includes streams of the 2022 event).
VidSummit is a video creator and industry conference without a fan track, which encourages attendees to focus on the business of doing online video, growing channels, reach, trends worth following, and income. It promises a look behind the scenes of the industry, and gives you a shot at becoming a real insider. This will be the 10th annual event.
VidCon Anaheim
Anaheim Convention Center, California, June 21 – 24, 2023
Pricing:
- Community Track (1 Day): $49
- Community Track (4 Day): $99
- Creator Track (4 Day): $145
- Industry Track (4 Day): $649
The mother of all video creator conferences, VidCon was started by veteran YouTube creators John and Hank Green (of Vlogbrothers‘ fame). It was first held in Los Angeles in 2010, but soon moved to Anaheim. In 2020 and 2021, it was replaced with the online “VidCon Now” event series.
But now it is back in its 12th in-person incarnation in 2023! The whole event was acquired by Paramount Global in 2018. YouTube was the main sponsor from 2013 until 2020, with TikTok taking over in 2021.
There’s a Community track for fans, a Creator track for video makers (which is unique to the Anaheim flagship event), and an Industry track.
In addition, there are several spin-off events elsewhere, which you’ll also find on this list!
A recap of VidCon 2022 in Anaheim
RTX
Austin, Texas. July 7 – 9, 2023.
Pricing: 2023 pricing to be announced, but for a rough idea, here is 2022’s pricing:
- $52 for single-day passes
- $98 for a weekend passes
- Special badges are up to $1,500 (extra access and VIP treatment)
From Rooster Teeth, the team that brought us the Red vs. Blue webseries, comes the annual RTX event. Lovers – and creators – of all things gaming, podcast, and animation meet up for three days in Austin, Texas.
After two years of being held online, the 2022 edition offered creators “three days of panels, live shows, special events, meet-and-greets, and more.” The next edition promises to be amazing as well!
PAX East
Boston, Massachusetts. March 23 – 26, 2023. Events at other locations to be announced.
Pricing: $247 for the 4-day pass, $67 for single-day passes.
PAX started out as the Penny Arcade Expo in 2004, run by the creators of the gaming webcomic of the same name. Over the years, it has developed into a major gaming, streaming, and fan event. There are now several PAX events a year, including one in Australia. For video creators in the gaming niche especially, it’s a fantastic opportunity to interact with major players in their industry.
Whether Minecraft YouTubers, A-list title players, or Roblox streamers – PAX has something for every gamer and fan.
BWOne gives us a walkthrough of the floor at PAX East 2022 – much like what fans and creators can expect for 2023’s edition.
VidCon Baltimore
Baltimore Convention Center, Maryland, September 29 – October 1, 2023
Pricing: To be announced (ticket sales will start April 11, 2023). See Anaheim’s prices for reference, above!
Finally, another massive US-based video creator event is VidCon Baltimore, the event’s East Cost edition. It offers an Industry and a Community track, but no dedicated Creator track.
TwitchCon
At the moment, there is no confirmed information about Twitch’s annual event. TwitchCon North America has so far always been held in California (or online, in the case of GlitchCon 2020).
However, a possible leak puts TwitchCon at Las Vegas in late October 2023. Take the following with a large grain of salt:
So, it looks like Twitch accidentally leaked their hotel booking page for #TwitchCon NA 2023 by allowing it to be indexed in search engine results https://t.co/LiuVfQHM8d
— JZ (@theotherJZ_) January 26, 2023
If this is correct, it looks like TwitchCon NA 2023 will be in Las Vegas on October 20-22.
International YouTuber Events in 2023
Are you an international creator? Or just itching to travel abroad and meet creators in a global setting? Here are the biggest international events for YouTubers in 2023.
Buffer Festival
Toronto, Canada. Summer 2023. Exact date and pricing to be announced.
2022 prices for reference (in Canadian Dollars):
- Buffer Festival 3-day pass: CAD 100
- FAN EXPO X Buffer Festival Super 4-day pass: from CAD 235
Buffer Festival, founded by YouTube creators Corrado Coia, Samantha Fall, and Corey Vidal in 2013, is an annual celebration of online video. It’s an event for digital creators and their fans. Notably, it’s centered around theatrical screenings of premieres by online video creators. In 2022, Buffer Festival teamed up with FAN EXPO to deliver a double creator and fandom whammy.
Buffer Festival’s launch video. The concept’s stayed the same since then (online video, but in theatre!), though 2022 saw a cross-over with the FAN EXPO.
TwitchCon Europe - Paris
Paris, France. Summer 2023. Exact date and pricing to be announced.
Pricing from Amsterdam 2022: EUR 65 single-day, EUR 108 two-day (that’s approximately $67 and $112)
Live-streaming platform Twitch is also hosting its very own creator event: TwitchCon! While the 3-day flagship event is held every year in California since 2015, a European spin-off is being organized since 2019. A different city plays host to the 2-day event every year, and in 2023, the honor will go to Paris.
VidCon México
Exact location and date to be announced.
2022 pricing (in Mexican Dollars):
- Industry Track (2 Day): MXN 6,000
- Community Track (3 Day): MXN 1,200
VidCon México offers an Industry and Community Track and is a hot spot for creators from Central America.
VidCon has also spawned spin-offs in Central and South America. There’ll be cons in both Mexico and in Brazil in 2023!
VidCon São Paulo
São Paulo, July 7 – 9, 2023. São Paulo Expo, pricing to be announced.
Finally, there is the Brazilian edition of VidCon, a hub for creators in South America. VidCon São Paulo was originally planned for 2022, but was postponed to its new date in 2023. It will have an Industry and a Community Track.
The Bottom Line
YouTuber events are a fantastic investment in channel growth and sustainable success as a creator. Most of them allow online video creators to meet their fans and those that inspired them. There’ll plenty of fun experience to put back into video form, too!
Other events are more focused on the business and networking side of things, with industry experts, lots of other creators, and reps from companies that want to work with them. Without fans around, YouTubers can share real behind-the-scenes tips and experiences.
Excited yet? Then pack your bags and book your flights!
The biggest events for online video creators are VidCon and Playlist Live in the US.
Yes, YouTube organizes the Fanfest series of events. The platform used to be the main sponsor of VidCon, but TikTok took over the spot in 2021.
VidCon will have four editions in 2023: In Anaheim, CA (June 21 – 24), Baltimore, MD (September 29 – October 1), São Paulo, Brazil (July 7 – 9), and in Mexico (date and city to be announced).
