Golden Demon UK 2023 Announcement

Warhammer Fest is returning to the UK next year, after its last iteration took place as far as 2019. I was not yet a hobbyist back then, so I know very little about the event itself and its past. What I do know, is that Golden Demon has traditionally been hosted at the same time. 2023 will be no exception, and these are good news for me and many more, as some are still gutted to have missed Golden Demon UK 2022.

To be very honest, this Golden Demon felt a little bit of a rushed decision to me; the announcement came very late (end of July, for an event happening at the end of September/beginning of October; not great for international participants), and the tickets were limited as the venue itself (Warhammer World) was relatively small for an event of this magnitude.

A decent number of “big/returning names” in the community managed to get a ticket, but it has left a lot of people behind.

As Games Workshop themselves state on their official website:

“The legendary Golden Demon is the most prestigious painting competition in the world”.

In my mind, such a title could have come with a more careful approach and additional consideration. It is not that it “should have”, but it definitely “could have”.

Ultimately, it is Games Workshop's choice to treat their own events and their reputation in any way they wish; the consequences, should there be any — positive or negative —, are theirs to collect.

Luckily for everyone however, Manchester Central will be over ten times bigger, so let’s hope most of us can meet — in person or through our work — around the cabinets.

I am also exceedingly excited to see what Games Workshop will reveal, meeting long term community acquaintances and discovering what else Fest has in store.

What do you guys think? Should GW have held back a little while longer before bringing back Golden Demon? Did you attend? Did you wish you could have?

Either way, I now look forward to see what this upcoming competition reserves us all.