“Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulon, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Nantes. We have been through the French regions. So what lies beyond them?”
Brussels. The Belgian capital hosts Made in Asia twice a year. The autumn 2026 edition runs on 17 and 18 October at Brussels Expo. Its exhibitor listing carries a figure none of the French events we have covered showed. Of the 397 exhibitors listed, 169 come from France. More than the 103 from Belgium, the host country. Below we list only the facts we could confirm on the official site.
1. It runs on 17 and 18 October 2026 at Brussels Expo
The dates appear at the top of every page of the official site: “LES 17 ET 18 OCTOBRE 2026 A BRUSSELS EXPO”. Two days, Saturday and Sunday. Venue and organisation are as follows.
- Dates: Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October 2026
- Venue: Brussels Expo
- Address: Place de Belgique 1, 1020 Brussels, Belgium
- Opening: 10:00 to 19:00 on Saturday, 10:00 to 17:00 on Sunday
- Organiser: Easyfairs (the privacy notice on the official site states “Made In Asia (Easyfairs)”)
It is worth noting up front that the organiser is not a volunteer association but a company whose business is running trade fairs. Loading schedules, power, aisles, fittings. You will be talking to people who run exhibitions for a living. For food and drink stands, the official site directs enquiries to Brussels Expo separately. Venue operation and event operation are different companies.
One more thing to note: it happens twice a year. The spring 2026 edition ran three days, 27 February to 1 March. The autumn edition runs two. The number of days differs between spring and autumn.
2. Of 397 exhibitors, 169 come from France
The official site publishes an exhibitor listing that can be filtered by country. As of 27 August 2026, 397 entries were listed. The breakdown by country was as follows.
- France 169
- Belgium 103
- Netherlands 67
- Germany 12
- Italy 5
- Greece 4
- Poland 3
- Austria, Finland, Hungary, Luxembourg: 2 each
- Australia, Canada, Colombia, Czechia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Portugal: 1 each
The twenty countries and territories listed here total 380. The remaining 17 belong to countries folded away behind the filter’s “show more” and were not visible on screen. We note that this is a figure counted within what we could see.
Even so, there is one way to read it. The host country is Belgium, yet the largest group of exhibitors is French. Makers who exhibit at regional French events come straight on to Brussels. For the exhibitor, the border is not a wall. Building experience in France means reaching the shelves of Belgium and the Netherlands as well.
3. What is on show is less “manga” than “art and goods”
The same listing can be filtered by category. One exhibitor can be registered under several categories, so the total exceeds 397. In descending order.
- Art and decoration 125
- Posters and prints 88
- Anime 74
- Figures, statues and toys 47
- Clothing and T-shirts 45
- Games 24
- Cosplay 21
- Replicas and props 17
- Comics, manga and books 16
- Trading cards 14
- Food and drink 12
If the words “manga festival” bring to mind tables stacked with books and magazines, you will be wrong. Comics, manga and books stands at 16. The largest category is art and decoration at 125, then posters and prints at 88. In other words, visitors are not coming to read. They are coming to take something home.
This matters when a Japanese company decides what to bring. Handing out your manga as a booklet alone will be buried here. Something that stays in the hand, something that can be displayed, something that can be worn. The same drawing needs a different design for how it is given.
4. There are four application categories, and the fee is not published
Applications go through the enquiry form on the exhibitor page of the official site. The category you choose first is divided into four.
- Business (Professionnel)
- Individual (Particulier)
- Artist or emerging creator (Artiste / jeune createur)
- Gaming company or studio (Entreprise / studio gaming)
The categories are public, but neither the stand size nor the fee appears on the official site. You fill in the form and a sales contact replies. The document setting out exhibiting conditions is distributed from the exhibitor page.
We will not guess at a going rate. Once written, a guess takes on a life of its own. If you are considering this seriously, ask directly through the official exhibitor form.
For reference, visitor admission is published. Saturday is 34.50 euros, with the cheapest advance ticket at 27 euros until 16 October 2026. Sunday is 32.50 euros, cheapest advance 26 euros. A priority Fast Pass is 54.50 euros on Saturday, VIP 118.50 euros. Under-11s enter free. The level of admission gives you a measure of how serious the people gathering there are.
5. The 2026 guest of honour is Io Sakisaka
The official site has announced Io Sakisaka as guest of honour for the autumn edition, appearing on both 17 and 18 October. From the official announcement, the facts alone.
- Her French-language publisher is editions Kana, and the invitation is made with Kana’s cooperation
- The official site states that her works published by Kana have passed one million copies in the French-speaking market
- Ao Haru Ride and Strobe Edge are cited among her main works
There is a reading here too. The venue is in Belgium, but the publisher bringing the guest author is French-language. The official site is prepared in French, Dutch and English, with French as the default. On a map they are different countries; in language, Paris and Brussels are the same market.
The autumn edition is held as one section of a larger event called Heroes World. The official site states that the ticket is valid not only for the Made in Asia area but for all of Heroes World. The organisers describe it as the largest pop culture event in the Benelux. That description of scale is the organisers’ own and has not been recounted by a third party.
6. What came after the “spread across France” the white paper recorded
Our representative, Matsuyama, has covered the French manga scene for the Digital Content Association’s white paper, with repeated visits on the ground. The 2013 edition records that events, until then centred on Paris, had spread across the whole of France. The same paper records that in the 2012 financial year there were 58 manga-related events in France (source: Nautiljon). That is a figure for 2012, and does not mean there are 58 today.
What the white paper recorded stopped at the spread within France. What happened after that is shown by today’s exhibitor listing. The spread did not stop at the border: French makers appear directly at events in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Arranged by season, autumn is crowded. Animasia in Bordeaux falls in October, Brussels is in the same month, and Lyon and Nantes follow in November. Exhibiting at all of them is not realistic in terms of either staffing or freight. You will pick one.
We ourselves have exhibited eleven times at Japan Expo and similar events in France. Of everything those eleven taught us, we will offer one thing. There has never been a year where the first appearance produced a result. The approach came from the other side once it was clear we had stood in the same place again. Continuing within reach beats travelling far just once.
Frequently asked questions
Q1. How much is the exhibitor fee?
It is not published. As of 27 August 2026, the official exhibitor page carries only the categories and the enquiry form, with neither stand size nor fee shown. You would ask directly through the form. We will not guess at a going rate in this article.
Q2. How many visitors are there?
We could not find a visitor figure on the official site. The organisers describe it as the largest pop culture event in the Benelux, but that is a description of scale, not a counted number. This differs from events such as Art to Play in Nantes, where a third-party audited figure is published. Where you need a number, use the events that have audited ones.
Q3. Can a Japanese company exhibit?
There is a “business” category among the application options, and nothing excludes applicants from Japan. But because the fee and the stand are not published, you would first confirm the terms through the form. The site is in French, Dutch and English, so correspondence in English is possible.
Q4. Should we choose this or a French event?
It depends on your purpose. For scale and visibility, Japan Expo in Paris. For certainty of figures, Nantes, where you can put a third-party audited number in front of your board. Brussels has a different strength. With France at 169, Belgium at 103 and the Netherlands at 67, one appearance reaches both the French-speaking and the Dutch-speaking market. If you are prepared to work in two languages, this is an efficient place.
Q5. What should we prepare to bring?
The category breakdown is the hint. Comics, manga and books stands at 16; art and decoration at 125; posters and prints at 88. A booklet meant to be read will be buried on its own. Prepare at least one thing that stays in the hand or can be displayed. Making the manga and turning it into something you can hand over on the day are two different jobs.
One last thing we would like to ask you.
If your company exhibited abroad just once, how many days would what you hand out that day stay in the visitor’s hands?
Please bring one piece of what you currently hand out overseas when we speak.
You can see our actual work on manga for overseas audiences. See our international manga work
For the exhibitor, the border is not a wall. The wall is the form of what you hand over.
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