SHORT ANNOUNCEMENT
- TFNation 2027 dates announcement, ticket release and discounted bedroom sales will commence at 12:00 noon (UK Time) on Saturday 31st October 2026.
- TFNation has secured more function space and more bedrooms at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel.
- New Trader and Forge interest form is live now.
FULL ANNOUNCEMENT
Calling all Autobots… it’s time to discuss TFNation 2027.
We’ve loved our time at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel, which has been TFNation’s home over the last decade. The halls have served us well as our conventions have grown, in both duration and attendance. In recent years, however, we’ve seen multiple segments (and event days) routinely selling out. Our trader and forge areas are considerably oversubscribed and the demand for bedrooms is larger than ever. Attendees have asked for more space, and we’ve heard you.
These are definitely good problems for an event to have, but they still need to be addressed. How do we expand TFNation’s footprint in a way which is still affordable for attendees, without placing the event under considerable pressure?
There’s no easy answer… But there is a plan.
Please take a little time today to read this post in full, as we do our best to explain how we are going to evolve again. Buckle up, it’s time for another transformation.
What’s the plan (and why)?
A finite number of attendees, Traders and Forge artists pay to make TFNation a reality. Hitting capacity several years running means there is little opportunity to welcome additional attendees and vendors, leaving the same number of people to absorb rising event costs. Increasing our footprint will bring some short-term cost rises, but the additional attendees and vendors we will be able to welcome should help us to share those more evenly, avoiding significant jumps.
More space will also result in more cool opportunities, more bots and more room to mingle with friends new and old.
Some more good news – as part of the expansion, we’ve been able to secure more TFNation bedrooms than ever before. Demand will likely still exceed supply, so we can’t guarantee everybody a room, but this should nevertheless be helpful for TFNationals hoping to stay on site.
Naturally, hiring lots more space increases the financial risk to the convention – so, in order to make the improved layout a reality, we’ll need to bring our practices a little more in line with some other events, by making tickets and bedrooms available at the same time the convention dates are announced.
How did we get here?
We’re probably going to tell you a little more than we should right now – we know lots of events might find it a bit weird to openly discuss the business side of things with their attendees, but we’ve always believed in being fully transparent with our supporters… so, let’s get weird, shall we?
During TFNation 2025’s closing ceremony, we announced the dates for our 2026 convention. Three days later, emergency measures had to be taken, after it became clear the venue was in danger of completely selling out 12 months in advance.
To put that into context, nothing had been announced yet. No guests. No Vince DiCola concert. No vendors. Just the dates.
It has become clear the event is so well supported, that people will book their rooms the second the dates are announced. That level of support is wonderful – but it’s also detrimental to the event. In particular, there are two significant downsides:
- Rooms booked prior to (and outside of) our special convention link, do not count towards our room sales target. So for each of these which sells, we not only “lose” a room from the venue, but also an opportunity for a qualifying booking to be placed. It’s a downside double whammy.
- Fewer rooms are then left available for ticket-holding attendees, if people without tickets place an early hold on them.
We understand the people who book early are well-meaning, returning attendees who wish to ensure they can stay on site. There’s no shade on them here. But now we’re taking on the additional financial risk of another event hall, we need to ensure as many TFNationals as possible book a qualifying room, to protect the continued viability of the convention.
We could simply publish the bedroom link and allow anybody to reserve a room. This would make hitting our target easier, however, we don’t think it would be fair to do that, at least initially. Demand for Hilton bedrooms exceeds supply, so we want TFNation rooms to be offered to TFNation attendees first – that only feels fair to us.
How will the plan work?
Here’s a timeline to explain how we’re going to roll out the changes:
Today – we’re notifying you of the new system, and providing the timeline. We can also confirm TFNation will take place during Summer 2027, so those of you with annual leave commitments know you’ll still have plenty of time to plan, once the final dates are confirmed. (We won’t be dropping a January con on you, rest easy!)
Also Today
- We are releasing our new Trader, Forge Artist and Exhibitor interest form. Vendors should complete this form, so we know to provide them with an early heads up about applications and details on how the vendor process will work this year.
Saturday 31st October 2026 – On this day, all of the following will happen at midday (UK time):
- Our event page will go live, confirming the dates of next year’s Birmingham Convention.
- Tickets will go on sale (we’ll let you know the prices ahead of time. We anticipate the sort of modest rises you may expect, but nothing drastic, so you can use 2026’s prices as a rough guide)
(As ever, you don’t need to pay for all of your tickets at once. Nor do you need to pay for all of your hotel stay at once either. We’ll of course post more detailed guides shortly in the usual manner)
- Once you’ve booked your tickets, you will be immediately provided with access to the TFNation bedrooms. As ever, buying event tickets does not guarantee you a room, but it will mean you can access them nice and early.
- Traders, Forge Artists and Exhibitors who submit an application will receive a separate email, as their tickets and bedrooms are handled slightly differently to attendees.
Thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy update. We appreciate we absolutely could’ve just opened sales without making you read such a long post, but making changes without explanation simply isn’t the TFN way.
We also appreciate this new system will bring us a little more in line with some other events, when we usually prefer to be… you know… not. Rest assured, we’ll continue to find new and exciting ways to be different – we just need to ensure the continued viability of the convention first.
We now return to The Transformers… the build-up might look a little different, but TFNation will return in 2027 and we can’t wait to welcome you all again!
Till All Are One!
Team TFNation
(We are TFNation, and we send this message to all of those who are hoping to join us. TFNation 2027 is a limited capacity event, which we expect to be busy; all convention areas are subject to capacity limits, and all advertised guests, traders, forge artists, exhibitors, panels and activities may change without notice. Terms and Conditions of sale apply on this small world and all others. We are here. We are waiting.)