I was so proud to represent the UK and The Magic Circle at The World Championship of Magic last week. I’ve been overwhelmed by all the messages of support - thank you everyone for all the love 🥰
I performed on the first day which meant I could enjoy the rest of the convention! I loved watching the stage competition (starting at 8am every day), followed by the close-up competition in the afternoon. There were too many incredible acts to name them all, however the one that stood out for me (and the judges too as he went on to win the Grand Prix), was Laurent Piron from Belgium. A beautiful act where a piece of paper comes to life. Many magicians make objects float, but I’ve never seen an object have so much personality - even during the final bow, the paper’s alive! Below’s a little teaser:
Simon Coronel left his volunteer with an impossible object that created a stampede in the audience as everyone swarmed forward for a closer look! I’ve never seen a reaction like it and he well deserved the main prize for close-up magic.
You can find the full list of winners here.
Other highlights for me included seeing Greg Frewin’s dove act (he won 1st place back in 1994 and was one of the acts I used to watch on repeat when I started learning!) and Rob Zabrecky hosting one of the gala shows - hilarious gags throughout and finishing with a song about his love of close-up magic!
Greg Frewin's Dove Act.
Grand Prix Winners: Laurent Piron with co-creator of the act Hugo Van de Plas & Simon Colonel.
It was wonderful to see Max Maven in such good spirits after his recent illness. Early in the week, Max (in conversation with Luis De Matos) explained how the combination of focussing on the history of magic, largely thanks to a series of lectures curated by Max, together with the future of magic, through the competitions, make FISM his favourite convention. The audience response to Max (after being given a special FISM award) was so special - you could feel the love in the room and it was the biggest reaction of the convention.
Max Maven receiving a special FISM award.
Rob Zabrecky closing the show with a song.
The journey starts now for the next World Championship of Magic in Italy 2025… See you there?