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For fans of gaming, the news that the biggest and best of the region’s gaming scene will be celebrated at a gaming convention in Norfolk is probably the most exciting thing they’ve heard in a long while.

Taking place on the weekend of 9/10 April 2022, the OLL ‘22 Video Games Convention is set to put the Norfolk Showground Arena on the map in terms of gaming. Tempted yet? We bet you are! It’s the same sort of feeling as having preordered a game and having to wait – both exciting and painful.

The convention, organised primarily by the One Life Left gaming café in Norwich, is also supported by the Centre for Computing History, a huge gaming area will be provided by Norwich Gaming Cafe, Nintendo Norwich, Norwich Retro Gamers, Norwich Amiga Group and Last Level Games.

Wondering what to expect? On the agenda will be casual games, hi-score challenges and competitions across formats ranging from the best ’80s videos games right through to today’s modern offerings. It will also host the largest Super Smash Bros Ultimate tournament the east of England has ever witnessed!

On the main stage, gaming fans can watch and take part in shows and attractions from numerous guests and partners, including Did You Know Gaming, Ashens, Nostalgia Nerd and Super Happy Kill Time, as well as tournament finals, panels with streamers and influencers, speedruns, a live gaming quiz and, of course, the OLL Show!

There’ll also be a live stream across the whole weekend, full of special guests, speedruns and gameplay segments. As well as these attractions, a full suite of traders and exhibitors will be on the show floor selling games, merchandise and refreshments, essentially all the things you could possibly need to complete your OLL ’22 experience.

It’s still a long way off, so many more announcements of guests, exhibitors and activities will come in due course.

OLL ’22 will also be proudly supporting Special Effect, the gamers’ charity, who specialise in helping disabled players gain easier accessibility to gaming.

When asked what the motivation behind planning such a large-scale event was, One Life Left owner, Jon, explained: “We’ve been running gaming activities at our gaming café for the past 4 years, including tournaments, parties, community meets, charity fundraisers, live streams and games retail.

“A convention where we bring all our communities and activities together under one roof is the natural evolution of our events business.  The OLL ’22 project began two years ago, but of course we’ve had to navigate 2020 before announcing everything, and we’re so proud to now be able to tell everyone about it!”

A lot of effort and thought have gone into planning this mammoth event. The convention adds another string to Jon and his team’s bow. When asked what the future held or if they would just wait and see, Jon stated: “Gaming events outside our current venue are likely to become a fixed element to our future business strategy and we hope that OLL ’22 is just the first of many more big things to come!”

For further info and to purchase tickets, please visit www.ollgames.co.uk

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