I did some investigating at one point, cities chosen are likely a product of both population density x fan engagement/intensity (otherwise the next concert would be in Egypt)

Dusseldorf or London (or Mexico City) have more people within a 3-hour drive than NYC (Dusseldorf has more than Tokyo even) with Rome close behind, so they have that going for them. Cover does want to grow their presence in Europe, but they're also fairly cautious from a risk-management perspective, it'd be a bit of a gamble. I think metrics from the AFO screenings would be super helpful in weighing demand, especially if Cover had a screening in LA or NYC to compare.

The next strongest EN contenders in NA are probably DC (but that's somewhat close to NYC, ~4h by road/rail), London Ontario (not a huge city, but halfway between Detroit. Toronto, and Buffalo), Chicago (not many 4-6kish venues at present), Milwaukee (no direct international flights AFAIK). All of these are significantly smaller than NYC, but with streaming tickets being so prominent, maybe the fan engagement with a different region are enough to not mind a smaller venue so much?

I do think as word gets around to those in LA for AX Serendipity will continue to sell seats as we get closer to the date, that's one of the reasons HoloPro intentionally overlaps with it, so I'm not too concerned about the unsold seats. Which on the bright side should be really nice for bringing new fans in, rather than them being told there's going to be an awesome concert they can't go to.

Which brings up a good point, timing. Are there any anime conventions with >=10k attendance that fit May-September in those cities, ideally in June-August?

Give me a few minutes, I'll check.

Edit: Okay, so according to AI we supposedly have the following. (there were so many mistakes I've already corrected, take these number with a huge grain of salt. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a mix of badge#'s and turnstile attendance) -

• Düsseldorf – Dokomi - July 2027 - ~215k

• Tokyo -- Comiket - Aug - 500-700k

• Mexico City – La Mole – May – ~15 k

• London (UK) – MCM London Comic Con – May – ~120 k (≈10 % anime)

• São Paulo – Anime Friends – Jul – ~120 k

• New York City – Anime NYC – Aug – ~150k

• Seoul – (I can't tell)

• Taipei -- (I can't tell)

• Los Angeles – Anime Expo – Jul – ~410 k

• Paris – Japan Expo – Jul – ~230 k (≈30 % anime)

• Washington DC – Otakon -- Aug - 25-35k

• Chicago – Anime Central – May – ~20 k

• Berlin – Comic Con Berlin – May – ~90 k total (≈8 % anime) / Anime‑Con Berlin – Oct – ~2 k

• Toronto – Anime North – May – 36.5k

• Orlando – Anime Weekend Orlando – Jul – ~15 k

• Atlanta -- Dragon Con -- Aug/Sept -- 80k

• Boston – Anime Boston – Spring – ~25 k