The term fangirl seems to get a fairly negative connotation these days. Yes, you do get extreme cases of fangirls but from what I have witnessed over the past three days could in no way been seen as negative.
Gemma and I had been planning on attending the Divergent Premiere for a long time, so when Zoe asked me to cover the weekend for her there was no way I could turn it down. My love for Divergent aside, my dream is to work in this environment and I have totally been able to live my dream over the past few days and that is all thanks to you guys. From the very moment we arrived in the queue for the fan event on Saturday morning you guys were there supporting us and, most importantly, Zoe.
So, the fan event itself took place in London’s Leicester Square and I have never seen anything like it before! Fans from all over the world had come to experience this Divergent land and, as excited as I was before hand, I didn’t know what to expect but the day did not disappoint. During the time we queued for the event in the morning we got a only a glimpse of what was inside, with a rotating rock climbing wall and rifle practise. We had dauntless characters coming around to egg on the crowd and get us all excited to get inside. Before entering we had to register with a Erudite staff member and were given a wristband which allowed you to continue.
The event was set up with the faction symbols around the archway with flags around the edge. The booth you first come to is the Aptitude Test where you would lay on a plush white chair and would complete a series of questions on an iPad until you were given what faction you belonged to. In my case…that was Divergent. The staff apparently took the whole thing extremely seriously as the lady snatched the iPad from my hands and yelled “Get out! Tell no one!”, and this was a little scary but it is here that I knew just how good the day was going to be.
So, the fan event itself took place in London’s Leicester Square and I have never seen anything like it before! Fans from all over the world had come to experience this Divergent land and, as excited as I was before hand, I didn’t know what to expect but the day did not disappoint. During the time we queued for the event in the morning we got a only a glimpse of what was inside, with a rotating rock climbing wall and rifle practise. We had dauntless characters coming around to egg on the crowd and get us all excited to get inside. Before entering we had to register with a Erudite staff member and were given a wristband which allowed you to continue.
The event was set up with the faction symbols around the archway with flags around the edge. The booth you first come to is the Aptitude Test where you would lay on a plush white chair and would complete a series of questions on an iPad until you were given what faction you belonged to. In my case…that was Divergent. The staff apparently took the whole thing extremely seriously as the lady snatched the iPad from my hands and yelled “Get out! Tell no one!”, and this was a little scary but it is here that I knew just how good the day was going to be.
I moved onto the tattoo stand next where’s one Dauntless were applying tattoo transfers for your chosen faction and, staying in character, they would pretend that it was going to hurt. If you chose Dauntless then they would cheer and present you to the crowd. It was here that I witnessed my first ‘superfan’.
While queuing we heard a group of girls start screaming. They had won tickets to the premiere but it was all kept very secretive. The other booths that were there included a rock climbing wall which tilted as you climbed, just to test how dauntless you really are, a capture the flag booth where you would be yelled at as though you were an actual Dauntless soldier and compete to win your flag while shooting at targets along the way. Gemma and I got 5/6 because we didn’t know there was one behind us (boo!). There was also a bungee jump where you would be on a trampoline and get to be crazy like Tris as she jumps in her new Dauntless life.
Another great experience there was a stand where you take Tris’s place on the movie poster by getting your picture taken in front of a green screen holding a plastic rifle which they print off on a lanyard for you. And everything is completely free!
While queuing we heard a group of girls start screaming. They had won tickets to the premiere but it was all kept very secretive. The other booths that were there included a rock climbing wall which tilted as you climbed, just to test how dauntless you really are, a capture the flag booth where you would be yelled at as though you were an actual Dauntless soldier and compete to win your flag while shooting at targets along the way. Gemma and I got 5/6 because we didn’t know there was one behind us (boo!). There was also a bungee jump where you would be on a trampoline and get to be crazy like Tris as she jumps in her new Dauntless life.
Another great experience there was a stand where you take Tris’s place on the movie poster by getting your picture taken in front of a green screen holding a plastic rifle which they print off on a lanyard for you. And everything is completely free!
Over the hours we were there more and more super fans were winning premiere tickets. We saw some tears of joy but also some from fans who could not get tickets. We had given up hope too when we got talking to two Erudite girls who surprised us at the end with two tickets for being super fans and so that we could share the experience with you guys!
When Sunday come Gemma and I headed back into London where we were spotted in by some fans in the event queue, and I will tell you straight, it is strange to have a girls gasp when they see you or call your name even though they are complete strangers. But it was getting to meet you all that was my favourite part of the weekend. While speaking to said group of girls we spoke about how we had got tickets and later they day they came running over to us screaming as they had got their Premiere passes too!
SuperFans were given the opportunity to win last minute tickets by Dauntless members who would make them so push ups or get top score on capture the flag, which is such a Dauntless thing to do!
We were lucky to be quite near the front of the queue for the red carpet so we were seated in the cinema where we were given a free Divergent tshirt and drink (which is always good!). Unfortunately we did not get to meet any of the stars as they spent their time with the fans outside, but we watched it all on the screen, before they came onto the stage to great us all before the movie started.
When Sunday come Gemma and I headed back into London where we were spotted in by some fans in the event queue, and I will tell you straight, it is strange to have a girls gasp when they see you or call your name even though they are complete strangers. But it was getting to meet you all that was my favourite part of the weekend. While speaking to said group of girls we spoke about how we had got tickets and later they day they came running over to us screaming as they had got their Premiere passes too!
SuperFans were given the opportunity to win last minute tickets by Dauntless members who would make them so push ups or get top score on capture the flag, which is such a Dauntless thing to do!
We were lucky to be quite near the front of the queue for the red carpet so we were seated in the cinema where we were given a free Divergent tshirt and drink (which is always good!). Unfortunately we did not get to meet any of the stars as they spent their time with the fans outside, but we watched it all on the screen, before they came onto the stage to great us all before the movie started.
I am so lucky to have got the opportunity to see the movie early and now let me take a moment to make this very clear… THE MOVIE IS INCREDIBLE! Okay, so it is an adaptation so there are always going to be differences and characters or scenes that we wish would have been in it but what they have made is a movie which is one of the best adaptations I have seen! The scenery, costumes, characters and script are so like I had imagined it was pretty scary. And yes, of course I cannot skip over the Four and Tris. Personally, I do not ship Shailene and Theo but as Four and Tris they are perfect together. Somehow they just fit. They are both extremely strong actors which compliments the characters and they simply work so well with one another I do no see her as Shai, nor as Hazel Grace, but she IS Tris.
During the after math of the movie I had the utmost privilege to meet my two favourite YouTubers Jim Champman and Tanya Burr which was absolutely incredible as I am such a fan! Yes, to those of you who are wondering, Jim is just as sweet in person as he is in his videos! During these moments where fans bombarded the couple, Ben Lloyd Hughes seemed to manage to sneak right by, right past me, and into his car which was an odd moment.
During the after math of the movie I had the utmost privilege to meet my two favourite YouTubers Jim Champman and Tanya Burr which was absolutely incredible as I am such a fan! Yes, to those of you who are wondering, Jim is just as sweet in person as he is in his videos! During these moments where fans bombarded the couple, Ben Lloyd Hughes seemed to manage to sneak right by, right past me, and into his car which was an odd moment.
This weekend has been the best weekend of my life and though it is over now I have to say bye until next time to you all, the world of fangirls is simply another word for family because I have met so many people that I know I am going to be great friends with for more than just this weekend. These sort of events and books and common interests are what bring us all together. Yes, this may sound incredibly cheesy but it is all true. I love you guys and thank you so much for your support, I hope I did you all proud!