hololive SUPER EXPO 2026, hololive production’s premier annual event, was held for three days between March 6 (Fri) –8 (Sun), 2026, at Makuhari Messe, Chiba Prefecture.
The EXPO, the first three-day event of its kind, had the theme of "hololive time-warp". With the concept of transcending time and space, attendees were able to visit and experience various what-if worlds featuring hololive talents, with the venue being split into three areas: PARALLEL, WORLD, and MEMORY―all filled with passion and excitement from both domestic and international visitors.
[Exhibit Introduction] A Place Where the Past and Now of the Talents Intersect: Report from hololive SUPER EXPO 2026
At the center of the EXPO venue was a gigantic monument reminiscent of a “warp station.” Surrounding the monument were three gateways marked PARALLEL, WORLD, and MEMORY, leading to the three different areas.
PARALLEL Area
The PARALLEL Area featured a signature wall featuring autographs from the talents themselves, along with the “PARALLEL THEATER,” where memorable 3D live shows personally selected by the hololive talents themselves were screened on a large LED display with high-quality sound. There was also a booth where visitors could enjoy the mini-game “GoroGoro Derby.” The area was lively with many fans, serving as a place for fans of the same oshi to connect and interact.
WORLD Area
At “hololive University,” various talents appeared every hour for a monitoring-style talk featuring call-and-response interactions with their fans. At the hololive OFFICIAL CARD GAME booth, a giant card display and how-to-play workshops were the main attractions, with many people taking part. Meanwhile, “HOLOSTARS TV” featured a booth recreating a backstage dressing room under the theme, “What if there was a HOLOSTARS TV station in a time-warp world…?” It showcased the talents’ personal items and panels, and featured EXPO special streams on a large monitor. The area remained lively all day: a place where talents and fans could share the venue’s energy through two-way communication.
MEMORY Area
The “Memorial Stage” was a photo spot lined with life-size panels of talents wearing newly-illustrated outfits created for the EXPO key visual, while at the “hololive Time Capsule,” which had the theme “If hololive were to create a time capsule, what would be inside?” fans could look at the personal belongings of hololive talents on display, such as treasured items and mementos. Many items carried nostalgic stories and familiar references from streams, accompanied by handwritten comments and messages from the talents, making it a precious space to look back on each group’s journey.
Event Hall
In the Event Hall, booths lined up for the virtual world project Holoearth, as well as hololive Dreams (nicknamed “holodori”), hololive’s highly anticipated first smartphone game. At the “hololive Dreams” booth, many fans enjoyed Face Mountain, featuring Gen 0 talents and photo spots that recreated in-game bases, and the “EXPO STAGE” featured a wide variety of segments over all three days, including exciting new announcements and guided tours from talents themselves. The Event Hall was filled with applause and cheers from members of the audience.
COVERedge spoke to some fans who joined us at the venue that was brimming with excitement.
[Attendee Interviews] Family, Friends, and Coworkers… Creating New Connections with hololive production
“hololive SUPER EXPO 2026” was packed each day with fans of all ages. This year’s theme was “hololive time-warp”, all about transcending time and space. Listening to fans, it became clear that their encounters with hololive production have gradually changed their everyday lives in small ways. hololive production content has taken root in the daily lives of many, with fans watching streams instead of TV, or listening to clips while on the move, and has also become a catalyst for new connections with family, friends, and acquaintances.
A family of four attended in full cosplay, with their younger daughter (4th year of elementary school) and her older brother (2nd year of middle school). They learned about hololive production through YouTube: “I happened to come across [hololive] on YouTube around when Gen 4 debuted,” said the father. At first, he was watching by myself, but after playing streams on the home TV, the whole family naturally began watching together.
“Now we play hololive songs in the car while traveling, and the kids recreate dances on TikTok, or watch a talent’s sweet-making stream and actually try making them themselves. We probably spend more time playing hololive videos on YouTube than watching regular TV programs,” the other parent said. The costumes were handmade by the mother, and this is their third year attending in cosplay. The younger sister recalled being overjoyed last year when someone at the venue said of her, “There’s a cute Marine-chan!” When asked what hololive is to them, the father replied, “It’s something our whole family enjoys.” The mother continued: “That’s really true. A big part is that it’s something we can let our children watch with peace of mind. It’s not just entertaining—parents and kids can share how hard the talents work and how amazing the technology is. It’s part of our life, and an important kind of content we can all get excited about together.”
A little girl in her 5th year of elementary school, visiting with their father from Osaka, said this was their first time attending EXPO. She became a hololive fan three years ago after encountering YouTube clip videos, with her oshis being Anya Melfissa and Murasaki Shion (graduate). “I watch streams and videos on their channels, and clips too. Sometimes I even think I’d like to try streaming myself,” they said. The father, whose oshi is Usada Pekora, added with a smile, “They’ve been studying hard lately, so it seems like this helps them take a break and gives them motivation to keep trying. I started watching hololive videos recently because of my daughter.” The girl said she most often buys acrylic stands, and they were happy they were able to see many booths while walking around the venue.
We also spoke to a pair of coworkers. The man’s oshis are Shishiro Botan and Shirakami Fubuki, and he became a hololive fan after coincidentally watching Shishiro Botan’s FPS (gaming) streams in 2023. Since then, listening to clip videos while eating has become a daily routine, and they said, “It’s soothing after a tiring day at work.”
The woman learned about Houshou Marine through an ABEMA program in February 2025 and started watching video clips. “From there I was drawn to Nekomata Okayu, AZKi, and Shishiro Botan too, and now I go to solo lives and hololive GAMERS events as well,” they recalled. She usually plays videos in the background: “It’s nice because you can enjoy it without having to stay focused the whole time, like while doing chores. I like that I can multitask.” This was her first time attending EXPO since discovering hololive, and she smiled: “I came because I wanted to see my oshi.” In fact, neither of them had openly said at work that they liked hololive; they eventually found out that the other was also a fan, hit it off, and have been going to events together ever since. Asked what hololive means to them, the man answered, “my support system,” and the woman answered, “adds color to my life.”
Handmade “holokatsu” Merch: Fans Giving Shape to Their Adoration
COVER’s mission of “Together, Let’s Create Culture Loved by All” reflects a desire for not only talents, but also creators and fans, to create new forms of entertainment together. hololive production content is not limited to what talents produce; it extends far beyond, with fans creating new content and forging new connections. At the venue, we could see many moments when feelings for one’s oshi turned into the drive to create or express something, igniting action.
A man whose oshi is Aki Rosenthal was walking around the venue with a self-made gadget. “I made it in a rush yesterday. I thought I might hold it up if I was on camera during the live show,” he said. They had loaded their own pixel art onto their own commercially available device and made it animate on the screen.
He said his purpose for coming to EXPO was to find Aki Rosenthal’s signature and to buy merch, and that they lined up at 6:30 AM for same-day sales. As an exhibit that left a strong impression, he mentioned “hololive Time Capsule,” saying, “I was happy I could take a photo of the talent’s personal merch and my own merch together.” He originally came across hololive production about three years ago and said he became hooked while watching Aki Rosenthal’s long and relaxing nighttime streams. He had also participated in a fan-led support ad project and described hololive as “the place that brought [his] one and only oshi into the world.” The following day, in addition to attending “hololive 7th fes. Ridin’ on Dreams,” he had also planned to attend a fan gathering at a nearby park: a packed schedule across the two days.
Two women also spoke passionately about their oshi activities. One has been a fan of Tokoyami Towa since hearing about hololive from a friend in 2022 and has been hooked ever since. The other became a hololive fan, also around 2022, after hearing Hoshimachi Suisei’s music, and is now a fan of hers. Asked how she enjoys hololive content on a day-to-day basis, she said things like “collecting Ichibankuji merch” and “making panels myself,” and joked, “I put my life on the line collecting memorabilia (laughs).”
The Suisei fan added that she sometimes organizes club events with the theme ‘hololive songs’. That day, they arrived at the venue around 10 AM, changed into cosplay outfits made at home, and walked around with a handmade oshi uchiwa fan. They said they were happy that when they do hololive cosplay, because other fans with the same oshi actively talk to them, and looking back, they said, “It’s fun because it creates more opportunities than being in regular clothes to connect with others.” EXPO is a special place where cosplay and fan activities intersect.
We also spoke with members of a volunteer Onigiryaa (Nekomata Okayu fan) community. Many Onigiryaa had gathered not only from the Kanto region, but also from places like Miyagi. Their activities began with interactions on X, but now include offline meetups timed with live shows, merch exchanges, and more. Particularly memorable was their work on fan support ads. “When ‘Dorobou Kensetsu’* reached its 2nd anniversary, and during the second live*, we even put up a big advertisement at Yokohama Station on the Minatomirai Line,” said the organizer. As fan support ads have become more widespread in recent years, COVER has also developed support systems, such as guidelines, and the number of such initiatives has increased year by year (see here for an article on fan support ads). They also said they were planning an offline meetup of around 180 people after EXPO closed that day, including participants from overseas, showing how fan connections have expanded beyond online spaces into real-world community interactions.
*A build team active in the hololive Minecraft server between 2023 and 2025.
*Nekomata Okayu’s 2nd live “PERSONYA RESPECT”.
From A Support System to A Reason to Live: hololive’s Deeply Rooted Presence in Daily Life
When we asked fans at the venue, “What does hololive mean to you?”, they responded with a range of definitions that reflected their relationship with hololive.
Some said “the color of my life,” some said “a support system”, and others “a reason to live.” The common theme among all the responses we received was that hololive has gone beyond a hobby or pastime and is deeply rooted in the daily lives of many, supporting their mental well-being and way of life.
A man from Texas was visiting Japan to attend “hololive SUPER EXPO 2026 & hololive 7th fes.” for two days. They learned about hololive production through Minecraft gaming streams and became an enthusiastic fan. “hololive has two big meanings for me. One is respect for the talents’ professional attitude toward their work and the other is that they gave me what the Japanese call ‘ikigai’ (a reason for living),” he said. “Before I found hololive, I didn’t have as strong a sense of purpose as I do now,” he explained, adding that the talents now strongly support their life. “I’m truly glad I came all the way from Texas to the place that changed my life.” His friend also looked back on their four-year friendship: “I wasn’t that interested at first, but I was pulled along by their enthusiasm (laughs). Now we come to EXPO together like this.”
Among the Onigiryaa community members, some also shared what hololive means to them. One said, “I once had a period when I struggled with mental health due to work and became self-destructive. That’s when I discovered hololive and met Okayun. Since then, she has been my lifeline and the joy of living itself. I always receive energy from her.” Another member said they were moved by a moment when the talent showed disappointment during a members-only stream after losing a tournament: “Even though she continued to smile in public, she showed her frustration in a members-only stream. It’s that sincerity and constant willingness to challenge themselves that I love.” Someone else said, “I listen to her songs so much that I’m in the top 0.01% of plays on YouTube Music. I even have her music on while working. It’s a part of my life.” Though they shared different sentiments, it was clear that hololive has become more than just a hobby for all of them.
A Common Language Connecting Nations and Generations: The Diverse Ways of Bonding Through hololive
Through these interviews, we once again felt how hololive production entertains people across nations and generations, and how fans’ interactions connect people.
hololive production content is always close by. From family moments together to breaks between chores, nights after a tiring day of work, or any other time of day, before people realize it, it has become an indispensable part of their life.
Whether enjoyed as a shared hobby with family and friends, or the reason people travel to Japan from the far reaches of the planet, the time and encounters of many generations, each with their own backgrounds, were brought together by hololive as a common language.
As the fans left the venue, their words of wanting to come back next year or attend another live show assured us that this culture is in safe hands. COVERedge will continue to provide updates about everything hololive production.
