That’s a wrap! +15,000 fans flock to YouTube FanFest in Toronto

That’s a wrap! More than 15,000 passionate fans joined us on Saturday, May 2, as YouTube FanFest made its North American debut. Toronto welcomed a group of the biggest Canadian and international YouTube creators for a live showcase that wowed the crowd with music, comedy and interactive performances. If you missed the show or want to watch it again, now you catch the full show on the FanFest YouTube channel!

The free, public show featured YouTube superstars Jenna Marbles, Bethany Mota, Michael Stevens of Vsauce and Toronto’s own IISuperwomanII. The performances ranged from the soulful music of American star David Choi to the bhangra drumming of Jus Reign to a live science experiment between Michael Stevens and Jenna Marbles that saw Marbles blow a fireball into the air above the crowd.

Co-hosted by charismatic TV personality Jessi Cruickshank and Harley Morenstein of Epic Meal Time, the event closed with the world premiere performance of Lilly Singh’s online smash hit new song “IVIVI”, an ode to Toronto, that drew deafening cheers from the crowd.

Other highlights included a fan Q&A with Bethany Mota, as well as a unique performance from Kurt Hugo Scheider, Macy Kate, Madilyn Bailey and Kina Grannis. The foursome of musicians collaborated on a song that was set to a complicated rhythm of handclaps, which they performed while blindfolded. Edmonton-born a capella singer Mike Tompkins had the fans on their feet for a high energy set, and local girl LaurDIY brought fans on the stage for a live DIY fashion challenge that saw fans create a shirt for host Jessi Cruickshank.

This was a record crowd for YouTube FanFest - more than triple the attendance for previous events in Asia, India and Australia - which shows the incredible passion of Canadian YouTube fans. FanFest was also a hot topic on social media - the #YTFFTO hashtag trended across Toronto as fans took to social media to share the experience.

Thank you to all the extraordinary YouTube Creators and fans that came out for red carpet and show. Canada is hotbed of YouTube talent and fandom, and we are thrilled we were able to bring this to Canadian fans as a North American first!