European Close Up Symposium 2023

This past weekend, Vienna was the place to be for the European Close Up Symposium , happening right in magician Bill Cheung’s wonderful theater. So let’s rewind and take a peek at the magical shenanigans that went down !

Unlike your typical magic get-together, the European Close Up Symposium places its emphasis mostly on artists competing with their close-up acts. This year, 36 magicians from twenty different countries hit the stage, all under the keen scrutiny of the judges, and boy did they really wowed us !

A well deserved victory went to Sergio Straman (Argentina), closely followed by Rune Carlsen (Norway) and Robin Deville (France). Magicians Junio Yasuda (Japan) and Junzhe Zhang (China) were also rewarded for the originality of their acts. The judges included such prestigious names as Roberto Giobbi, Boris Wild and Bebel, to name but a few.

But let me tell you this symposium wasn’t just about three days of non-stop competition. We also got the chance to witness an incredible international close-up gala and some very insightful conferences. But what really made this event shine were the never-ending hangouts and jam sessions among magicians. The talent level was through the roof, with a whopping 12 participants boasting World Championship awards in their careers (our host Bill Cheung himself carried over the gold from 2018, no less!) and those sessions kept going every single night, and time just seemed to vanish.