YouTube stars gather in Northern Ireland for first joint meet and greet

Tickets for the 750-capacity event at Foyle Arena, and a further 200-ticket morning event in Londonderry sold out within hours.

The project is the brainchild of north west man, Oran O’Carroll, who is Head of Talent Management at London-based Studio71 UK.

Adam, whose TheNewAdamb99 channel on YouTube has over one million subscribers, will be joined by other popular YouTubers Jake Mitchell from Hereford, MillieT from Manchester and Lee Hinchcliffe from Barnsley.Oran said all three English YouTubers will be coming to the city for the first time and collectively the four are attracting their loyal fans from as far away as Cork.

The YouTubers will be attending an event at the Nerve Centre from this morning for Creativity Month before heading to the Foyle Arena for the Question & Answer Session and Meet and Greet from 4pm to 8pm.

Oran said the four YouTubers coming to Londonderry have a combined following of 3.5 million subscribers. “None of them have been here before so Adam is going to take them around and show them the area.

“This kind of event has not been done before here and I am always championing bringing things back to Derry . Everybody is buzzing about it.”Successful YouTubers are widely regarded as the stars of today, amassing followers from across the world if their videos strike a chord.

Oran has also helped the YouTubers coming to Northern Ireland secure sponsorship deals with giants including Disney Sony and others, as well as other promotional and personal opportunities.

“The thing about YouTube is that it makes it accessible to anyone and there is an international audience. You don’t have to be based in a particular location, you can just pull out your smartphone or start up your laptop. The world is your audience.”

Oran said there was a great appetite for this type of event, as evidenced by the tickets being snapped up so quickly.“The fans really engage and see the YouTubers as their role models.

“A lot of them will have YouTube channels themselves and will be asking for tips and advice on growing their audience, as well as taking pictures with the YouTubers.”

Adam is also planning to work with the Derry City and Strabane District Council and others to organise more YouTube events during the planned Your of Youth 2019.