Twilight stars meet fans at Birmingham convention - pictures and report

Feb 20 2011 by Sarah Taylor, Sunday Mercury

And Alex Meraz, better known as shapeshifter Paul, tweeted; “An amazing turn out here in Birmingham!

‘‘It’s really fun to see familiar faces.”

As well as besotted Americans, the convention also attracted many Europeans, including a group of Belgians who met through their love of the series.

“There are 35 of us in Belgium, but only six have made it here,” said Almudena Herrera, 25. “This is my third convention and I’ve been to the movie premieres in London, Paris and Barcelona.

‘‘We all love the romance of the film, but also the vampires and werewolves.

‘‘We saw Daniel Cudmore, who plays Felix, last night and he touched my friend’s necklace!”

And French fanatic Elsa Andre, 27, said: “I’ve watched the films over 50 times. And the book helped me get through a hard time in my life, so it is important to me.”

Wolverhampton girls Cathy Oliver, 19, and Katie Astles, 20, have been fans since the first books came out.

Cathy said: ‘‘We love this convention and earlier met Alex Meraz – he is such a babe!

‘‘He squeezed my hand and I practically died. We have been saving up since last year for the tickets.”

Prices for the event start at £88 for a standard adult programme or £29 for children, but can reach £895 for a VIP ticket – which includes dining with the stars.