The next FISM World Championship of Magic is taking place in Turin, Italy, this July. Italy, however, was not the original locale for 2025’s event—Russia was. “The plans were finalized, but with the outbreak of war, it became clear that hosting the events there was no longer viable,” FISM Italy organizer Walter Rolfo told Genii. “What was left was a difficult situation… a ‘hot potato,’ as some might call it.”
That hot potato got passed to Rolfo’s team in Turin, who had half the usual time to organize. They rose to the challenge while also carving out new experiences and opportunities.
One of those opportunities is for the youngest generation of magicians. “We’ve made a significant investment to encourage greater participation from young people, because we strongly believe that FISM should be accessible to everyone,” said Rolfo. To that end, the registration fee for those under 18 is €470, still a significant sum but almost half of the €870 standard ticket price.
Left: FISM Competitor Bloomy, courtesy of Masters of Magic. Right: Richard Wiseman will make his first FISM appearance this summer in Italy. Wiseman photo by Guy Hinks
The slate of performers and presenters is also top-notch, and includes Richard . Wiseman, who is making his first appearance at FISM. Wiseman told THE EYE that his lecture will feature “new optical illusions, photo opportunities and selfies,” and will “look at new ways of using magic to create immersive and theatrical experiences.” He will also present a version of Experimental, his show with no performer where the audience creates their own magical experience, aided by a series of slides and videoclips.
Joshua Jay will be another guest at FISM Italy, where he’ll be lecturing on his Particle System. “It’s easy to describe it as a ‘memorized deck,’ but it’s actually three different secrets that have been assembled, a complete system for your card magic,” Jay told THE EYE. He also plans to have a photo exhibit, a seven-year effort chronicling the various people and places from his travels. “I’ve been taking photos and assembling them into an interesting view on magic,” he explained. “It’s really the side of magic we don’t usually see, and it really uses visual arts to focus on our goal as magicians.”
The next FISM will take place in Turin, Italy,
from July 14 to 19, 2025.
The FISM competition is the world's most prestigious magic contest.