A fan or fanatic, sometimes also termed an aficionado or enthusiast, is a person who exhibits strong interest or admiration for something or somebody, such as a celebrity, a sport, a sports team, a genre, a politician, a book, a movie, a video game or an entertainer. Collectively, the fans of a particular object or person constitute its fanbase or fandom. They may show their enthusiasm in a variety of ways, such as by promoting the object of their interest, being members of a related fan club, holding or participating in fan conventions or writing fan mail. They may also engage in creative activities such as creating fanzines, writing fan fiction, making memes or drawing fan art.
Fans of the Portugal national football team at the 2004 European Championship
"Beliebers", the fans of Justin Bieber, gathering around the hotel where Bieber is supposed to be inside in Oslo, Norway on 30 May 2012.
Tobey Maguire greets fans at Spider-Man 3 premiere.
A cowboy pop fan shows off a rare CD at a music festival.
A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant portion of their time and energy involved with their interest, often as a part of a social network with particular practices, differentiating fandom-affiliated people from those with only a casual interest.
Cosplayer dressed as Katniss Everdeen during the Montreal Comiccon, July 2015
Banquet at the 14th World Science Fiction Convention in New York City in 1956
Fan art for the Sherlock TV series on an English telephone booth
An example of the furry fandom, a cartoon of an "anthro vixen"