Inside Bravo’s Charleston Fan Fest Takeover (Exclusive)

The Holy City played host to some of Bravo’s biggest stars on Saturday (October 24), as Bravo Fan Fest 2026 came underway in Charleston, South Carolina. Over three dozen Bravolebrities were on hand that day to celebrate their shows with thousands of adoring fans, and TV Insider got a front-row look at how the big day came to be.

We sat down with Andrew Gottlieb, VP of creative at Rock Studios and advertising and partnerships for NBCUniversal, to unpack the unique experience of Bravo Fan Fest and what went into bringing it to the home of Southern Charm and Southern Hospitality.

Gottlieb, a veteran of Broadway who now manages projects and operations for the network’s high-profile live events, said that the rationale for choosing Charleston was simple: “Charleston is a character in the Bravoverse now,” he said.

He was part of the process of partnering with the brands that were present and hosting activations and experiences for the event (among them: Ally Bank teaming up with Venita Aspen for on-the-ground captures, Colgate Optic White hosting a meet-and-greet with Brownwyn Newport, Genesis touring the town with Madison LeCroy, Planet Fitness providing refreshments and one-on-one time with Carl Radke, State Farm giving fans custom swag bags, Wayfair sponsoring a video booth for fans to meet with Mia Calabrese, and Wendy’s feeding folks while offering face time with Lisa Barlow and Alicia Carmody).

Read on for further insight into how Bravo Fan Fest 2026 came to be and what’s next when BravoCon returns to Las Vegas next.

Congratulations on this event. I’m from Charleston, so it’s been fun to see the impact of Southern Charm and Southern Hospitality… What do you think about how much this has impacted this city, and why was Charleston the right place for Fan Fest?

Andrew Gottlieb: I mean, it’s really incredible to see what it’s done to the city, but also to bring Fan Fest here, where Charleston is a character in the Bravoverse now, right? So it’s like coming to a place that feels like you’re in the Bravoverse. Even just walking around downtown Charleston, seeing people pop into Craig [Conover]’s store and some of the bars and restaurants, it’s really amazing… Fans already know it. They already feel connected to it, and there’s really not a better place to immerse the Bravo fans than a city that is so much a part of some of these iconic shows.

Paul Cheney/Bravo

Let’s talk about the talent. You’ve brought in a lot of people from a lot of different franchises, but it does seem like the Southern Charm and Southern Hospitality people are the running heartbeat of this event. Would you say that’s true?

Yeah, it is. It’s about giving the fans access to a lot of the Bravo properties, so you’ll see a lot of Housewives, you’ll see Summer House‘s cast. But it is. I mean, it makes a lot of sense that we lean more heavily on the folks that are in Charleston… but it’s definitely home for them, and I think they are so excited to be welcoming fans to their home, and it’s the first time we’ve done that, which is really exciting.

The next BravoCon is going to be in Vegas. What are you guys working on with that, and what can we expect? 

There’s a lot of exciting things. I think there’s a lot to come, a lot of announcements. Stay tuned. But yes, we’ll be back in Vegas next year, and everyone’s very excited to do it…. This is a great example of what it’s like, but of course, in Vegas, it’s bigger. There’s more people. It’s Vegas-ified, right? It’s nice, too, coming out of Fan Fest in Miami two years ago. There, it was so clear there was an appetite for more of these fan experiences. So from all the watch parties we do with Bravo to BravoCon, and now to these slightly more intimate fan fests. There’s such an appetite for it. Everyone wants it. The fans care so much about it. It’s such a passionate fan base, and it’s such an important relationship between the fans, the content, and our brands that come in and sponsor and support Fan Fest, because this type of fan engagement doesn’t exist in this way around properties like this. The Bravo fan community is so unique in that way.

Paul Cheney/Bravo

So you mentioned the brands. Can you talk about some of the sponsorships that you’ve had and how they kind of helped bring this all together?

Yes. So part of what Rock Studios does in working with brands is bringing to life what are the different activations that fans can participate in? But also, we have teams on the ground capturing content with talent and brands and finding an authentic way into bringing in the shows, the talent, and the brands. So there’s a life beyond Charleston. While the event lasts a day, we want the content and the experience to live beyond the day.

In your mind, what is the ideal fan experience at BravoFest?

I think, certainly, if a fan is talking about it after, if they’re posting photos about it, if they’re sharing that experience, it’s right from our standpoint. As we bring brands into the experience, it’s [about] how do we help the brands be additive to that experience. When we’re looking at partners, it’s not just about what can we make for a partner or what’s an ad going to look like. It’s what are the brand’s objectives? And then how do we make something that’s worth making that people will care about? And so you’re going to see a lot of that here. It’s about inviting the brand into the world of Bravo versus asking the fans to step outside of it while they’re here.