Today Square Enix announced with a press release that it will host an event to celebrate the beginning of the 30th anniversary year of the Final Fantasy series.

The event, titled "Final Fantasy 30th anniversary Opening Ceremony" will be held at the TOHO Cinemas venue within the Roppongi Hills complex in Roppongi, Tokyo, on January 31st (which incidentally is the date of Final Fantasy VII's 20th anniversary). To be more specific, there will actually be two events, one at 6:30 PM and one at 5:00, with the same contents.

Final Fantasy Brand Manager Shinji Hashimoto, who is assuming the role as Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary General Producer, will host the presentation.

Admission will be free, but only 200 fans will be let in, selected via lottery among those who will submit their application here before january 9th. A Japanese Square Enix Members account is required.

At the moment the only detail provided about the event's content is that Square Enix plans to showcase some of the projects that will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the series. Livestreaming plans have not been announced just yet.

Further information on topics and guests will be provided at a later time.

The event in Roppongi Hills is just the beginning, as a series of Bra ★ Bra Final Fantasy Brass De Bravo concerts performed by the Siena Wind Orchestra will be hosted through the year, starting on April 2nd at the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall in Shinjuku. Eighteen different concerts in fifteen Japanese prefectures will happen in 2017. Composer Nobuo Uematsu will take part in the performances as well.

Another event will be held at the popular Sapporo Snow Festival from February 6th to February 12th, held in the capital of Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII (which was launched in Japan on January 31, 1997), an ice statue titled "Final Battle! Snow Final Fantasy" will be on display, representing the climatic battle between Cloud and Sephiroth with the addition of special effects and a 7.1 surround sound system.

Hashimoto-san had promised in the latest issue of the Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu that announcement on Square Enix's anniversary plans would be made soon, and looks like he has kept his promise.

The 30th anniversary of the Final Fantasy series will climax at the end of the year, as the first Final Fantasy game was released in Japan for Nintendo Famicom on December 18th, 1987.

While we wait, you can check out the design and a mock-up of the statue for the Sapporo Snow Festival below.