is an annual international cosplay event, which promotes global interaction through Japanese pop culture. It developed from a cosplay exhibition held at the Aichi Expo in 2005.
The WCS incorporated in 2012, by which time it had grown to include two weeks of activities, chief of which are a parade and championship held in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, on Saturday and Sunday of the first weekend of August. Other related events are held in the Kanto, Kansai, and Tokai regions. Competitors are drawn from partnering anime/manga events held in the respective countries and regions.
The summit was organized by broadcaster TV Aichi until 2012. It is supported by several city organizations, businesses, the WCS student volunteer organization Omotenashi, and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT), and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Japanese embassy representatives often attend preliminaries of events in foreign countries. The WCS relies heavily on corporate sponsorship rather than ticket sales to fund its activities.
History The first World Cosplay Summit was held in 2003 to highlight the international popularity of Japanese anime and manga through cosplay (costume play). It was subsequently held as part of Expo 2005 in Nagoya, where it gathered considerable media attention. The event grew to include participants from 40 countries and encompasses multiple activities including the Osu Cosplay Parade and the Cosplay Championship. +WCS Key FactsYearDatesNo.countriesVenueChampion2003Oct 124Not Held2004Aug 15Not Held2005Jul 31 – Aug 77Expo DomeItaly2006Aug 5 – 69Oasis 21Brazil2007Aug 4 – 512France2008Aug 2 – 313Brazil2009Aug 1 – 215Japan2010Jul 31 – Aug 115Italy2011Aug 6 – 717Brazil201212 days22Japan2013Aug 2 – 324Italy2014Jul 26 – Aug 326Aichi Arts CenterRussia2015Aug 1 – 228Mexico2016Aug 6 – 730Indonesia2017Aug 5 – 634China2018Aug 3 – 536Dolphins ArenaMexico2019Aug 27 – 3140Tokyo Dome, Aichi Arts CenterAustralia2021Aug 830Oasis 21Germany2022Aug 6 – 728 (Later 27)Aichi Arts Center, Oasis 21France (Stage Division) And Sweden (Video Division)2022 EXSep 3 – 439Boulevard Riyadh CityIndonesia2023Aug 5 – 634 (Later 33)Aichi Arts Center, Oasis 21United Kingdom2023 Cosplay CupAug 27 – 2845Boulevard Riyadh CityLatvia2024 WCCSJune 8 – 9 32Commufa Esports Stadium Nagoya (Online Event)Poland2024Aug 3 – 436Aichi Arts Center, Oasis 21Japan2025Aug 341Aichi Arts CenterUSA2026Jul 31 – Aug 241 (Later 40)Aichi Arts CenterHong Kong2027November 12 - 14Aichi Arts Center
2003–2007
On October 12, 2003, the first event was held at the Rose Court Hotel in Nagoya. Activities included a panel discussion and photography session. Five cosplayers were invited from Germany, France and Italy; , a television programme dealing with the contemporary situation of anime and manga in Frankfurt, Paris and Rome, was produced and broadcast on November 24.
The 2004 event was held on August 1 at the Ōsu shopping district in Naka-ku, Nagoya. Eight international cosplayers were invited, and about 100 cosplayers participated in the inaugural Osu Cosplay Parade.
In 2005, the WCS was reorganized from an invitation-based system to a qualifying system with preliminary events held around the world, leading to the first WCS Cosplay Championship. Four cosplayers in single and group teams represented participating countries. Along with supporting activities, the event took place in two main locations: the Cosplay Parade was held in Osu on July 31 and the Cosplay Championship was held at the Expo Dome on August 7 during Expo 2005. 40 people from seven countries participated in the first Cosplay Championship, with France winning the group category, Italy winning the individual category, and with the overall contest winner being Italy. The initial goal of the event was to bring a part of Japanese youth culture to Expo 2005.
In 2006, the venue for the Cosplay Championship was moved to Oasis 21 in Sakae, Nagoya. Nine countries competed: Italy, Germany, France, Spain, China, Brazil, Thailand, Singapore and Japan, with a total of 22 cosplayers. The grand prize was won by brother-and-sister team Maurisio and Monica Somenzari L. Olivas, representing Brazil. (Dressed respectively as Hughes de Watteau and Augusta Vradica from Trinity Blood, they made their costumes by hand with help from their parents.) The event was supported by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT). Over 5,000 people attended the Cosplay Championship stage event and several thousand more attended the Cosplay Parade. TV Aichi produced and broadcast, "World Cosplay Summit 2006: New Challengers".
In 2007, Denmark, Mexico and South Korea joined the event to bring the number of participating countries to 12, with a total of 28 participating cosplayers. About 10,000 people attended the Cosplay Championship. "World Cosplay Summit 2007: Giza-suge yatsura ga yattekita Z!" (The Super Cool Have Arrived!) was televised, and became a part of MLIT's 2007 "Visit Japan" campaign.
2008–2012 In 2008, with growing recognition of Japan's otaku culture, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) became the third national ministry to join in official support of the event. About 300 cosplayers participated in the Parade. Thirteen countries with a total of 28 representative cosplayers performed in the Championship in front of 12,000 visitors. TV Aichi produced and broadcast the WCS special "Everyone's Heroes Get Together!". It's a last time Japan had more national team representative than one team.
In April 2009, the WCS Executive Committee was created to administrate the development and expansion of the event. The parade had grown to 500 cosplayers, and 30 participants from 15 countries competed in the Cosplay Championship before 12,000 spectators, with Australia and Finland being the two newest participating nations. The first international symposium was held at Nagoya University entitled "Outward Minded: Worldwide Impact of Cosplay and Interpretations in Japan".
In 2010, the symposium was moved to the Mode Gakuen Spiral Towers.The number of visitors in event reached 89,800.
In 2011, the Netherlands and Malaysia joined, bringing the total participating countries to 17.
In 2012, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and Russia entered competitively at WCS, with Hong Kong and Taiwan participating under observer status, bringing the total number of represented countries to 22. WCS expanded to 12 days for its 10th anniversary, with official visits paid to Gifu, Mie, Tottori and Aichi Prefectural offices, and a second parade was held in Ichinomiya during the Tanabata Festival. The sequence of activities were altered, with the Championship held on the Saturday and the Parade on Sunday.
2013–2017 In 2013, Vietnam and the Philippines joined as observer nations, bringing the overall total to 24. The event was held with the help of local and international volunteers since 2009; however, this year saw the beginning of the Omotenashi (Hospitality) student volunteer group. This was the first year of the WCS as an independent company after 10 years where it was organized through the Events Department of TV Aichi. This was the first year of the World Cosplay Summit has become available broadcast live via Niconico.
In 2014, This was the first year that the Championship was held at the Aichi Arts Center beside Oasis 21. Portugal was selected to join. Also, Kuwait joined the WCS as the first nation from the Middle East, which brought the total number of participating nations/regions to 26.The number of visitors to the main venue, Oasis 21, exceeded 200,000.
In 2015, The Championship moved to the largest venue within the Aichi Arts Center called 'The Theater'. With the inclusion of Canada and Sweden as Observer Nations, the number of participating nations/regions now total 28.This is the last year that WCS used the song "We are the world" during the closing ceremony on stage after using this song many years before.
In 2016, India (the first nation from South Asia) and Switzerland joined the WCS, bringing the number of participating nations/region to 30. With this large field, the Championship was held in two stages over consecutive days. The First Stage, held on Saturday, will be divided into 2 groups and only 8 teams will be selected per group to qualify for the next round by an organized committee from each country who has no stake in their own country in each group and special prizes (Brother, Niconico etc.) will be distributed immediately after the selection. It was later found that the votes were miscounted, with Germany and South Korea having the same score as some of the nations with the fewest points to qualify. The jury has decided that both nations will advance to the next round for justice. which resulted in a total of 18 teams qualified for the next round. In The Second Stage held on Sunday All teams qualified in the afternoon before the start of the main event in the Championship round. They had to meet with the committee to explain the costumes. This was the first year of the World Cosplay Summit has become available used backscreen for enhance abilities representative's performance.The number of visitors during the periad exceeded 300,000. "We Can Start!!", the official WCS theme song, sung by Tōru Furuya WCS senior judges, was first sung during closing ceremonies on stage and later became the theme song during WCS events, including used in the closing ceremony on stage until now
In 2017, 15th anniversary of the WCS.Nagoya city declared ”Cosplay Host Town”.Belgium, Chile, Myanmar, Puerto Rico, and United Arab Emirates joined, while Kuwait withdrew, bringing the number of participating nations/region to 34. This was the first year the WCS allowed the use of dialog and scenarios from Japanese live action adaptations for performances. During the final stage of the Championships, participants from Taiwan and Brazil made unexpected marriage proposals on the stage.
2018–2022 In 2018, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, and South Africa joined WCS. Kuwait returned to participate while Puerto Rico and United Arab Emirates were unable to send representatives, bringing the number of participating nations/regions to 36. The Championship was held in a single stage at the Dolphins Arena Gymnasium. The Taiwanese cosplayers who became engaged during the 2017 championship held their wedding ceremony in the Wedding Hall Photo Party event;after the cake cutting ceremony, there was another surprise as the male WCS representative from Singapore made an unexpected marriage proposal.A night parade event was held for the first time at Central Park underground street.