Teams to compete in Tokyo, Nagoya, Final Rounds
Before the official start of the 2019 World Cosplay Summit (WCS), an opening ceremony was held at Tokyo Dome Hotel inside Tokyo Dome City this afternoon (July 26), which welcomes participant teams from 40 countries (although one team was unable to attend the said ceremony).
WCS to include advocacies beyond the promotion of Japan’s content and tourism industry in the future
WCS Committee Executive Chairman Mr. Tokumaru Oguri welcomes the pairs who won their respective National Preliminaries:
“This is the first year that the WCS will hold the opening ceremony in Tokyo, where we have to contribute to further promotion of the global development in the contents industry and encourage greater tourism to Japan.”
Mr. Oguri said that the WCS has played a large role in the success of forwarding Japan’s impressive contents industry in its 16 years of existence, and states their plans to include advocacies in future events:
“[…] another new development for the event this year is increasing awareness of volunteering in the garbage problem. The issue is a great social matter is regularly in the news. We hope that the connections built through global cosplay can bring greater attention to this matter. This concern will be an element in future planning for the event.”
Prior to the summit, WCS has held an “Umigomi” (ocean trash) event at Tokyo Tower last June 08 with cosplayers picking up trash from the ocean to signify the importance against polluting oceans.
He asks for continued support to promote the development of cosplay in Japan and the rest of the world in many ways as he recognizes the effort of the teams who have prepared for this year’s summit:
“We have been preparing for this event for one year, but all of them here have been prepared more longer; so long as might be 4 years, 5 years prepared at many regional preliminaries, and now they are here, so please focus on what they will be doing at the finals here and in Nagoya.”
Cosplay as a way to communicate Japan to the world
Ms. Mitsuko Shino, Director General for Cultural Affairs at the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA, a member of the WCS Committee), also graced the event.
Before she moves to welcome the WCS 2019 participants in behalf of the Ministry, she sent her sincere condolences to the staff, family, and friends of Kyoto Animation where an arson attack occurred last Thursday, July 18. “Our thoughts and prayers also go the injured and hope for their speedy recovery.”
She expresses her confidence that everyone will get over the sadness of the incident and will continue to keep sharing the appeal and charm of the anime culture to the world, thanking all cosplayers for their heartfelt solidarity.
She narrates her experiences visiting other pop culture events, and stresses that cosplay goes beyond language boundaries. She hopes that the participants share their experiences with friends and family and become a bridge of Japan to their respective nations in the future.
In closing, she extends her words of appreciation to the staff and organizers who bring the World Cosplay Summit 2019 a reality. She emphasizes to the cosplayer-participants that “this is a summit, so you have to do your best. Don’t be shy, and do your best. All the best.”
WCS 2019 Championship will be a three-round tourney
Before the teams go to Nagoya, they will be at Tokyo Dome City Prism Hall this weekend (July 27 and 28) for “World Cosplay Summit in Tokyo,” which will be the host for the Tokyo Round of this year’s championship. After their stay in Tokyo, they will move to Aichi for the Nagoya and THE FINAL Rounds of the tournament (August 03 and 04).
The top 8 pairs will be chosen in the Tokyo Round and will get a spot in THE FINAL. The teams are set to have their costumes judged in Nagoya.
From the remaining 32 teams, the top 16 pairs will be selected during the Nagoya Round to complete the 24 teams who will proceed to THE FINAL Round which will determine who will be this year’s champion.
THE FINAL Round is expected to be broadcast online.
At the moment, the Tokyo Round is scheduled to be broadcast on NicoNico and YouTube at 4:00pm Japan time.
keepsakes. post stories and opinion on the developments of the World Cosplay Summit in the country, and is advocating the Summit as a gateway for the country’s cosplay community to be recognized in the world stage. Read more stories on WCS here.
This post is updated to reflect the clarification regarding the Tokyo Round.