Well, Sunday was the big day! And a long one, for everyone. But what a contest!

The day began with the teams out of costume at Oasis 21, to rehearse the opening and closing ceremonies with the host presenters from TV Aichi.

The teams practice dancing at the end of the platform:

It was great to see the show coming together, and excitement built for the night ahead!
After the rehearsal the teams had free time until 6pm, to relax and prepare for the Championship. Soon after they left, the other areas of Oasis 21 began to fill up with spectators and Japanese cosplayers, many of whom I recognised from the Osu parade;

Or from other cosplay events around Nagoya like CosDay.

Here's the event schedule for the evening, including the intermission acts:

After a while it got so crowded that it was quite hard to take pictures, so back I went to the hotel in time to catch the teams gathering in costume in the lobby. Here's Mexico and Denmark, both looking fabulous under the chandelier.

Then we were off, walking in full costume to Oasis 21, finally about to begin the Championship. Spain drew many admiring stares and exclamations as they made their way through Sakae subway station:

The teams moved slowly through the excited crowd, and eventually got backstage, which was soon a tangle of cosplayers, props and staff. Here Thailand waits for the opening ceremony:

Finally, it begins! Once the entrance ceremony is over, the teams quickly get going, and all that preparation and hard work at last comes to fruition. Here's Germany as Tamber and Tess from Children of Mana:

And the USA's beautiful and romantic Rue and Mytho from Princess Tutu:

After the first five teams came an intermission, with a mini live by Himeka, the popular anime song singer. Then it was back to the contest. A second intermission was held, featuring the idol group SKE48, who brought their own legion of fans. Here they perform one of their singles:

The third stage included France's ethereal and lovely performance as Morodashi and Marudashi from CLAMP's XXXHolic:

And Brazil's utterly breathtaking Brahms and Silmeria from Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria:

Here's China with a fabulously choreographed performance from Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3, as Musashibo Benkei and Minamoto no Kuro Yoshitsune:

After all the teams had performed, they gathered backstage to await the award ceremony, while out front there was one last intermission act from the singer of theme tunes from anime like Dragonball Z and Saint Seiya. The crowd was really excited by this time, after the fantastic performances, so they had a great sing-along; and even one of the other judges got in on the act:

Before long, though, it was time for the results! The teams all lined back up onstage, and it was wonderful to see the spectacle made by all their costumes together:

Before the main results were given, there was the Brother award for best costume. This went to Thailant, well deserved for their amazing Bahamut SIN costume and for Cloud's bike, which really blew everyone away. Here they are accepting their award:

Then, finally, it was time for the announcement of the scores and the winning entry.

The judges were rightly impressed by all the teams; but in the end one had to be the winner, and that one was Italy! Their dramatic and entertaining performance as Link and Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was well deserving of the prize. Here they are receiving their award, looking totally thrilled:

You can probably tell how happy Giancarlo is!

After one last dance at the end of the podium, it was at last time for the closing ceremony. The teams all took a bow, each one absolutely deserving of a place among the best cosplayers in the world!

This was definitely the highest standard of cosplay I've ever seen; it's hard to even begin to say how impressed I was; I was just enraptured by everyone's performance, and how hard they worked, as well as the great atmosphere behind the scenes!

After the closing ceremony, the teams packed up their gear with lightning speed and moved back to the hotel, as the stage was to be dismantled that same night. I walked back with Australia who, though exhausted after their energetic performance, were still in high spirits (and looking forward to finally being able to go shopping the next day!).

All in all, the day was an unbeatable experience, and I'm so glad I could be involved and watch the whole process and the coming together of such a spectacular show.
Do keep an eye on the Japanese and Chinese blogs on the TV Aichi website; even if you can't read it, there'll be some amazing pictures!

Also, take a look at the individual countries' blogs for professional standard photos, such as Finland's:
http://blog.cft.fi/

And Germany's:
http://www.wcs-germany.de/wordpress/

Well, more from me later!