THE OFFICIAL WORLD COSPLAY SUMMIT

Beginnings of the WCS

For youth around the world manga and anime has become the initial stimulus sparking their interest in Japan. It was in this environment that Aichi TV put together a program in 2003 called "Manga wa Sekai no Kyoutsu-go" (Manga – The International Common Language).

The WCS started out by inviting a number of cosplayers from around the world to share and discuss their thoughts on manga and anime in Japan. The event has grown year by year and has come to include 17 countries with 34 cosplayers and encompasses events like the Osu Cosplay Parade and World Cosplay Championship. Another development as of April 2009 is the creation of the "World Cosplay Summit Executive Committee" to support the growing event.

History of the WCS

2003	October 12	"World Cosplay Summit 2003" held "World Cosplay Summit 2003" took place in Osu, Nagoya, Japan. Besides Japan, 3 countries participated (Italy, German, and France), and there were a total of 5 guest cosplayers from abroad. Events included a panel-discussion, photograph session, and mixer event. WCS 2003 was covered by media from within Japan and abroad.
2003	November 24	"Manga wa Sekai no Kyoutsu-go" (Manga – International Common Language) broadcast TV Aichi produced and broadcasted the special program "Manga wa Sekai no Kyoutsu-go".
2004	August 1	"World Cosplay Summit 2004" held The WCS in 2004 took place in Osu, Nagoya. Besides Japan, 4 countries participated (Italy, German, France and the United States), and there were a total of 8 guest cosplayers from abroad. Events this year included a panel discussion, photograph session and mixer event. The Osu Cosplay Parade was first held at the Osu shopping arcade. About 100 cosplayers from around Japan participated in the parade.
2005	July 31	"World Cosplay Summit 2005" Osu Cosplay Parade held Participants met in Osu, Nagoya. Individual representatives from German, France, Spain, Japan and Italy plus the group representatives from Italy for a total of 9 cosplayers from the WCS event participated. In addition, about 100 cosplayers from around Japan took part. After the parade, a mixer event was held at “Comok”, a cosplay cafe in the electronics shop Goodwill (Amp building).
2005	August 7	"World Cosplay Championship" held The first "World Cosplay Championship" was held at Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan at the Expo Dome. The contest winners were based on performances by the cosplayers. Italy won the individual competition, France won the group competition and the Grand Champion was Italy. An audience of about 3000 people and over 40 media outlets from Japan and abroad were in attendance. <Judges> Reiji Matsumoto (manga artist) Hironobu Kageyama (singer) Ippongi Bang (manga artist, cosplayer) Shin Nagai (Nagoya Mode Gakuen) Akifumi Takayanagi (TV Aichi producer "Tokyo Myu-Myu") <Hosts> Toru Furuya (voice actor) Tomoe Shinohara (singer, TV personality)
2006	August 2	Press Conference and MOFA Visit A press conference with 8 cosplayers from 4 countries was held at the Tokyo Animation Center in Akihabara, Tokyo. After that there was a photo session in Akihabara and in the afternoon the cosplayers paid a visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
	August 5	"World Cosplay Summit 2006" Osu Parade 20 cosplayers from 9 countries (Italy, German, France, Spain, China, Brazil, Thailand, Singapore, and Japan) participated in the parade along with about 120 cosplayers from around Japan. Before the parade, a mixer event was held at "Comok", a cosplay cafe in the electronics shop Goodwill (Amp building). In the early evening of that day, "World Cosplay Summit: Live Broadcast" was televised by TV Aichi.
	August 6	"World Cosplay Summit 2006" Cosplay Championship The championship was held at the Oasis 21 open air venue in Sakae, Nagoya. 9 countries competed (Italy, German, France, Spain, China, Brazil, Thailand, Singapore, and Japan.) with a total of 22 total cosplayers participating. Over 5000 people attended the Cosplay Championship stage event. The winner was Brazil who participated in the WCS event for the first time. The WCS gained the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. <Judges> Go Nagai (manga artist) Hiroshi Kitadani (singer) Essai Ushijima (cosplay writer) Yuji Tokida (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) <Guest Commentator> Toru Furuya (voice actor)
	August 26	"World Cosplay Summit 2006: New Challengers" broadcast This special TV program was produced and broadcast by TV Aichi.
2007	August 1	Visit to Ministry of Foreign Affairs This was held as a part of the "Visit Japan Campaign" hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Guest commentator and TV personality Shoko Nakagawa was appointed the "Ambassador of Cosplay", and she visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Aichi prefectural office with representative cosplayers from the different participating countries. The event gained the support of Nagoya, Aichi.
	August 4	"World Cosplay Summit 2007" Osu Cosplay Parade Cosplay representatives from abroad and 150 cosplayers from different parts of Japan participated in the parade in the Osu shopping district.
	August 5	"World Cosplay Summit 2007" Cosplay Championship held The championship stage was located at Oasis 21. 12 countries took part (Italy, German, France, Spain, China, Brazil, Thailand, Singapore, Mexico, Korea, Denmark, and Japan) with a total of 28 participating cosplayers from around the world. About 10,000 people attended the Cosplay Championship event to see France take the grand prize. That evening, "World Cosplay Summit 2007: Giza-suge yatsura ga yattekita Z!"(World Cosplay Summit 2007: The Super Cool Have Arrived!) was televised. <Judges> Monkey Punch (manga artist) Ichiro Mizuki (singer) Essai Ushijima (cosplay writer) Yuji Tokida (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Ken Nagata (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport) <Guest Commentators> Toru Furuya (voice actor) Shoko Nakagawa (TV personality)
2008	July 30	Visit to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nagoya City Hall, Aichi Prefectural Hall Natsuki Kato (model, actress) and representative cosplayers paid a courtesy visit to Mr. Onodera, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The representative cosplayers also visited Nagoya City hall to meet with the Vice-Mayor and Aichi Prefectural Hall to see the Vice-Governor.
	August 3	"World Cosplay Summit 2008" Osu Cosplay Parade Cosplay representatives from abroad and about 300 cosplayers from around Japan participated in the parade in the Osu shopping arcade.
	August 4	"World Cosplay Summit 2008" World Cosplay Championship held The performance stage was Oasis 21 in Sakae, Japan. 13 countries participated this year including France, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Thailand, Singapore, China, Korea, Mexico, the United States of America, and Japan. There were a total of 28 representative cosplayers and about 12,000 people came to see the championship. The champions were the very competitive Brazil who also won the championship in 2006. The championship was broadcasted through the WCS official web site. <Judges> Yumiko Igarashi (manga artist) Rika Matsumoto (singer, voice actress) Tsutomu Nakagawa (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Hirotaka Yoshida (owner of the Tora no Ana company) <Guest Commentators> Toru Furuya (voice actor) Natsuki Kato (model, actress)
	August 9	"World Cosplay Summit 2008 - Everyone's Heroes get together!" broadcast This special TV documentary broadcast was produced and televised by TV Aichi.
2009	April 1	"World Cosplay Summit Executive Committee" created This executive body was established in order to support the development and expansion of the World Cosplay Summit event.
	July 29	Visited the ministry of Foreign Affairs WCS2009 Special Supporter, SKE48 (Idol Group) Sayuki Mori,Rikako Hirata and representative of each countries visited Kenjirou Moji the Director of cultural exchanges of the ministry of Foreign Affairs.
	July 31	Visited Aichi Prefectural Office, Nagoya City Hall and Nagoya Convention & Visitors Bureau Representative of each countries visited Masaaki Kanda the Governor of Aichi Prefecture, Satoshi Onishi the Vice Mayer of Nagoya City, Yoshio Inden the Chief Director of Nagoya Convention & Visitors Bureau. Held the event at Centrair:Central Japan International Airport Each representatives appeared the event 「The WCS2009 Promotion Stage」which was held in Centrair.
	August 1	Held Nishiki Dori Street Red Carpet -the parade of Muneharu Tokugawa (Shogun of Edo period) & The World Cosplay Summit・premium- Takashi Kawamura the Mayor of Nagoya City wore the costume of Muneharu Tokugawa paraded on the red carpet which was spread Nishiki Dori Street(Nishiki Nagaya city Aichi), The representative of each counties also paraded to follow Mr.Kawamura. SKE48 special supporter of WCS2009 attended. The audience was about 5,000 people. At the end of event Takashi Kawamura the Mayor of Nagoya City appeared the cosplay of Amuro Ray "Mobil Suit Gundam". Held "The WCS2009" Osu Cosplay Parade 30 representative Cosplayres of 15 countries and public Cosplayres about 500 people paraded on Osu Shopping Street.
	August 2	Held The WCS2009 Championship Place: OASIS 21 Attendant Country: 15 countries (Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, United States) Totally 30 cosplayers attended, about 12,000 visitors visited. The Grand Champion: Japan It was broadcasted by video providing system "Einy" on official web site. <Judges> Go Nagai(manga artist) Toru Furuya(voice actor) Ichiro Mizuki(singer) Hamada Britney(manga artist) <Special Supporter> SKE48(Idol Group)
	August 3	Held The Japan Foundation support event, International Symposium of the World Cosplay Summit 2009 Place: Nagoya University Discussed "OUTWARD MINDED:Worldwide Impact of Cosplay and Interpretations in Japan". <MC> Hideto Tsuboi (Nagoya University Graduate School of Letters,Research Center for Modern and Contemporary Japanese Culture) <Panelists> Chikako Matsushita(Nagoya University Graduate School of Language and Cultures,Sexuality and Gender Studies) Takamasa Sakurai(Media Contents Producer, Author of "Anime Bunka Kouryu" Member of the MOFA Committee dealing with Anime and Cultural Diplomacy) Igor Inocima(WCS Organizer from Brazil 2006-2008) <Guest> The WCS2009 Grand Champion(YuRiE) The Runners-up (Spain representative) Brother Prize(United States Representative) and so on.
	August 8	Broadcasted "The WCS2009 -Hot Summer! Cool Japon Bakusho Festival-" The special program of TV Aichi "The WCS2009 -Hot Summer! Cool Japon Bakusho Festival-" produced and broadcasted.
2010	April 28	Acceptance of video game characters announced The Participation Regulations for Cosplayers had only permitted costumes from Japanese manga and anime but were eased to accept video game characters.
	May 27	Official Twitter page released The official blog "WCS Communications" that had been in use since 2006 was temporarily closed and replaced by the Twitter page to release the latest information.
	June 20	WCS Special Stage and WCS2010 China Preliminary Round held at Shanghai Expo "Japan Industry Pavilion" The World Cosplay Summit champions appeared on the second Expo stage following The 2005 World Exposition, Aichi, Japan. <Guest> SKE48 (Rena Matsui, Ririna Akaeda and Yuuka Nakanishi) <Guest Performers> YuRiE (WCS2009 Japanese representative) Zhao Chin and Zhang Li (WCS2008 China representatives)
	July 9	Twitter page released especially for contestants in WCS2010 Japan Preliminary Round The website was started for seven teams who took part in the Japan Preliminary Round to report their preparations in real time through Twitter.
	July 16	Started website Chinese version The WCS's official website Chinese version was launched in addition to the Japanese and English versions in order to further raise awareness of the event in Chinese-speaking countries.
	July 22	Opened WCS YouTube Official Channel This channel showcased the highlights of the past and the performances of the country representatives in the WCS2008 and WCS2009 Championships.
	July 28	Courtesy visit to Ministry of Foreign Affairs Representative cosplayers from Spain, the United States and Mexico paid a courtesy visit to Foreign Affairs State Secretary Osamu Fujimura and Director-General Kenjiro Monji of MOFA Public Diplomacy Department. Exchanged views at Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Representative cosplayers from Spain, the United States and Mexico had a lively exchange of views with Deputy Director-General Masakazu Ichikawa of the METI, Director Kenichi Tomiyoshi of Textile & Clothing Division and Fashion Policy Office of the Manufacturing Industries Bureau, METI, and three people from Creative Industries Promotion Office. Photo Competition held SUNSHINE SAKAE was open to the cosplayers who could cosplay in the building during the event. Various privileges were prepared for the cosplayers. There were two categories for the applicants to apply: Sunshine Sakae and Open. The winners of the grand prize in each category received Sunshine Sakae's gift vouchers in the value of 50,000 yen.
	July 30	Visited Nagoya City Hall and Nagoya Convention & Visitors Bureau The representatives from several countries made courtesy calls on Mayor Takashi Kawamura of Nagoya City and Chief Director Kazuhiro Osawa of the Nagoya Convention & Visitors Bureau. The "Eve of WCS2010 in Centrair (Central Japan International Airport)" was held to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the airport's opening. The representatives performed on the stage, had a photo shoot on the SkyDeck and attended the mixer party in the Centrair Hall.
	July 31	Held Parade of Muneharu Tokugawa (Shogun of Edo period) & Nishiki Boulevard Red Carpet March Mayer Takashi Kawamura of Nagoya City, SKE48 (J-pop girl group), the Nagoya Omotenashi Bushotai (Welcoming Band of Warriors and Commanders), other Sengoku period warriors participating in the procession of the World Samurai Summit and representative cosplayers from several countries paraded on one of Nagoya's main streets, the Nishiki-dori, that was blocked off like last year. The whole parade was broadcast real time through Ustream. The audience was about 10,000 people. "The WCS2010" Osu Cosplay Parade was held. 28 representative cosplayers of 14 countries and about 700 public cosplayers paraded on the Osu Shopping Street.
	August 1	Held The WCS2010 World Championship Place: OASIS 21 Participating countries: 15 countries (Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Thailand, Singapore and United States) Totally 30 cosplayers attended, about 15,000 visitors visited. The Grand Champion: Italy <Judges> Toru Furuya (voice actor) Hironobu Kageyama (singer) HIMEKA (singer) Hiroyuki Kobayashi (Capcom producer) Nobuyuki Takahashi (publisher/video producer) <Official Supporter> SKE48 (idol group)
	August 2	World Cosplay Summit 2010 International Symposium held Place: Mode Gakuen Spiral Towers Discussed "cosplay as a subculture: the world and Japan". <MC> Masato Fukuda (Professor at The Graduate School of Languages and Cultures, Nagoya University) <Panelists> Kunihiro Noda (Professor at the Department of Regional Culture, the Faculty of Regional Sciences, Tottori University) Nobuyuki Takahashi (Representative Director of Studio Hard Deluxe) Dosai Jacky Tadaaki Edmund W. Hoff <Guests> WCS2010 representatives of countries, and others.
	August 13	Championship performances broadcast through Ustream during special program recording The program was advertised through Ustream and Twitter.
	August 21	"Sekai Butsu-butsu Summit" (World Tweets Summit) broadcast TV Aichi produced and broadcast the special TV program "Sekai Butsu-butsu Summit". The championship performances were made available on the WCS YouTube Official Channel right after televised.