World Cosplay Summit

The World Cosplay Summit (世界コスプレサミット, Sekai Kosupure Samitto?), also known as WCS, is an annual international cosplay event that promotes friendly international exchange through Japanese pop culture. The WCS is organized by the events division of TV Aichi and has the active support of local volunteers, city organizations and businesses. The parade and championship are held in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan with several related events being held in the Kanto, Kansai and Tokai areas. A cosplay stage performance competition called the 'Cosplay Championship' was first held at Aichi Expo in 2005 and selection of national representatives for the event comes from preliminary and regional rounds held at partnering anime/manga events the respective countries of the participants. With keen interest in Japanese youth culture from abroad, as of 2008 three ministries of the Japanese government have given support to the event; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT), and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Japanese embassy representatives often attend preliminaries at events in different countries as well. The WCS has grown from a weekend event in 2003 and is currently held over a one-week period where the representatives visit different parts of Japan, including Akihabara, Kyoto and Sendai, in promotion of Japanese youth culture and its ability to connect internationally. The parade and championship have been held on the Saturday and Sunday of the first weekend of August since 2006.