Opening Ceremony for the World Cosplay Summit 2019! 78 cosplayers from around the world perform

The opening ceremony for the World Cosplay Summit 2019, one of the world's largest cosplay events, was held on July 26, 2019, at a venue in Tokyo. The event featured Tokumaru Oguri, chair of the executive committee, and 78 cosplayers (*two absent) who won the qualifying rounds of cultural events from around the world.

The 17th edition of the World Cosplay Summit 2019 is an event to promote manga and anime through cosplayers both domestically and internationally. The "World Cosplay Championship in TOKYO" will also be held to determine the top cosplayers who have won the preliminary contests from 40 countries and regions around the world.

Mr. Oguri, the head of the executive committee, who attended the event on the day of the event, expressed his happiness about the first event in Tokyo, saying, "I am very happy that we are opening the event here in Tokyo, out of Nagoya. As this is an important juncture for the event, he expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "We would like to take this opportunity to contribute to the content industry and increase tourism.

In addition, as a new initiative this year, the World Cosplay Summit Executive Committee will hold the "Cosplay de Marine Litter Zero Operation! in Tokyo Tower" on June 8, where cosplayers will voluntarily pick up trash. The event was picked up by mass media in various countries and became a chance for many people to become aware of this global social problem, which was solved together with cosplayers. Mr. Oguri also shared his vision for the future, saying, "I would like to continue to contribute not only to Japan but also to people around the world.

In addition, 78 cosplayers who had won the championships in their respective countries took the stage. In addition to cosplaying Luffy and his friend Sanji from "One Piece," Lelouch Lamperouge from the "Code Geass" series, and Koyo Koizumi and Kotobuki Minami from "Love Live! Koizumi Kayo and Minami Kotori from "Love Live!

Mr. Oguri said, "In order to be a representative, you have to win several qualifying rounds and come in first. We have been working for a year for this event, and some of them have been trying for more than a year to get on this stage. We hope that everyone will manage to watch us," he said.

The World Cosplay Summit 2019 will be held from July 27 to August 4 at Tokyo Dome City on July 27 and 28, and then move to Nagoya, Aichi to decide the champion.

(Reporting, text, and photos by ryuko)