DUO COMPETITION
INTERNATIONAL PREELIMINARIES
World Cosplay Summit 2026
Criteria and performance format
A prestigious Japanese cosplay competition for duos, with the finals taking place in early August 2026 in Nagoya. In this contest, teams will perform a stage presentation lasting up to 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Costumes must be handmade by the cosplayers and are also subject to evaluation. The participation of any individuals other than the registered contestants (including remote assistance) is strictly prohibited. The winning team from Poland will qualify for the international finals.
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The scoring for the contest is divided as follows: costume evaluation – 50%, performance evaluation – 50%. A reserve team will also be selected. The prize for the finalists includes covered travel costs to Japan and accommodation during the competition.
Participants
Any person holding Polish citizenship, registering for the Cosplay Contest in the category “World Cosplay Summit 2026 Preliminaries,” and turning 18 by July 28, 2026, may participate in the WCS 2026 Preliminaries.
Foreigners who have the right of permanent residence in Poland and have lived in the country for at least three years may also participate, regardless of whether their home country has its own preliminaries. However, such participants may not apply for the same year’s WCS preliminaries in any other country. Additionally, if a contestant has previously participated in the WCS finals as a representative of another country, they may enter the Polish preliminaries only after at least five years have passed since that final.
Costumes
Participants may portray characters from anime, manga, video/computer games, or tokusatsu. The source material must have been published by a Japanese company or under a license granted by one. It is not allowed to enter with a cosplay of a character originally created outside Japan, even if later featured in a Japanese production (e.g., from Disney or Star Wars). Both members of the team must choose characters from the same source.
Registration
To take part in the contest, participants must fill out the registration form linked at the bottom of the page. The deadline for submissions is November 12, 2025, at 11:59 PM.