World Cosplay Summit U.S. Preliminaries to Be Held at Katsucon

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD – January 27, 2012 – The World Cosplay Summit is pleased to announce that U.S. preliminary rounds will be held at Katsucon on Saturday, February 18th at 8:30pm. Cosplay groups from around the country will compete for the honor of representing the United States at the 2012 World Cosplay Summit in Japan.

After several years as a secondary event at various conventions around the country, World Cosplay Summit and Katsucon are excited to roll out the Preliminaries as a centerpiece event for general attendance on the 10th anniversary of the World Cosplay Summit. Teams of two will present their costumes and performances to be evaluated by a panel of U.S. World Cosplay Summit winners from previous years. In bringing it to a rapidly growing convention near the nation's capital, World Cosplay Summit and Katsucon are thrilled at the opportunity to present the premier event in international cosplay exhibition to a new and wider audience.

More than two dozen teams from across the country are vying for the chance to represent the United States internationally and perform in Japan before a judges' panel made up of industry legends and cosplay specialists. Previous years' judges have included Gō Nagai (Devilman, Cutie Honey), Tōru Furuya (Mobile Suit Gundam, Sailor Moon), Rika Matsumoto (Pokémon, Outlaw Star), and Japanese cosplay superstar Tatsumi Inui of the Cure cosplay community website. World Cosplay Summit looks forward to sharing all the excitement, competition and fabulous costumes with everyone at Katsucon 2012.

About World Cosplay Summit

The World Cosplay Summit was launched in 2003 by the events department of Japanese television station TV Aichi to promote an international exchange through the Japanese youth culture of manga and anime. The championship debuted in 2005 and has been held annually since, with participants hailing from countries like Japan, the United States, Brazil, France, Italy, and more. 2012 will mark the 10th time the event has been held.

The United States organizing branch has been headed since 2010 by freelance organizer and 2005 United States team member, Laura Butler.

World Cosplay Summit Preliminaries at Katsucon 2012
URL: http://www.katsucon.org
Dates: February 17-19
Location: National HARBOR, MD
Cost: Free to attend with general admission (ticket prices vary)