Cosplay Competition

In short: anyone wearing a costume. Whether you're a cosplayer, LARPer, or someone with your own original character as long as your costume meets our criteria and rules, you're welcome.

Your costume must be at least partly self-made. Props count as part of the costume.

Note: If you're entering the Best Craftsmanship category, the part you're entering with must be self-made. See that category for more details.

• You must be at least 18 years old to register.

• All props must comply with Danish weapon laws [JV1] .

• Costumes must be appropriate for an audience that includes children. If in doubt, please send a reference image.

• Costumes must allow you to move independently on the catwalk.

  • If you need a personal assistant due to special circumstances, mention this in your application.
• By registering, you agree that Fantasyfestival may photograph the event and use the images for promotional purposes.

• You cannot participate if you are otherwise hired by Fantasy Festival while wearing the same costume.

• Parts of your costume may be store-bought. You must state which parts upon registration. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.

  • If any parts of your costume change unexpectedly, notify us by email no later than two weeks before the competition.
• If others helped make your costume, you must state this. Even if there was no transaction involved.

All participants must attend pre-judging to ensure fair assessment.
You will receive a specific time between 11:10–13:05 no later than 7 days after the registration deadline.

• You have 5 minutes to pitch your costume to the judges, regardless of the number of categories entered.

• Judges may inspect details up close.
• Judges may ask questions.
• Arrive at least 10 minutes early, dressed and ready – failure to show will result in disqualification.

• All judges are connected to the cosplay community in various ways
• Judges will be revealed continuously

Best Lookalike

• Costume must be based on official designs from cartoons, comics, anime, manga, films, TV shows, video games, web series, etc.
• You must state which character you’re portraying and from what media.

Best Original Character

• Costume must be your own design and not based on official media.
• It may be inspired by known franchises and universes.

Best Craftsmanship

• The registered costume piece must be entirely self-made. Materials may be bought, but no part of the crafting can be done by someone else.

• You may register one of the following:

  • One prop
  • Wig/hairstyle
  • Makeup/special effects
  • One clothing item (e.g. one dress, one pair of pants, one cloak, etc.)

Best Villain

• Costume may be original or lookalike. The entire costume is judged as a whole.
• This category is exclusive to this year’s festival.

Audience Favourite

• All participants are automatically entered in this category.
• The selection is based on the catwalk performance in front of the judges and the audience.
• Winner is selected by the audience through online voting during the catwalk.

• There will be one winner per category
• All winners will receive a trophy and a sponsored prize pack
• Winners will be announced on Fantasyfestival’s platforms, along with a photo and any received SoMe tags.

Venue: Musikhuset Esbjerg (Havnegade 18, 6700 Esbjerg)

Both pre-judging and catwalk will take place here.

Pre-judging: 11:10 AM - 1:05 PM

Catwalk + Judging + Awards: 1:30 - 2:30 PM. All participants must arrive by 1:15 PM, dressed and ready.

• You’ll be introduced by the host as you walk the catwalk.
• Each participant has 1 minute on stage.

Send an email to fantasyfestival@esbjerg.dk with the subject line “Cosplay tilmelding”.

• Which category/ies you're registering for
  • You may participate in multiple categories with the same costume. Please specify which ones when registering.
    
• Read the rules carefully and provide all required information.
• Include your desired stage name.
• Attach a reference image.
  • The reference image will be used during the selection of the Audience Favorite, where the audience votes based on the image.
• Include your social media handles.

If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact us at fantasyfestival@esbjerg.dk.

Fantasyfestival and the organizers reserve the right to disqualify participants or revoke a prize in case of any rule violations.