Rules for the

VIECC® ROOF COSPLAY CUP

VIECC® ROOF COSPLAY CUP

Please read these rules before you apply for qualification at VIECC® 2024 and for the VIECC® DACH Cosplay Cup S1!

Registration until Nov 17, 2024

DACH qualification at the VIECC® 2024

The most important Rules

Cosplay Performance

  • Performance must be in German.
  • Performance represents 60% of the overall assessment.
  • Use of music and videos is permitted.
  • The use of props is permitted.
  • The performance must be at least 3 minutes and may not be longer than 5 minutes.
  • Hand-held and headset microphones are provided.
  • Recorded audio tracks are welcome.
  • Performance must be family-friendly.
  • A designated area on the stage will be made available for the performance.

Cosplay duo

  • Participation as a duo.
  • Characters must be from the same series or universe.
  • Both cosplayers must be at least 18 years old and have their main residence in Austria.
  • The duo must compete in the final in the same constellation.

Props and props

  • The props must be easy to transport and must not be flammable.
  • The props must not pose any danger to the audience, the participants or the stage.
  • The team has a few minutes to set up and dismantle with the help of the VIECC® team.
  • Soiling the stage with props or props is prohibited. (e.g. glitter!)
  • The weapon rules of the Vienna Comic Con apply.
  • Stage props may not be higher than 2.3m.
  • The props may only be set up in a specific area on the stage. The dimensions of the area will be announced to the participants upon registration.

Cosplay rules

  • The cosplay must be at least 50% self-made by the team.
  • The cosplay accounts for 40% of the overall rating.
  • Cosplays must not be obscene, discriminatory or offensive and must not advocate any form of hatred or hate groups.
  • Cosplay must originate from an existing medium. (No own creations.)

Competition procedure

  • Check-in for the competition on Sunday morning. Exact time will follow via e-mail to the participants.
  • Short rehearsal on stage on Sunday morning. Whether with or without cosplay is up to the participant.
  • Cosplay pre-judging Sunday at noon.
  • Stage performance Sunday afternoon.
  • The award ceremony will take place after the cosplay catwalk.

The rules in detail

General DACH Cosplay Cup S1 Rules

Participants in the VIECC® DACH Cosplay Cup S1 (hereinafter “The Competition”) organized by Austrian Exhibition Experts (hereinafter “AEE”) must comply with the following:

General rules

  1. The first season of the VIECC® DACH Cosplay Cup runs from Nov 2024 to Nov 2025.
  2. The VIECC DACH Cosplay Cup focuses on performance.
  3. The finale of Season 1 will be held on the Main Stage at VIECC 2025.
  4. Teams can qualify for the final at participating partner conventions.
  5. In order to participate in the Partner Convention, the team must prove that it has permanent residence or domicile in the participating country.
  6. Participants must be 18 to take part in a qualification.
  7. Participants agree that the final at VIECC 2025 and the partner qualification competitions may be photographed and filmed and that this material may be used for promotional purposes at VIECC and the partner events.
  8. The partner events may have slightly adapted rules or their own rules that are based on ours.
    Important: Our rules must be adhered to for the 2025 final.
  9. In the final, the overall rating is made up of the following: 60% performance and 40% costumes.
  10. Participation in DACH Cup is only possible as a duo.
  11. The duo must compete in the final in the same constellation as in qualifying.

Rules for the appearance at the final

  1. These rules apply to qualification for the VIECC® 2024 and the 2025 final.
  2. Partner events may have modified or adapted rules.
  3. The performances must be held in German.
    1. The use of dialects is possible.
      Just note that the jury will mostly be regional or German-speaking. It can lead to “lost in translation” when using dialect. Hot tip: There is a video screen, use it!
  4. For the final, we offer the teams the use of music and videos on the screen.
  5. No profanity is allowed on stage. This also applies to statements on signs or clothing. Anyone who disregards this may be excluded from the contest.
  6. No political or religious statements are allowed on stage or during judging. Anyone who disregards this may be excluded from the contest.
  7. The stage must be left clean after the performance.
  8. The stage must not be damaged or soiled during the performance.
  9. For the appearance at the final we offer the teams max.
    2 headsets or 2 handheld microphones.

Cosplay rules

  1. Costumes may not advertise the following: Alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, weapons (or the use of the foregoing), activities that do not appear safe or dangerous, political programs, or messages of any kind.
  2. Costumes may not be obscene, discriminatory, or offensive and may not advocate any form of hate or hate groups.
  3. Costumes may not defame, misrepresent or contain disparaging remarks about VIECC® Vienna Comic Con, its partner events or any other person, product or company.
  4. Costumes must not communicate messages or images that do not match the positive image and/or goodwill VIECC® wishes to be associated with.
  5. Costumes must not represent or be themselves in violation of any law.
  6. Please refrain from wearing substances that may interfere with other participants’ costumes. If you wear body paint or makeup, make sure it doesn’t come in contact with others. Do not leave anything on the stage that could damage other costumes. It’s best not to leave anything on the stage.
  7. No nudity. All costumes should cover enough to be worn in public and should be tasteful for a family friendly event. Blood, depictions of violence or other offensive elements may be grounds for disqualification as judged by the jury.
  8. All costumes must have been made by the wearers themselves. Part of the costume (e.g. catsuit, tights or shoes) may consist of purchased finished products, but the team should have made at least 50% of the costume themselves. If you have made major changes to a store-bought garment and want to enter it in the contest, you must explain in advance what those changes were and what steps were involved in those changes. Unmodified commercially purchased combinations of garments to represent a character or a “costume” are NOT permitted.
  9. Electrical connections are not provided. If your costume requires electricity, this must be part of the costume design.
  10. Wings, large props, or large costumes are fine, but if your costume is more than 6 feet tall or 6 feet wide, you might have trouble getting through the doors. Therefore, design wings and other parts that make your costume so big to be removable if possible. We have no limit on the size of costumes, but ask you to be careful and attentive during your performance. You are liable for ANY damage to stage, lighting, technical aspects, show property and property of others.
  11. Your costume must allow movement with limited support. Your costume must not hinder your ability to get on and off the stage. In addition, your costume can not be built on the stage.
  12. Cosplay must originate from an existing medium. (No own creations.)

Rules
for weapons and requisites

  1. All weaponized props must comply with the weapons guidelines of the partner events.
  2. The following rules apply for the qualification at the VIECC® 2024 and for the final 2025. The following items are generally prohibited at the VIECC®:
    1. Operable firearms (including soft-air weapons, air rifles or pistols, toy guns, paintball guns, and gas guns)
    2. Realistic dummy firearms (including replicas, recreations, or toys that could be mistaken for functioning firearms)
    3. Operable projectile weapons (including blowguns, crossbows, bows and arrows, streamers spray, slingshots, water balloons, and water guns)
    4. Weapons with sharpened metal blades (including axes, daggers, flaps, knives, kunai, shuriken, swords, cane swords, and folding knives).
    5. Explosives (including firecrackers and fireworks)
    6. Chemical weapons (including mace and pepper spray)
    7. Blunt weapons (including brass knuckles, clubs and nunchucks)
    8. Hard weaponized props (including metal, fiberglass, and glass props)
    9. Instruments that cause excessive noise, such as vuvuzelas
    10. Mustard spray
  3. The use of props on stage is permitted for the S1 final. The props and transportation must be organized by the teams themselves.
  4. The props must not pose any danger to the audience, the participants or the stage.
  5. Stage props may not be higher than 2.3m.
  6. The props may only be set up in a specific area on the stage. The dimensions of the area will be announced to the participants upon registration.

Other rules

  1. AEE reserves the right to cancel, suspend, and/or modify the Contest or any part thereof if fraud, technical failure, force majeure, or any other factor beyond AEE’s control, in AEE’s sole discretion, affects the integrity or orderly conduct of the Contest. AEE reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any person it believes is tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest, or is acting in violation of the Official Rules of this or any other event, or is acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may additionally constitute a violation of Austrian law and AEE reserves the right to seek compensation from such persons to the extent permitted by law in the event of such an attempt. AEE’s failure to enforce any provision of these Official Rules shall not invalidate such provision.
  2. Limitation of liability: AEE is not liable for: (1) false or inaccurate information, whether caused by entrants, typographical or printing errors, or by equipment or software used in connection with the Contest; (2) technical failures of any kind, such as, but not limited to, malfunctions, interruptions, or shutdowns of telephone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized interference with the entry process or the Contest itself; (4) technical or human errors that may occur in the administration of the Contest or in the processing of the Entries; (5) any injury to persons or damage to property caused directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by the participation of a person in the Contest or by the use of the Prize, as well as by its misuse, unless otherwise provided by law. If a participant’s application is proven to have been mistakenly deleted, lost or otherwise destroyed for any reason, the participant’s only option is to submit a new application, if this is possible. If the competition or any part thereof is cancelled for any reason whatsoever, AEE may, at its sole discretion, also award the prize by drawing from among all valid entries received up to the cancellation of the competition.
  3. The participants undertake to indemnify and hold AEE harmless against all claims for damages by third parties arising from their participation in the competition as well as from preparatory or post-processing work (gross negligence and intent on the part of AEE excluded). Participants are also liable for any damage caused by them to AEE and for any damage caused by their costume to the venue (e.g. by fire, explosion, escaping liquids or vapors) as well as injuries to third parties; this also applies to damage to property brought to the competition by participants or third parties. Participants may not set off their contractual obligations against actual or alleged counterclaims.