Please read these rules before applying for the VIECC® Cosplay Championships!

 

 

The VIECC® Cosplay Championships is a celebration of all things pop culture, a craft award show with preliminaries and a stage show. All candidates must represent a character or element from pop culture from comics, movies & TV series, videogames, anime & manga, or fantasy.

 

 

Each candidate must submit an application form (along with a recent photo of the costume) for review by the VIECC® team. Only one costume per person may be entered into the contest. Applicants whose costumes are approved will be contacted by the VIECC® team and thus advance one round in the competition. Judging will be based solely on the craftsmanship and quality of the candidates’ costumes. Costumes bought in stores will not be admitted!

 

The selected participants will be judged in advance for their off-stage craftsmanship by a professional cosplay jury on-site at VIECC® Vienna Comic Con and will then compete for first place on the main stage. After that, the best participants will compete against each other in the final round to win the main prize and the title VIECC® Champion of Cosplay.

 

All applicants must submit a brief costume description to the VIECC® team. This will then be read out by the presenter during your stage performance (two to three poses). Talking or playing your own music is not allowed, because VIECC® will play selected music during the whole contest. The time limit per applicant on stage is approximately one to two minutes.

 

Space at the VIECC® Cosplay Championships is limited. Therefore, the participation of applicants is decided on the basis of the form and image of the application. Participation as a group is not permitted.

 

Each eligible participant will receive an Adult Saturday ticket for November 23, 2024 to participate in the VIECC® Cosplay Championships.

 

 

Prices

 

Erste Platz: 1.500€ Preisgeld

  • Preisgeld von 1.500€

  • VIECC® Cosplay Championships Trophäne

  • 2 VIP Tickets für die VIECC® 2025

  • Andere Sachpreise und Goodies von unseren Partner

Zweiter Platz:  750€ Preisgeld

  • Preisgeld von 750€

  • VIECC® Cosplay Championships Trophäne

  • 2 Con Tickets für die VIECC® 2025

  • Andere Sachpreise und Goodies von unseren Partner

Dritter Platz: 400€ Preisgeld

  • Preisgeld von 400€

  • VIECC® Cosplay Championships Trophäne

  • 2 Con Tickets für die VIECC® 2025

  • Andere Sachpreise und Goodies von unseren Partner

Judges Choice Awards

  • Werden von den Judges unabhängig von den Platzierung vergeben.

  • VIECC® Cosplay Championships Judges Choice Trophäne

  • Sachpreise und Goodies von unseren Partner

 

 

VIECC® Cosplay Championships Rules

 

Participants of the VIECC® CosplayChampionships (hereinafter “The Competition”) organized by Austrian Exhibition Experts (hereinafter “AEE”) must comply with the following:

 

  1. All participants are responsible for all costs related to their participation in the Contest, including accommodation and travel to and from Messe Wien. All participants need a valid ticket for the VIECC® Vienna Comic Con for Saturday, 23.11.2024 which will be provided by the organizer.

  2. Each participant may enter the VIECC® Cosplay Championships Contest only once in the same costume. Participants are not allowed to register multiple times with different costumes.

  3. Group costumes are not allowed.

  4. All participants must provide a written description, which the presenter will read on stage during their performance. This can describe the details of the costume or tell a story about the character it represents. You can provide details about the manufacturing process, materials, hours of work required or other details that might impress the judges and fans. This description is limited to 150 words. Austrian Exhibition Experts (AEE) reserves the right to edit the presentation material in terms of length and content.

  5. All contestants must show up for craft judging on the day of the contest. Failure to appear at Pre-Judging will result in disqualification. Upon acceptance, AEE will notify you when and where the craft assessment will take place. An admission ticket valid on the Saturday of VIECC® Vienna Comic Con 2024 is required for check-in. An adult Saturday ticket will be provided upon attendance.

  6. In order to better assess the similarity, it is recommended to submit color photos of the original character with front and back view already with the application. It’s not mandatory, but you could potentially be out without points for accuracy if the judges aren’t familiar with your role. We also ask that you bring a printed full body image of the original/your reel.

  7. Electronic media (e.g. CDs) will not be accepted, nor will bringing a laptop or video player (e.g. iPod) to the preliminary round. No skits are allowed on stage during judging.

  8. 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.

  9. No political or religious statements are allowed on stage or during judging. Anyone who disregards this may be excluded from the contest.

  10. 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.

  11. Costumes may not be obscene, discriminatory, or offensive and may not advocate any form of hate or hate groups.

  12. Costumes may not defame, misrepresent or contain disparaging remarks about VIECC® Vienna Comic Con and its products or any other person, product or company.

  13. Costumes must not communicate messages or images that do not match the positive image and/or goodwill VIECC® wishes to be associated with.

  14. Costumes must not represent or be themselves in violation of any law.

  15. 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.

  16. 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 objectionable elements may be cause for disqualification as judged by the judges or VIECC® staff.

  17. Participants are responsible for their own belongings. We are unable to provide a secure storage location for this. We recommend that you bring a companion to take care of your belongings. There is a luggage storage at the Messe Wien.

  18. All participants may be disqualified for failure to comply with any of these rules by the competition management, VIECC personnel or official costume judges. All decisions of the jurors are final.

  19. Pre-made, store-bought costumes are excluded from participation in the VIECC® Cosplay Championships Contest. All costumes must have been made by their wearers. Part of the costume (e.g. catsuit, tights or shoes) may be made of purchased ready-made products, but at least 60% of the costume should have been made by the creator of the costume. 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. Unaltered commercially purchased assemblies of clothing to represent a character or “costuming” are NOT allowed.

  20. Electrical connections are not provided. If your costume requires electricity, this must be part of the costume design.

  21. 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 or props, but ask that you be careful and attentive during your performance. You are liable for ANY damage to stage, lighting, technical aspects, show property and property of others.

  22. 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.

  23. HAVE FUN!

  24. All participants must be 18 or older to enter the contest.

  25. All contestants who make it to the preliminary round will be required to sign a consent/waiver/release form to participate in the contest.

  26. Release: The use of the prize is at your own risk. Winners, by accepting a prize, agree to indemnify and hold harmless AEE, and its direct and indirect subsidiaries, suppliers, distributors, advertising or public relations agencies, and prize donors, and any related parent companies, and the officers, directors, employees and agents of such companies, from and against any and all claims or causes of action, including, but not limited to, personal injury, death, damage to or loss of property, arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt or misuse of a prize. The winner must comply with the house rules and conditions of the organizer.

  27. 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.

  28. 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.

  29. 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.

  30. This Agreement shall be governed by Austrian law to the exclusion of its conflict of law provisions. For all disputes arising from this contract, including those concerning the conclusion of this contract, the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent court of Vienna is agreed. The provisions of § 14 KSchG on the place of jurisdiction of consumers shall remain unaffected.

  31. All weaponized props must comply with the VIECC® Weapons Policy, which reads as follows: the following items are generally prohibited at 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

 

Weapon-shaped props made of cardboard, foam, wood or other lightweight materials are allowed. Firearm-like props are allowed as long as they cannot be mistaken for real weapons. The barrel of any firearm-like prop must be capped with a conspicuously colored cap. Bows as props are allowed as long as all arrows have soft tips.

 

 

 

I have one more question!
If you have any questions regarding the VIECC® Cosplay Championship, please contact us via comiccon@expo-experts.at