30 representatives from 15 countries around the world competed in the 2009 World Cosplay Summit held in Nagoya, Japan on August 1st and 2nd.  On the second day of the event the representatives competed in an annual contest where each team of two made a three minute performance to sway the panel of four guest judges.

Japan won top prize, the first time for the Japanese since the contest’s conception according to Japanese newspaper Mainichi. The team from Spain took runner-up, and the U.S. Took the "Brother Prize" for their well-designed costumes.

Countries represented included: Denmark, South Korea, Germany, Singapore, France, Italy, Thailand, Australia, Brazil, the United States, Finland, Spain, China, Mexico, and Japan.

The annual Summit in Nagoya was first held in 2003, and the representative cosplay contest was first held in 2005 according to Mainichi. Italy won in 2005, Brazil in 2006, France in 2007, and Brazil again in 2008.

Cosplayers and the World Cosplay Summit 2009 events

For those who may not know, cosplay, which is short for costume roleplay, is the subculture activity of dressing up like characters from one’s favorite comic, books, movie, and so forth. The activity, which has grown in popularity worldwide, is often preformed at special cosplay events such as the World Cosplay Summit.

On August 1st, the cosplay country representatives, with the help of the Japanese idol group SKE48, reportedly paraded down a red carpet in light rain before a crowd of onlookers. Other activities that day involved another parade and a music concert for event participants, including some 500 other cosplayers. August 2nd was devoted largely to the representative cosplay competition.