Animecon (Netherlands)

AnimeCon (Netherlands) is a yearly Dutch anime convention. The festival is officially called Anime but is called AnimeCon by visitors. AnimeCon is a non-profit organization organized by the J-POP Foundation ().

AnimeCon is a 52-hour non-stop fan convention; featuring Japanese movies (animation and cinematic), video games, competitions, concerts, theatre performances, workshops, presentations and the selling of art and merchandise. The doors open early in the afternoon on Friday and stay open until the end of the afternoon on Sunday.

AnimeCon is a fan convention for people who enjoy the elements of Japanese common popular culture and who want to find out more. AnimeCon is the largest Japan-oriented fan convention in the Netherlands, with just over 14.500 visitors in 2015.

International Cosplay competitions

There are six renowned international competitions in the cosplay scene, and the AnimeCon organization is the only one in the world hosting preliminaries for all of them. Also they hosted their own international competition for the second time in 2016: Clara Cow’s Cosplay Cup is now the seventh international cosplay competition!
World Cosplay Summit, WCS (attendance not measured), Nagoya, Japan, for pairs
CICAF, China International Cartoon and Animation Festival (attendance 2.000.000), Hangzhou, China, for teams from the Benelux
Yamato Cosplay Cup, Anime Friends Festival (attendance 150.000), Sao Paulo,. Brazil, for individuals from the Benelux
Euro Cosplay Championships, MCM London Comic Con (attendance 120.000), London, UK, for individuals
ECG (European Cosplay Gathering), Japan Expo (attendance 250.000), Paris, France, for pairs and individuals
Cosplay World Master, Iber Anime (attendance 25.000), Porto, Portugal
Clara Cow’s Cosplay Cup (C4), AnimeCon (projected attendance 15.000), The Hague, The Netherlands, for pairs

Clara Cow’s Cosplay Cup

This international cosplay event started in 2015 is named after the mascot Clara Cow. In Clara Cow’s Cosplay Cup, or C4, teams of two cosplayers from different countries compete for the Golden Marieke statue and a week long all expenses paid trip to Japan. C4 is a relaxed event: the World Forum Theatre offers ample space backstage to relax, top notch facilities, a hotel on top of the venue, and all judging is done by veteran cosplayers from non-competing countries.
UK: MCM London Comic Con since 2001, attendance: 120.000
Spain: Salon del Manga since 1991, attendance: 130.000
France: Mang’Azur, attendance: 20.000
Germany: Animuc, attendance: 20.000
The Netherlands: AnimeCon since 1999, attendance 15.000
Poland: Japanicon since 2009, attendance: 10.000
Denmark: J-Popcon since 2000, attendance: 7.000
Romania: Otaku Festival since 2001, attendance: Not measured
Portugal: Iber Anime, attendance: 25.000
Switzerland: Japanimanga Night since 2001, Attendance: Not measured
Russia: Hinode Moscow, attendance: 80.000
USA: Omni Expo, attendance: 40.000
Belgium: F.A.C.T.S, attendance: 40.000

History

Date

Location

Visitors

Theme

February 1999

Holiday Inn, Rotterdam

208

AnimeCon 1999:

February 2000

Koningshof, Veldhoven

300+

AnimeCon 2000:

February 2001

Koningshof, Veldhoven

382

AnimeCon 2001:

February 2002

Koningshof, Veldhoven

524

AnimeCon 2002:

February 2003

Hotel Haarlem-Zuid, Haarlem

770

AnimeCon 2003:

May 2004

Theaterhotel Almelo, Almelo

1043

AnimeCon 2004:

May 2005

Theaterhotel Almelo, Almelo

1157

AnimeCon 2005: Magical Mystery

June 2006

Theaterhotel Almelo, Almelo

± 1300

AnimeCon 2006: Romance

June 2007

Theaterhotel Almelo, Almelo

± 1300

AnimeCon 2007: Fun and (Video) Games

2-4 May 2008

Theaterhotel Almelo, Almelo

± 1300

AnimeCon 2008: 10th anniversary

1-3 May 2009

Theaterhotel Almelo, Almelo

3.700

AnimeCon 2009: Mental Maniacs

21-23 May 2010

Theaterhotel Almelo, Almelo

3.750

AnimeCon 2010: Masters & Servants

6-8 May 2011

Theaterhotel Almelo, Almelo

4.900

AnimeCon 2011: Children of the Night

18-20 May 2012

Theaterhotel Almelo, Almelo

4.900

AnimeCon 2012: Apocalypse Cow

31 May - 2 June 2013

World Forum, Den Haag

8.700

AnimeCon 2013: To Udder Worlds

13 - 15 June 2014

World Forum, Den Haag

11.000

AnimeCon 2014: Summer Games

12 - 14 June 2015

World Forum, Den Haag

12.700

AnimeCon 2015: Do NOT try this at home!

10 - 12 June 2016

World Forum, Den Haag

14.500

AnimeCon 2016: All aboard!

9 - 11 June 2017

World Forum, Den Haag

15.000

AnimeCon 2017: Marieke's Magical Miracle

References