On Sunday night, May 15, Sexpo Australia happened in Sydney. The huge sex expo gave away a AUD$2000 cash prize to the winner of their very first cosplay contest.
The cosplay community was very excited about the competition when it was originally announced in February 2016, where they were encouraged to fuse both cosplay and sex.
According to Kotaku, cosplayer Eve Beauregard said that there is more to cosplay at Sexpo than just sexy cosplay. Sexpo cosplay host Lucie Bee said that there were so many participants representing their own concept of “sexy.”
“The sheer diversity of the competition was spectacular and I don’t think that’s some we get a lot of at standard Cosplay competitions,” said Bee.
The Sexpo cosplay contest was held over three days. There were two heats during the initial two days. The finals featuring the four heat winners was held on the third day. The four grand finalists showcased four special kinds of sexy. The first was a sexy Cubone, the second was a Lollipop Chainsaw cosplay, the third is a man dressed as a sexy Pokemon, and the fourth was a curvy burlesque-style Harley Quinn.
The audience was greatly involved in the finals. They cheered who among the top four will remain as the two finalists. Lucie Bee said that audience participation at Sexpo is very important. It was essential that they helped choose a diverse winner who represents a part of the community who can defy the odds and stereotypes. The attendees were also very polite and friendly, celebrating sexuality together and making new friends at the venue.
The judges subsequently chose the grand winner – the burlesque Harley Quinn by Vandolly Cosplay. Bee noted that the crowd supported her because she interacted well with them and was sexy and confident about her cosplay. The other participants were equally happy about joining the contest, after receiving major prizes and loot bags valued at $250.
Sexpo Australia 2016 was a huge success, which prompted Lucie and her team to continue preparing for future contests. They plan to arrange each heat better and to improve how the audience are involved in judging. The judging process will be streamlined as well. They also expect to see more Cosplay guests to help with the whole planning and process in future competitions. They expect the event in Melbourne to be bigger and better.
More updates and details on Sexpo Australia 2016 are expected soon.