The international cosplay competition at Comic Con Astana 2026 will feature a prize pool of 20 million tenge. Participants will be judged by an international jury, including the German duo Kamui Cosplay, European cosplayer Leon Chiro, and winners of international competitions Sazura, Zakos Crowman, Tais Tukanova, Anna Brickus, and the Grand Prix winner of Comic Con Astana 2025, Emilia Grafomanka, according to infohub.kz.
The total prize fund for the competition will be 20 million tenge. The winner of the main nomination, "Arena Champion," will receive 4.5 million tenge and the title of absolute champion. Prizes for first, second, and third places are set at 2.3 million, 1.6 million, and 1.2 million tenge, respectively.
In addition to the main awards, participants can compete for victories in special categories such as best costume, armor, makeup, and others.
Comic Con Astana will take place from August 6 to 9 at the Barys Arena and the Alau Ice Palace. Guests of the festival will include actors Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Paul Anderson, One Piece stars Iñaki Godoy and Taz Skylar, as well as the K-pop group Kandis.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle reported that the festival in 2025 attracted a record 75,000 visitors. A selection of the best cosplayers can be viewed via the link.