The official website for Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Fes has announced that this year's event, which was scheduled to be held in the Ikebukuro area, Tokyo, on October 31 and November 1, 2020, is canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event started in 2014 and has grown to be one of the largest outdoor cosplay events in Japan. Last year's sixth event was held on October 26 and 27, 2019, and attracted 123,000 visitors including 21,000 cosplayers, which was the largest number in its history.

The site writes, "We've been aiming to hold the Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Fest 2020 to get a lot of people to enjoy this year. Due to the effects of the new coronavirus, it was judged that it would be difficult to hold the stage events and parades that had been held up until last year on the same scale as in previous years, so the decision was made to cancel the event."

As a replacement, an online event "Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Fes ONLINE Cosplay Big Thanks Festival" will be streamed on Nico Nico Live from 17:00 (JST) / 01:00 (PT) on October 31. And, "COSPLAYER OF THE YEAR 2021," an open contest to decide the best cosplayers that was scheduled to be held at the Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Fes, will be broadcast on Nico Nico Live only. Further details including schedule and guests will be announced at a later date.

Source: "Ikebukuro Halloween Cospaly Fes 2020" official website 

©Ikebukuro Halloween Cospaly Fes Production Committee