We had so much fun wrapping up the 2024 season of MegaCon Live in Manchester just a few weeks ago. We introduced a new Masquerade format this year for the MegaCon Live shows and are so appreciative to everyone who joined us on this adventure. The response from the community has been amazing and we are excited to continue serving the cosplay community in 2025.
MegaCon Live 2024 Highlights
Who likes numbers? We’ve got some fun ones for you! Across our 4 MegaCon Live shows this year, we:
- Repaired 2,000 cosplays
- Had 400 Masquerade entrants
- Wrote 26 Masquerade blogs
- Delivered 23 panels and workshops
- Put on 8 Masquerade shows
- Put on 8 Cosplay Showcases
- Showcased 3 Costume displays.
MegaCon Live Manchester 2024 Masquerade
We had two fantastic Masquerades over the weekend at MegaCon Live Manchester, and it was a great conclusion to an amazing year of shows. We were lucky enough to have @hovermediacosplay recording both the Saturday and Sunday shows, which we’ve embedded below! Feel free to share the clips with friends and family, but make sure to tag @hovermediacosplay and give @guildofnerds a tag too.
Masquerade Winners: MegaCon Manchester 2024
We want to share some of our winners from the show! There are three main categories in the show, Artificer, Adventurer and Bard. Within those classes are various awards, and we particularly want to highlight our Best in Show, Runner Up, Best Adventurer, and Best Bard winners!
Saturday
Best in Show: HettiStitch
HettiStitch brought to life Cowgirl Princess Peach from Princess Peach Showtime. With both spectacular craftsmanship and performance combined, they scored high in all three scoring categories.
Utilizing stage props, they put on a wonderful show that showed understanding of the character, and fun nods to the source.
Their attention to detail within the craftsmanship portion of the cosplay was very impressive. Numerous skills were on display, such as foam crafting, sewing, leather work, pattern drafting and modification, 3D sculpting, and wig work all on display.
All around, impressive work was done on all areas of this entry and was a very well deserved win!
Runner Up: Han Pan Cos
Han Pan Cos brought Calcifer from Howls Moving Castle and impressed the judges so much that they were moved up from Adventurer to Artificer on the day.
We love to see original designs like this one. It’s one of the reasons we have an Accuracy OR Creativity scoring system, and this cosplay scored high marks on the creativity side of things. Han Pan Cos designed the cosplay, and hand-drafted the patterns used throughout the build.
The details in this cosplay were so inventive and creative. Han Pan created jewellery, hair accessories, embroidery of Calcifer, and beading work on the corset. Not to mention the make-up and wig work!
Their performance captured both the essence of this beloved character while also showing off the craftsmanship and detail of the whole cosplay!
Best Adventurer: Kat
Kat brought Alastor from Hazbin Hotel to the stage. We love seeing performances from our Adventurer class and Kat brought a spectacular performance!
Kat had their work cut out for them with a character who wears so much red! They paid incredible attention to the coordination of all these different reds, including all the work to hand dye their wig to ensure it complimented the coat colour.
On stage, they utilized the screen wonderfully to deliver a family friendly version of one of Alastor’s scenes from the show. They also showed an excellent sense of timing and use of both space and props on stage.
Picking a photo from their stage shots was also very challenging as they just looked so good in all of them!
Best Bard: Georgia
Georgia brought Goddess Madoka from Puella Magi Madoka Magica to the stage and, despite being the first entrant on stage for the Bard class, they clearly did not let the nerves get to them!
Our Bard class is scored 100% on Performance by a special panel of performance judges, and Georgia certainly brought some incredible talent to the stage. Georgia sang ‘Skyfall’ by Adele on stage, and used the space beautifully to channel the character.
Combine their musical talent, with their use of props, understanding of the character, and stage utilization, they certainly earned the Best Bard award!
Sunday
Best in Show- Becca Bec
Becca brought Mollymauk Tealeaf from Critical Role to the stage. This cosplay was absolutely beautiful on stage and up close!
There is so much that went into this cosplay that our judging panel has too many things to say in this small space.
The detail and variety of skill on display in this cosplay is astounding. Embroidery, support garments, props, LED effects, painting and more are utilized to create an impressive final result. Oh yeah, and the boots were crafted by Becca too!
A good walk-on performance isn’t without skill, and Becca’s walk-on featured several in-character poses that effectively showcased their incredible cosplay.
Runner Up- LilyMon
Lily brought our 2024 season to a close with a performance that won’t be forgotten! We were graced with a fantastic performance of Toadette from the Mario Universe singing ‘Chandelier’ in the iconic toad voice.
The performance that Lily brought truly blew the judges and audience away. Who knew you could hit a note that high on stage in a live performance?! The dedication to the bit was perfect, and the added element of the on-stage skirt conversion was also impressive.
There were also so many wonderful details in the cosplay, including some more hidden details the judges got to see in the judging room. On stage the hat, red shells and banana peel were some easily visible nods to the wider Mario universe that Toadette hails from.
Best Adventurer- Aidh Valentine
Aidh brought Hua Cheng from Heavens Official Blessing and won in our Adventurer class on Sunday.
The colours and silhouette, complimented by some excellent fabric choices are big standouts. The wig styling was also a highlight of this cosplay as Aidh was able to match the source extremely well. Another stand out skill was that this was a self-patterned cosplay, which is an impressive skill to utilize.
They moved confidently across the stage, and showed a clear understanding of the character they were portraying, as with the fabric choices, their backing track complimented the performance well.
Best Bard- Eli and Charlie
Eli and Charlie were a duo who brought Kotori and Hanayo from Love Live for the Bard class.
Our Bard class is scored 100% on Performance by a special panel of performance judges. Adapting a Love Live performance to a duo while still keeping the heart of the performance is a skill on its own, and keeping in time together is also an impressive skill.
The added wow factor of the easy to clean up streamer alternative to confetti was also a great touch!
What’s Next?
We have a lot of exciting things to share in the off season between now and MegaCon Live Dublin in January. Our next MegaCon Live event will be in Dublin on January 18th and 19th. We’ll be back with you in the UK the following weekend of January 25th and 26th for MegaCon Live London.
There will be more info soon, but we’ve got a couple of updates to the rules for the 2025 season of the show, including expanding what Stage Ninja’s can do in a performance to our new role of Stage Squire. Keep your eyes out for a full update on what to expect at the MegaCon Live Masquerades in 2025!
We have a couple more shows this fall across the UK and Ireland, and you can keep up to date on what events the Guild will be at on our new events page. We are also currently restructuring the Guild Volunteer system, so keep an eye out on updates on that front if you’re interested in getting involved with the Guild!
