Otaku Expo Reload on OCT 8-10, 2010

CLICK ON PICS FOR BIGGER VERSION OF CONTEST RULES!

Cosplay and Blog to a Dream Halloween in HONG KONG!

Fancy being in your cosplay costume to revel in the most exciting and colourful costume parties lining the streets of fashionable Lan Kwai Fong, party capital of Hong Kong at Halloween? How about experiencing a Disney’s Haunted Halloween with Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in a spectacular Glow in the Park Halloween Parade at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort? Or be part of Asia’s largest Halloween Bash featuring over 400 costumed characters, more than 20 ‘haunted’ attractions, street shows and entertainment at Ocean Park Hong Kong? Or indulge in some Halloween fun at the Avenue of Stars or Madame Tussauds Hong Kong?

The chance to win such a dream Halloween holiday in Hong Kong is now up for grabs by cosplayers and bloggers across Asia! Hong Kong’s Halloween parties are the biggest in all of Asia! Some of Hong Kong’s best-loved attractions such as Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong Disneyland, Madame Tussauds, and Ocean Park Hong Kong, among others, get dressed up in their Halloween finery to offer visitors a ‘spook-tacular’ time. Visitors can also try various Halloween-themed food and drink offers from the various bars and restaurants around town.

To ‘treat’ visitors to the buzz and festivities of the Halloween funfest in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is teaming up with Asia’s premier anime and youth entertainment TV destination, Animax, to bring on the ‘HKTB-Animax Hong Kong Halloween Treats’ regional campaign, headlined by a regional cosplay competition and blogging contest to send winners on an all-expense-paid* trip to a dream Halloween holiday in HONG KONG!

Open to Animax viewers in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, the regional cosplay and blogging contests will each see three winners take home return airfares and hotel accommodations to join in the Halloween fun in Hong Kong!

The prize also includes a special invitation to an exclusive HKTB-Animax Halloween party on 17 October 2010 in Hong Kong. At the event, winners get to meet in person, global star blogger and the world-famous dancing ‘Stormtrooper’ Danny Choo, celebrity cosplayer and Ani-mate Alodia, and more, to party the night away!



Cosplay to a Dream Halloween in Hong Kong
From 10 – 24 September 2010, cosplayers are invited to upload pictures of themselves in their costumes to www.animaxtv.com and share why they wish to go to Hong Kong. These entries will then be featured on the ‘HKTB-Animax Hong Kong Halloween Treats’ microsite at www.animaxtv.com, to be voted upon by Animax viewers across Asia from 25 September – 6 October 2010.

In addition to viewers’ votes, winners will also be determined by a judging panel formed by HKTB and Animax who will review all contest submissions. Judges will be on the lookout for accuracy and authenticity of the contestants’ cosplay appearances based on the original characters, as well as the creativity and originality of the contestants’ reasons for wanting to visit Hong Kong.



BLOG to a Halloween not-to-be-missed in Hong Kong
The regional blogging contest will also see the top three bloggers win all-expense-paid* trips to Hong Kong to join in the Halloween fun! Bloggers simply have to write about the ‘HKTB-Animax Hong Kong Halloween Treats’ cosplay contest and share how Hong Kong is the dream destination for cosplayers during the Halloween season.

Running from 10 September – 6 October 2010, the blogging contest requires participants to email the URLs of their blog entries with their names and contact numbers to contests@animax-asia.com before 6pm (SG) on 7 October 2010 for a chance to win.

The HKTB-Animax judging panel will also review all entrants’ blog sites based on popularity (number of readers and comments), creativity (how well the blog site is designed with graphics, text, photos and videos), and originality (content) of their blogs to choose the winners.

“No other places celebrate Halloween like Hong Kong does! Hong Kong Halloween Treats is a funky month-long mix of street parties, ‘dressed up’ attractions, restaurants and bars offering themed menus and when shopping malls unleash a ghoulish assortment of shopping fun. HKTB is pleased to collaborate with Animax Asia to showcase the exciting variety of entertaining events and activities for the youth and young adults in Hong Kong. The zeal and enthusiasm of the Asia’s cosplayers and bloggers will be a great catalyst to the fun quotient of the Hong Kong Halloween Treats. They will certainly be enthralled by the spook-tastic experience,” said Mr David Leung, Regional Director-South & Southeast Asia, Hong Kong Tourism Board.

“It is not always that youth and young adults get recognition for simply indulging in hobbies such as cosplay and blogging. Both passions are widely shared and pursued by many young people across Asia who also share a common love for anime. With ‘HKTB-Animax Hong Kong Halloween Treats’, Animax is delighted to partner HKTB to enable Asia’s cosplayers and bloggers to simply do what they love, showcase their talents and be rewarded for their creativity and efforts. With the unique prize of a Hong Kong Halloween holiday, winners can look forward to making new friends from across Asia, and discovering a whole host of unique youth experiences that Hong Kong has to offer,” said Mr Gregory Ho, Vice President & General Manager, Animax Asia.

In addition to enjoying the HKTB-Animax Halloween Party, winners will be at the heart of where it all happens, with the unique opportunity to join in the fun at numerous Halloween-themed events in the month of October all across Hong Kong.

Be it at popular shopping malls, food districts, parties and fiestas, including the colourfully costumed Lan Kwai Fong street parties, Disney's Haunted Halloween 2010 at Hong Kong Disneyland, or the Ocean Park Halloween Bash, a dream Halloween holiday in Asia’s most diverse and modern metropolis of Hong Kong awaits the region’s best cosplayers and bloggers!



The regional cosplay competition is open for entry submission from 10 – 24 Sep, with voting to take place from 25 Sep – 6 Oct 2010 at www.animaxtv.com.
The regional blogging contest is open from 10 Sep – 6 Oct, with contestants’ blog entry URLs, names & contact numbers to reach contests@animax-asia.com before 6pm (SG) on 7 Oct 2010.

For more information on Hong Kong Halloween Treats, visit http://www.discoverhongkong.com/festivehk2010

Fairy Tail on Animax

Premieres 9/30, Every Mon – Fri at 10pm

Set in a fantasy world where magic is the way of life, Lucy had always wanted to join the famous Fairy Tail mage guild and travelled to the kingdom of Fiore in that hope. Along the way, she crosses paths with Natsu and his talking-and-flying cat Happy who are seeking a dragon.
Abducted by someone posing as ‘Salamander’ from the Fairy Tail guild, Lucy is then rescued by Natsu who reveals that he is in fact the real ‘Salamander’ with dragon slaying abilities. Offering her membership into the Fairy Tail guild, Natsu, Happy and Lucy then join female warrior Erza Scarlet, and ice mage Gray Fullbuster as a team to embark of various missions for the Fairy Tail guild.
Fairy Tail is co-produced by top anime studios A-1 Pictures (Kuroshitsuji, Valkyria Chronicles) and Satelight (Macross Frontier, Hellsing OVA). Fairy Tail features top voice actresses Aya Hirano (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Death Note) and Rie Kugimiya (Shakugan no Shana, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) as the voices of lead characters Lucy and Happy respectively.
An action video game for the Sony PlayStation Portable titled ‘Fairy Tail: Portable Guild’ was unveiled at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show and in development by Konami for release in 2010. A fighting game for the Nintendo DS, entitled ‘Fairy Tail Gekito Mado Shikkesen’ is also slated for release this year.