Feature: Greeks gather for the country's biggest cosplay contest

or the seventh year in a row, Comicdom Cosplay Contest brought together in the heart of Athens the aficionados of cosplay, comics, video games and Role-Playing Games.

The annual meeting of Greek cosplayers was once again a big success with fans overcrowding the auditorium where the final phase of the contest was held.

Comicdom Cosplay is one of the most popular events of Comicdom Con Athens, the annual three-day comics festival established in 2007, and the national preliminary competition for EuroCosplay.

During April 8 and 9, 17 solo contestants and five cosplay teams gave their best to create impressive and elaborate costumes, and give dynamic stage performances.

The competition's judges selected winners by taking into account costume accuracy, construction quality and complexity, and stage performance. The winners will represent Greece in the European cosplay competition at the London Comic Con Expo in October.

What exactly is cosplay and what makes cosplayers so passionate about their hobby? The term derives from the words costume and play. And as most cosplayers would assure you,it is much more than simply dressing up in a carnival-like outfit.

Preparing a successful suit demands vivid imagination, wise choice of materials, resourcefulness, craftsmanship and of course long hours of meticulous work.

Cosplaying, however, has mostly to do with impersonating a fictional character, not only by putting on their clothes but also by studying and adopting their posture, their expressions and the way they talk or move, with performance skills that suit the part.

This year's winner Maria Dedevesi has been an active cosplayer since 2014. "The character I chose comes from a video game I played recently and impressed me with its detailed costumes and weapons," she told Xinhua.

Her impressively ornate weapon alone took two months to make and shoots steam.

"I enjoy creating things very much. I am a painter and an illustrator, I am into digital and concept art, I have tried sculpting too and I also studied fashion design, so I thought I should give it a shot. And then, once you start you can't stop," said Dedevesi, who will represent Greece at the prestigious EuroCosplay contest.

Each cosplayer, however, is motivated by different things when choosing their persona. "I am particularly drawn to dynamic female figures and I believe that this is what my character stands for," said Elina Anagnostakou, who won the third solo prize as "Violet Chachki."

"I am a cosplayer since 2012 and what intrigues me most is that it demands many and diverse skills," she said. "It's very creative." Endi