Record-Breaking Cosplay Contest and Inaugural K-Pop Dance Contest to Take Center Stage at Lithuania’s Largest Pop Culture Festival

From May 23–25, “Comic Con Baltics 2025 sponsored by Samsung” will return to Vilnius, inviting fans to meet film, gaming, and comic book stars—while also becoming the stage for two major pop culture phenomena: a record-breaking Cosplay contest and, for the first time ever, a K-Pop Dance Championship that is already drawing significant attention.

This year’s Cosplay contest is set to be the largest in the festival’s history. Over 250 cosplayers will take the stage, presenting nearly 150 unique performances. Participants will represent not only Lithuania but also Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine. The competition will be judged based on the craftsmanship, accuracy, and creativity of the costumes, as well as stage presence, character embodiment, acting, and overall performance.

Winners will receive prizes from festival sponsors, while specially selected participants will earn an invitation to the prestigious “Nordic Cosplay Championship” in Sweden.

Running alongside this long-standing Cosplay tradition, the festival will also debut the “K-Pop Dance Contest presented by McDonald’s”. A modern, high-energy competition, it will challenge participants to recreate the choreography of Korea’s most iconic pop stars. Over 60 performances have already been registered.

Although this is the festival’s first K-Pop competition of its kind, the decision to launch it is no coincidence. Organizers have been observing a steady rise in K-Pop’s popularity across Lithuania—marked by an increase in dance studios, fan communities, and K-Pop music frequently featured in Cosplay performances. A pilot online contest held last year demonstrated overwhelming demand, prompting organizers to bring the initiative to the festival’s main stage.

Unlike Cosplay, where costume takes center stage, the K-Pop competition will emphasize dance technique, execution energy, and overall stage image. Contestants will compete solo, in duos, or in groups, with the winners earning a spot in Sweden’s “NärCon K-Pop Championship”.

Now in its seventh year, “Comic Con Baltics 2025 sponsored by Samsung” is a next-generation entertainment festival that annually gathers cult film, series, comics, and video game creators and actors in Vilnius. From May 23–25, visitors will be able to try out the latest—and already iconic—video games and play alongside leading influencers in the Baltics Gaming Expo area. “The Meet Lithuanian Film Industry” program will offer exclusive meetings with Lithuanian filmmakers and previews of their latest works.

Special guests already confirmed for this year’s event include Ed Westwick, known for his legendary role as Chuck Bass in “Gossip Girl”; “Jack Gleeson”, who portrayed Joffrey Baratheon in “Game of Thrones”; Roger Clark and Rob Wiethoff from the cult classic “Red Dead Redemption 2”; Ned Luke and Shawn Fonteno from the “GTA V” universe; and Tom McKay and Luke Dale, actors in the rapidly rising title “Kingdom Come: Deliverance II”. Comic book artists Valerie Minelli (of “Mrs. Frollein”), Luis Coelho (known as “purr.in.ink”), and Andrés J. Colmenares (“Wawawiwa Comics”) from Colombia will also be in attendance.

The festival is supported by the Vilnius City Municipality.