After yesterday morning’s opening of the Tatuaggi exhibition at the Friulian Culture Auditorium, this weekend it’s time for Let’s GO! Cosplay & Fun – GO! 2025 Special Edition. The event will take place on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 September in Piazza Vittoria in Gorizia and in other venues – the former wholesale market in Via Boccaccio, the GO! Center on Corso Verdi, and the Public Gardens with Hobbiton – with a rich calendar of events for all tastes. All Let’s GO! Cosplay & Fun events are free of charge.

Among the highlights of the program, on Saturday 13 September at 2:30 PM, Piazza Vittoria will host the round table “Expressive practices through the body, from tattoos to cosplay”, with the participation of Marco Englaro, Alessandro Bellio, Michele Barazzutti, and Loredana Barile, moderated by radio host Mariolina Nicotera Simone, better known to the public as LaMario, the voice of RTL 102.5. It will be an opportunity for dialogue between guests and young people on the relationship between creativity, body, and identity.

Workshops will also be a central focus. On Sunday morning at 10:00 AM, Marco Englaro will lead a live drawing workshop, while at 10:30 AM Nika Vicenzino and Ginevra Alipo Tamborra will conduct a comics workshop dedicated to reinterpreting the figure of Carlo Michelstaedter. On Saturday afternoon from 3:00 PM, children will be able to take part in the Padawan School, an activity where they can try their hand at the art of the lightsaber. Participation in workshops requires registration by writing to bazingaeventi@gmail.com.

The traditional cosplay contest will also take place, scheduled for Sunday 14 September at 5:30 PM on the main stage in Piazza Vittoria, organized by Bazinga Eventi. Registrations are already open via the online form available at https://forms.gle/RTMizeRiRokKgiJd7. Up for grabs are gift cards worth €250, €150, and €100 for the top three winners, along with special mentions. The contest will conclude at 7:30 PM with the award ceremony. The program also features the Hobbit Parade on Saturday 13 September at 4:00 PM with a joint jury from the Hobbiton and Cosplay festivals, followed at 5:15 PM by a performance from the Movartex dance school and at 5:30 PM by the awards ceremony.

Among the most anticipated guests is Giovanni Muciaccia, the famous TV host of Art Attack, who on Sunday 14 September at 3:00 PM will present the performance “Attacchi d’arte contemporanea” on the Piazza Vittoria stage, followed at 4:00 PM by a meet-and-greet with the public in the photo area of the marquee. Also on Sunday, at 4:15 PM, the main stage will host an interview with Leonardo Graziano, the Italian voice of Naruto and Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory, while at 5:00 PM it will be the turn of international cosplayers Eriko and Gloria Sweet Angel. Disney artist from Trieste Lorenzo Pastrovicchio will instead meet the public on Saturday 13 September at 11:00 AM on the event stage in Piazza Vittoria. Right in Piazza Vittoria, on Sunday from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, visitors will also be able to admire the legendary DeLorean, the car from the cult movie Back to the Future.

Music will also be an integral part of the festival: on Saturday 13 September from 9:00 PM Piazza Vittoria will come alive with the concert “Mai dire Goku”, Italy’s largest cartoon experience, bringing the public to sing and dance to Disney theme songs, tracks by Giorgio Vanni and Cristina D’Avena, Japanese anime openings, and TV series soundtracks from the 2000s.

On Sunday 14 September, between 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM, the event stage in Piazza Vittoria will host performances by young local musicians, a Call for talent curated by Punto Giovani. In addition to Piazza Vittoria, the former wholesale market in Via Boccaccio will host an exhibition-market, while at the GO! Center on Corso Verdi 51 visitors will be able to explore the Lego exhibition, with a special section dedicated to the European Capital of Culture.

The program was presented today at a press conference by the Deputy Mayor in charge of Youth Policies, Chiara Gatta, and the Director of EGTC GO, Romina Kocina. “It is becoming increasingly evident that cosplay is a true form of art, and with the many events of Let’s GO! Cosplay & Fun we have tried to offer a broad vision that ranges from cosplay to the world of tattoos,” said Deputy Mayor Gatta. Director Kocina added that this is “a truly rich edition, with many prominent guests to engage with and create moments of exchange on the theme of fantasy and beyond. In fact, talking about cosplay today identifies a market full of opportunities, including professional ones. A true cultural event that could not be missing from the wider program of a European Capital of Culture.”

Let’s GO! Cosplay & Fun – GO! 2025 Special Edition is organized by the Municipality of Gorizia in collaboration with EGTC GO.

The full program is available in the events section of the go2025.eu platform.