Cosplayers take over Abu Dhabi's Middle East Film & Comic Con 2022

A prize pool of Dh25,000 was up for grabs for Best Craftsmanship and Best Performance on Stage

A woman in cosplay poses with Batman at the Middle East Film & Comic Con 2022 in Abu Dhabi. All photos by Antonie Robertson / The National, unless specified otherwise

The judging panel of the cosplay competition.

A woman in cosplay performs on stage.

A cosplayer with a horse head mask.

The audience turned out in full force to watch the cosplay competition.

A cosplayer as the Marvel superhero Iron Man.

Symbiote x Chainsaw Man.

A young girl participates in the cosplay competition.

The event took place at the MEFCC Mainstage, which is outdoors.

A girl cosplays as DC superhero Wonder Woman.

The judging panel featured regional and international cosplayers.

Even though not everyone entered the competition, there was still plenty of cosplay on display on day two of the Middle East Film & Comic Con.

A cosplayer in a menacing outfit.

The children who competed in the Kids Cosplay competition were all winners and received swag bags.

Sylar Serag, as Bazelgeuse Armor from 'Monster Hunter', won first place in the Best Craftsmanship category. Photo: Middle East Film and Comic Con

Ashwani Kapoor as Samurai Vegito Blue from 'Dragon Ball Z' took second place in Best Craftsmanship. Photo: Middle East Film and Comic Con

Mohamed Farahat as Banbaro from 'Monster Hunter World' took third place in Best Craftsmanship. Photo: Middle East Film and Comic Con

Sabie Cipriani as Nico Yazawa from 'Long Live! School Idol Project' was first in Best Performance on Stage. Photo: Middle East Film and Comic Con

Mohammed Hasan, who goes by the cosplay name Themed Injection, won third place for Best Performance on Stage as Heath Ledger’s The Joker. Photo: Middle East Film and Comic Con

Cosplayers from the region donned their best outfits as part of the competition at Middle East Film and Comic Con on Saturday night at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

The segment is always a highlight of the pop culture event, which is being hosted in the capital for the first time this year. Characters from film, television, video games and anime were some of the popular choices on display at the competition.

There were three categories: Best Craftsmanship, Best Performance on Stage and Best Kids Cosplay. Everyone was a winner in the children's category and received a swag bag.

DC and Marvel favourites such as Iron Man, Batman and Wonder Woman appeared on the MEFCC Mainstage as did references to characters from Pokemon and the video games League of Legends and Monster Hunter. One man showed up in an impressive Symbiote x Chainsaw Man cosplay.

The judging panel consisted of regional and international cosplayers: Italy’s Leon Chiro, Sakura Flor from the Netherlands, Kuwait’s Majed Alkanderi and hadoolalk, Elizabeth Rage from the US, and the UAE’s Essa Al-Bastaki.

“There are so many different parts of cosplay to celebrate,” Rage said ahead of the event. "Craftsmanship, performance, interpretation, all of that. We'll be judging the contests and admiring the work of the cosplayers here in the UAE."

Even for those not in the competition, there was still plenty of impressive cosplay on display around Adnec on day two of the event, as pop culture fans dressed up as their favourite characters.

Winners of the 2022 MEFCC cosplay competition:

Best Performance On Stage

Sabie Cipriani won first place in Best Performance on Stage. Photo: Middle East Film & Comic Con

1. Sabie Cipriani as Nico Yazawa from Long Live! School Idol Project
2. Lujaine Yacoub as Caitlyn Kiramman from Arcane: League of Legends
3. Mohammed Hasan as Heath Ledger’s The Joker

Best Craftsmanship

Sylar Serag, as Bazelgeuse Armor from 'Monster Hunter', won first place in Best Craftsmanship. Photo: Middle East Film & Comic Con

1. Sylar Serag as Bazelgeuse Armor from Monster Hunter
2. Ashwani Kapoor as Samurai Vegito Blue from Dragon Ball Z
3. Mohamed Farahat as Banbaro from Monster Hunter: World

Scroll through our gallery below to see highlights from day one of Middle East Film and Comic Con 2022.

The Middle East Film and Comic Con took place in Abu Dhabi for the first time in 2022 after being held in Dubai for many years. All photos: Victor Besa / The National

The event is region's largest pop culture festival.

A woman in cosplay at the outdoor Party Plaza area at Adnec.

Saeed with the Alejandro stuffed toy.

Print artist Khalid Al Raiisi with his 3D work.

Women take a selfie with the Batman statue.

Ameera of Princess Designs custom art mugs.

A fan takes a selfie with The Chuckies.

Comic Con visitors pose with Batman.

Nadine, left, as Ms Joke and Reem as Shinso from the Japanese manga 'Of My Hero Academia'.

From left: Mimi Al Hajehr as Beidou, Lilly Lou as a Japanese school girl and Shouq Al Mehairbi as Nezuko.

A replicate of Thanos's infinity stone gauntlet.

Visitors enjoy the outdoor area of Party Plaza.

Dexter Stephenson as Zenitsu Agatsuma, left, and Ahmed Al Hammadi as Inosuke from 'Dragon Slayer'.

From left: Paris as Sleeping Beauty, Majed as Karl Heissenberg from 'Resident Evil Village' and Erim as Ezio of 'Assassin's Creed'.

Children enjoy an inflatable playhouse in the Party Plaza area.

Glow in the dark artist Mohammed Al Ketbi.

The Middle East Film and Comic Con 2022 was held at Adnec.

Artists Yasmin, left, and Leila Nemer at Artist Alley.

Young visitors playing computer games.

Comic books available for purchase at Comic Con.