Taiwanese cosplayers Momo, King and Chihiro have announced on their Facebook pages on Friday that their scheduled appearances at The Best of Anime 2019 will not push through.
The cosplayers have collectively cited the ‘lack of working visas’ as reason for cancelling their appearances on the popular event, and added a chronology of activities between the two parties.
The issue of working visas comes after three Japanese nationals and a Spanish national, all cosplayers, were arrested in the Malaysian city of Shah Alam, outside the capital Kuala Lumpur, in a raid of a pop culture event by immigration authorities last July.
Primetrade Asia, the organizer of the popular event, has released a statement saying:
Due to unforeseen circumstances, The Best of Anime regrets to inform the attendees that cosplayers Momo, King, and Chihiro have cancelled appearances for both days.
All fan meet tickets for Momo, King and Chihiro will be refunded. Full refund will be given on tickets onsite at the Ticket Counter upon presentation of Fan Meet Ticket and a valid ID.
For winners of the Fan Meet tickets on the BOA FB page, the prize can be replaced with any of the fan meets of remaining artists.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
When asked on the specifics of the cosplayers’ cancellation, Primetrade Asia has declined to publicly give any more comment other than what has been written in the prepared statement.
The Best of Anime 2019 is scheduled for this weekend, August 31 to September 1, at SMX Convention Center Manila, located at the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.
