On July 1st and 2nd, the two-day event “SMASH!” took place in Sydney.
It is the largest manga and anime event in Australia and was bustling with a large number of visitors each day with many cosplayers who attended.
The venue featured booths where companies sold manga and anime-related merchandise, as well as artists offering their works for sale. There was also a dedicated area for cosplay photography, and popular anime voice actors from Japan made appearances on stage. This year’s event was a great success.
CLAIR Sydney participated in the event with its own booth, promoting tourism destinations in Japan that are associated with manga and anime, as well as cosplay events. Among the visitors to our booth, there were individuals considering their travel itineraries to Japan based on locations that have served as settings for anime (anime pilgrimage). It indicated the increasing presence of Japanese pop culture in Australia.
We will continue our efforts to promote various regions of Japan, featuring pop culture, so that many people can visit and explore different parts of the country.
From the 3rd to the 13th of December, eight selected swimmers from the Fukuoka Swimming Association visited NSW, where they participated in joint training sessions with a local school and competed in the 2024-25 Speedo NSW Senior State Age Championships.
