attendees pre-registering for the convention. Otakuthon has a relatively significant economic impact on Montreal, compared to other similar-sized national-level conventions held at the same location. In 2011, the convention generated an estimated $2,137,157 in economic spinoffs in the city, while in 2010 it generated an estimated $1,606,076. In 2020, Otakuthon was cancelled for the first time due to concerns over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. World Cosplay Summit Canadian Preliminaries In 2014, the World Cosplay Summit (WCS) announced that Canada would join this international event as an Observer Nation in 2015. Otakuthon was selected as the convention to hold the Canadian Preliminaries for the WCS, starting in 2014. Winners from the Preliminaries at Otakuthon 2014 traveled to Japan to participate in the WCS 2015 events, but not compete in the Cosplay Championship. This was the first time a Canadian cosplay delegation represented the country at this international event, which has been running yearly since 2003. Since 2016, Canada was eligible to compete in the Championship and earn awards. The Preliminaries to select the team to represent Canada as a full-participating nation were held at Otakuthon 2015, almost a full year in advance. The World Cosplay Summit is generally held from late July to early August, with the 2016 edition held from Sat, Jul 30, 2016 to Sun, Aug 7, 2016. In 2017, the Preliminaries at Otakuthon were moved from Friday evening to Sunday mid-day, and the show was livestreamed to Team Canada's quarters in Nagoya; also that year, the Cosplay Championship was livestreamed to Otakuthon attendees in a special screening room. Event history Sub-events Year after year, Otakuthon hosts a number of sub-events, a series of programming and activities based around specific passions. Yaoithon: A celebration of all things yaoi, including shounen-ai, slash-related phenomena and related fandom and communities, with events such as panels, screenings and workshops. Yurithon: A celebration of all things yuri, including shoujo-ai and femmeslash, with events such as panels and screenings. Dollfest: A celebration of both ball jointed dolls and Asian dolls. Events include panels, workshops, a doll masquerade and swap meet. Hakurei Shrine Festival: Also known as TouhouFest, this sub-event celebrates the Touhou Project video games. Hakurei Shrine Festival first began in 2013 and has included panels, cosplay meet-ups, screenings, video game tournaments, and art and merchandise swaps. Pokéthon: A Pokémon-themed sub-event that took place in 2014 and 2016. Pokéthon was the first series of Pokémon-themed