The Chelmsford Takeover returns to the city centre this spring, on Saturday 13 April 2024 from 10am – 4pm.

Get ready for Chelmsford city centre to come to life with the return of this cosplay event, seeing a whole host of familiar heroes, characters and show cars from the BIG screen and TV across multiple High Street locations. Chelmsford For You are delighted to once again join forces with Essex Cosplayers for the return of this event, all in aid of and raising funds for Little Havens, a charity providing care for Children and Young people up to the age of 25 who have been diagnosed with a complex or incurable condition, whilst offering support to their families.

THIS YEAR’S ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE:

🏆 Costume Competition

Hosted on the Takeover stage (New for 2024) The Costume Competition is open to all members of the public. Dress as your favourite character, superhero or villain and enter on the morning of the event in one of three categories – 16 and under, over 16s and groups.

🚘 Show Cars

You’ve seen them on the big screen and TV, now it’s your chance to see them up close in Chelmsford. We have a range of show cars lined up including the DeLorean from Back to the Future, The Ghostbusters Ecto1, The Batmobile ‘89 and Gotham Police car from Batman and Tow Mater from Cars. Plus a whole other host of cars you’ll recognise

🦖 Jurassic Zone

New for 2024 the Jurassic Zone will include photo opportunities with a Jurassic Park Jeep and Dinosaur appearances from Baby Dinos, Large Raptor and Giant T-Rex.

🤖 Dr Who Zone

Check out this interactive area with the Tardis and a number of Daleks patrolling the area.

🚀 Star Wars Droids

The Droids are back in town and this time they’re taking over a whole unit.

🎨 Activities and Workshops

There are a range of activities and workshops lined up to immerse you even more. This includes: Gaming Bus, Superhero Cape Making, Hero/ Villain Facepainting, Foam Model Sculpting Workshop, Comi Con Market Traders and the 2024 Cosplay Competition

📸 Photo Signers

  • Ty Hurley - Actor who has starred in Solo a star wars story, Peter Rabbit, 007 movies, Black widow to name a few

  • Daniel Eghan - A versatile actor know for his role is Star Wars a Rogue One as a Partisan, Death Trooper and X-Wing Pilot, Solo: A Star Wars Story as an Imperial Fleet Technician, in Marvel Dr Strange as a New York Businessman and Justice League as an Arkham Asylum Prison Guard and Dr Who with the Daleks as Armoured Police, also played in The Sandman as a Crocodile Tears.

  • Ralph Morse - Actor with a career spanning 50 years, starring in Star wars, James Bond, Blake Seven in the 70`s, Flash Gordon, Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy to name a few. He is also a singer and songwriter under the name of Johnny Cashbox

  • Sandeep Mohan - Actor who has starred in many films including the Star Wars Franchise

🤳 Meet & Greet and Photo Opportunities

Along with a number of Cosplay groups who’ll be in attendance on the day, there are a range of meet & greet characters to expect on the Takeover Stage, including Bumblebee, Megatron, Optimus Prime, Robocop and Tooth Guardian.

To help you track down as many cosplay characters as possible, download our Takeover Map to complete our scavenger hunt throughout the day!

What is Cosplay? Cosplay is an activity and performance art in which participants called ‘cosplayers’ wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. It’s a widely followed and growing community which we’re excited to see come together in Chelmsford for this brand new spectacle.