OISSU Fest 3.0 Returns to Central i-City
After a year off, OISSU Fest is back at Central i-City in Seksyen 7 for a four-day run from 16 to 19 July 2026, and this time it leans hard into summer matsuri territory. Entry is free, doors open at 10am and close at 10pm each day, and the organiser is promising the biggest edition yet under the tagline Bigger, Bolder, Better. For Shah Alam residents who already use the new LRT3 Shah Alam Line, the Stadium Shah Alam station drops you within a covered 15-minute walk of the venue, which makes this one of the easiest anime events in the Klang Valley to reach without a car.
The festival is built around anime, cosplay and pop culture, with a competitive core that runs across all four days. If you have been to previous editions at other venues, expect a different scale here. Central i-City is a covered mall concourse, not a hall, which means booths, stage and walkways share space with regular shoppers. Plan around that.
What is actually on the schedule
The official OISSU Fest channels list four headline activities, and they are the ones that draw the queues:
- Ani Song Singing Competition open solo and group entries, with preliminaries running through the weekday slots and finals on the weekend.
- Cosplay Competition with craftsmanship and performance categories. Registration is via the organiser, and walk-ons are limited.
- Cosplay Dance sessions where groups perform choreographed routines to anime tracks. Expect this to draw the biggest crowds on Saturday and Sunday.
- Art Contest open to illustrators, with on-site and pre-submitted entries judged during the festival.
Beyond the competitions there are live performances, an artist alley, vendor booths and the usual matsuri props like yukata dress-up and summer festival food stalls. The organiser has flagged that international cosplayers and performers are on the line-up, though specific names are released through the OISSU Fest Facebook and Instagram closer to each day.
Getting in and getting there
Entry is free and there are no tickets, which means the floorplan matters more than the lineup if you want to avoid the bottlenecks. The official floorplan posted by the organiser on Instagram shows the stage at one end of the concourse and the booth rows running parallel to the mall walkway. The narrowest pinch points are around the stage area during competitions, so if you are cosplaying in a bulky build, time your stage visits for the weekday slots when the crowd thins.
Parking at Central i-City fills fast on weekends. The smarter move is to ride the LRT3 Shah Alam Line to Stadium Shah Alam station and take the covered walkway over. Rapid KL also runs an on-demand bus from the station at RM2 per trip, departing every 10 to 15 minutes, which is useful if you are carrying props or a group. If you are driving in from the Federal Highway, exit at Seksyen 7 and follow Persiaran Multimedia.
Who this is for, and who it is not
If you are an ACG regular in the Klang Valley, OISSU Fest 3.0 is a legitimate reason to be in Shah Alam this weekend. The free entry and LRT3 access lower the barrier enough that you can drop in for a few hours without committing a whole day.
If you are a casual mall shopper, expect heavier foot traffic than usual in the Central i-City concourse, especially from Friday evening through Sunday night. The competitions draw loud, excitable crowds, which is part of the appeal but worth knowing before you bring a pram.
For first-timers to anime events, this is a decent entry point. There is no ticket cost to regret, the venue is indoor and air-conditioned, and the matsuri theme keeps things lighter than a full convention. Bring a power bank, wear comfortable shoes, and if you plan to compete, register early through the OISSU Fest social channels rather than on the day.
Practical Details
- Dates: 16 to 19 July 2026 (Thursday to Sunday)
- Time: 10:00am to 10:00pm daily
- Venue: Central i-City, Persiaran Multimedia, Seksyen 7, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor
- Nearest LRT: Stadium Shah Alam station (LRT3 Shah Alam Line), then Rapid KL on-demand bus or 15-minute covered walk
- Price: Free entry, no ticket required
- Website: OISSU Fest on Facebook
