VML & Ogilvy Japan: KDDI’s Virtual Shibuya

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Every year, a million people gather in Shibuya's famous crossing to celebrate Halloween. However, in 2020 in the context of the global pandemic, the Shibuya Ward faced the new challenge of how to encourage people to refrain from visiting Shibuya. The Shibuya Ward, in collaboration with KDDI, instead built a virtual space to celebrate Halloween and named it "Virtual Shibuya", replicating every corner of the city to celebrate Halloween in the metaverse. People from all over the world visited the digital Shibuya experience to celebrate being together, virtually. Attendees were able to create and dress their avatars, attend performances and enjoy a Shibuya experience that went beyond walking through the streets of this virtual world, including events like participating in daily virtual costume contests.

The Halloween event launched in 2020 and continues to celebrate Halloween yearly, with more than 1.3 million participants.

The platform continues to evolve showcasing new forms of entertainment. Virtual Shibuya is a place for people to meet, spend time, see concerts, get tours from 'guides,' and experience Japanese pop culture in an immersive world. Virtual Shibuya is a "city-linked metaverse" – highlighting how the collaboration between the local government and an immersive metaverse experience can brings millions of people together across the globe.