El concurso de cosplay incluye el photocall.

Because concurso is a masculine noun in Spanish, so it takes the masculine article el.

• el concurso = the contest
• plural: los concursos

A lot of Spanish nouns ending in -o are masculine, and concurso follows that common pattern.

Here, de means something like of or for.

• concurso de cosplay = cosplay contest
• literally: contest of cosplay

Spanish often uses de where English uses a noun directly as an adjective. Compare:

• concurso de fotografía = photography contest
• tienda de ropa = clothes shop
• gafas de sol = sunglasses

So de cosplay is the natural way to express this idea in Spanish.

Because in this sentence cosplay is being used in a general, category-like way after de.

So:

• un concurso de cosplay = a cosplay contest

This is similar to:

• clase de yoga
• libro de historia
• camiseta de algodón

You would not normally say concurso del cosplay here, because that would sound like the contest of the cosplay or suggest a very specific cosplay already mentioned.

Because the subject is singular: El concurso.

• el concurso incluye = the contest includes
• los concursos incluyen = the contests include

The verb has to agree with the subject:

• singular subject → incluye
• plural subject → incluyen

Even though there are several words before the verb, the real subject is still just concurso.

Incluye is the third-person singular present tense of incluir.

Conjugation in the present:

• yo incluyo
• tú incluyes
• él/ella/usted incluye
• nosotros/as incluimos
• vosotros/as incluís
• ellos/ellas/ustedes incluyen

So in this sentence:

• El concurso incluye... = The contest includes...

It is a very common borrowing in Spain, especially in events, entertainment, marketing, and social media contexts.

In Spain, photocall usually means the decorated backdrop or photo area where people pose for pictures at an event.

So el photocall sounds very natural in Peninsular Spanish, even though it comes from English. This is one of many borrowed event-related terms used in Spain.

Borrowed nouns in Spanish still need a grammatical gender, and photocall is usually treated as masculine in Spain:

• el photocall
• un photocall

There is not always a deep logical reason for the gender of borrowed words; often usage simply settles on one form. In this case, el photocall is the standard choice.

In Spain, many speakers pronounce it approximately like FO-to-kol or FO-to-kal, adapted to Spanish pronunciation.

A learner-friendly approximation is:

• photocall → FO-to-call

But the exact pronunciation can vary a bit depending on the speaker and how strongly they keep the English sound.

Also, in Spanish speech, it is normally stressed on the last part: photoCALL.

This is the most neutral and common Spanish word order:

subject + verb + object

• El concurso de cosplay = subject
• incluye = verb
• el photocall = direct object

So the structure is very similar to English:

• The cosplay contest includes the photocall

Spanish can sometimes change word order for emphasis, but this version is the standard, natural one.

It is the direct object of the verb incluye.

The verb incluir takes something that is included:

• incluye el photocall
• incluye comida
• incluye entradas
• incluye acceso VIP

So in this sentence, the photocall is the thing included in the contest or event package.

Yes, that can be understood, and in some contexts it sounds natural. But it is not exactly the same nuance.

• incluye el photocall = the photocall is included as part of it
• tiene photocall = it has a photocall

Incluye sounds a bit more like event information or promotional language, which fits very well here. It suggests that the photocall is one of the features included in the event.

Usually it is adapted somewhat to Spanish pronunciation, often something like:

• KOS-plei

Spanish speakers generally keep it close to the English word, but with Spanish sounds and rhythm. Exact pronunciation may vary, but learners will be understood if they say something close to the English original.

In this sentence, el is the most natural choice because you are talking about a specific feature that is included:

• incluye el photocall

Without the article, incluye photocall may appear in very informal promotional language, lists, or advertisements, but in a full standard sentence, el photocall sounds better and more complete.