A collective of dedicated fans within the Irish science fiction community has announced its intentions to launch a bid to host the 77th Worldcon in Ireland in 2019. The plans were made public at the 71st Worldcon, LoneStarCon in Texas on Friday, August 30.
For many fans of the genre, the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) is one of the biggest events of the year. The convention is chiefly known for presenting the annual Hugo Awards Ceremony. The Hugo Awards are classed among the highest honours bestowed for science fiction and fantasy writing. However, the convention is also a celebration of all forms of speculative fiction, film and more, from comics to cosplay and manga and anime to gaming.
There will be an open meeting on the Dublin bid for all interested parties at Octocon, the National Science Fiction Convention in Ireland on Saturday the 12th of October.
Volunteers from all areas of Irish conrunning and fandom as well as people who may never have been involved in or even attended a convention before are welcome at any stage of planning and can contact organisers by email at volunteer@dublin 2019.com. The website can be found at www.dublin2019.com and there is a Facebook page at facebook.com/Dublin2019 and a Twitter account @dublin 2019.
Planning and bidding to host a Worldcon is no small endeavour. Ireland already has a huge community of science fiction fans as well as a plethora of writers and artists that work in the genre in its many forms, and Irish fandom has been gaining momentum and building strong foundations on which to successfully host a Worldcon..
Irish fandom is also constantly generating interest and enthusiasm through the host of conventions that are run every year such as Octocon, Arcade Con, Nom Con, Eirtakon and more. Irish fans started making waves in international fandom when they won the bid for Dublin to host Eurocon in August 2014, officially called Shamrokon.
A convention such as Worldcon deserves a welcoming and engaging atmosphere for fans both international as well as local, which is why the Convention Centre Dublin has been put forward as an ideal venue for a Dublin Worldcon. The CCD has fully built-in technical facilities needed to support an event like Worldcon and among other features boasts a 2,000 seat auditorium with a full theatrical stage, six spacious foyers and 4,500 square metres of exhibition space.
The CCD also has the advantage of a very central location in Dublin City, easily accessible by public transport as well as by car. In the centre of the newly developed Dublin Docklands the CCD affords easy access to a range of hotels and cultural sites. A visit to the CCD is also planned for the 14th of October for all interested parties.
The official launch of the Dublin Bid is set to take place at the 72nd Worldcon in London next year followed by a launch at Shamrokon.
Exciting announcement! Congratulations on such an auspicious beginning.