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Finland, Finland, Finland
























Aug. 19th, 2013 02:28 am (UTC)
Seems like having it outside of North America in consecutive years is going to be a hard sell.
Aug. 19th, 2013 05:29 pm (UTC)
...then why call it "Worldcon"?

That's not meant to snark at you, it just amazes me how frequently this "but how can we have it somewhere else in the world twice in a row?" argument seems to come up, when "world" is in the convention's name. :)

Edited at 2013-08-19 08:35 pm (UTC)
Aug. 20th, 2013 01:21 am (UTC)
Why call it the World Series when it's only open to teams in North America?

Irrelevant Baseball reference aside, world being in the name doesn't prevent it from either always being in the US or outside of the US. I'm merely pointing out that there are a lot of people who can't travel outside of the US to get to a WorldCon. So you'd have hard time selling a Worldcon in Finnland, to people who can't get to Finnland. Where is this year's WorldCon? Texas.
Aug. 20th, 2013 02:55 am (UTC)
You may not be aware of just how many non-US fans either can't or won't come to any convention in the USA because the USA has made it increasingly difficult and unpleasant for them to come here. Worse, it's affecting people who might want to go to Canada from Europe because the USA imposes its rules on flights to Canada even if the flight never crosses US airspace.

I really don't see a problem with letting non-North American fans have a reasonable chance to attend two Worldcons in a row for the first time ever. Indeed, maybe we could get them sufficiently infected with the Worldcon bug that they might be wiling to try attending an American Worldcon even with all of the roadblocks the USA has set up to make us look like an Evil Empire.

(I'm not joking. Most Americans are unaware of it, that's all.)
Aug. 20th, 2013 05:40 am (UTC)
If non-US fans either can't or won't come here, and US fans either can't or won't go there... all the more reason to alternate.

Regardless, I'm not saying it shouldn't be in Finland, merely that it's going to be a hard sell. Both you and usernamenumber seem to grasp that (how frequently people say things and most Americans being unaware).
Aug. 20th, 2013 07:14 am (UTC)

The reverse is also true. There are a lot of people who can't travel TO the USA to get to a worldcon. So you would - and do - have a hard time selling a worldcon in the USA to people who can't get to the USA, which is quite a lot.

For myself, despite being a major SF fan for almost thirty years, LonCon will be the first worldcon I get to attend. If the subsequent one is held in Finland, there's a good chance I could make that as well. If it's back in North America again, no chance. And if a Finnish SF convention can attract a bigger audience than any worldcon for decades (though we have to see if the same audience turns out as they did for Finncon), that has to count for something. Myself, I'm interested in seeing what the turn-out is for LonCon, as it's taking place in one of the largest and most vibrant SFF communities outside of the USA, most of whom can't travel on a regular basis to other worldcons.

Edited at 2013-08-20 07:19 am (UTC)
Aug. 20th, 2013 11:49 pm (UTC)
A little 'murica-centric, don't you think? The rest of the world is much much bigger than the US. No offence but you guys need to get out more. Ps. There's no such country as 'Finnland'. ;)


George R.R. Martin
George R. R. Martin

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