There are three serious bids for the World Science Fiction Convention (i.e., the Worldcon) in 2015. Orlando, Spokane, and Helsinki.
I don’t expect Orlando to win (sorry, Orlando, that’s just my opinion). In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if they end up being a spoiler for the other two, Spokane and Helsinki. Sigh.
I am torn.
I would very much like to see Spokane win the right to host the 2015 Worldcon. I know some of the talented people working on that bid, and I’m confident they’d do a fine job and it would be a glorious convention. I’ve never been to that part of Washington, and this would be a fine excuse to visit.
And yet… I would also very much like to see Helsinki win the the right to host the 2015 Worldcon. I’ve actually had some of my fiction translated into Finnish, and seriously, when am I likely to get myself (let alone my wife) over to Finland otherwise?
The vote will be taken in about eleven months at the 2013 Worldcon, LoneStarCon 3, in San Antonio, Texas. I suspect that the deciding factor will be economics and the financial burden (from the perspective of US attendees) of taking on two trans-Atlantic Worldcons in a row — for those of you who don’t have this sort of thing in the back of your mind, the 2014 Worldcon, LonCon 3, is in London, England.
And in a lot of ways I think that’s a shame. It’s the world science fiction convention, and I like seeing that aspect represented. I like meeting and doing panels alongside and chatting at parties with people from other countries and cultures.
Of course we have the better part of the year to see what happens with the economy, both here in the USA, and over in Europe. This is far from decided, which just means I need to live with my cognitive dissonance a while longer.
That’s my thoughts on the topic today. What are yours?
