A bid to bring Westercon back to Utah in 2019 has gone live. A placeholder Tempe bid, created when no one else filed, has stepped aside to give them a clear field.
The new bid proposes to hold Westercon 72 from July 3-7, 2019 at the Davis Conference Center and adjacent hotels in Layton, Utah. (Reportedly a barber shop quartet convention has locked up the rooms in Salt Lake City on the required dates, which is the reason for not going back there.)
Bid chair Ben Hatcher is supported by experienced leaders from the 2014 Salt Lake City Westercon committee, including Vice-Chair Kate Hatcher, and Bid Advisor/Treasurer Dave Doering.
The group has also declared that if a 2019 NASFiC becomes available (which seems likely, given Dublin’s unopposed Worldcon bid) they will bid for that as well, with the intention of holding a combined Westercon/NASFiC. (Note: Under the rules, a North American Science Fiction Convention — NASFiC — is held when the Worldcon is hosted outside the continent.)
As they explain on their website:
Side Note: The question of bidding for a NASFiC (North American Science Fiction Convention) came down to the fact if a Worldcon is voted overseas, then there would be two conventions, Westercon and the NASFiC, with similar goals, competing for space and members in the same year while dodging the dates of the overseas Worldcon.
The options are sexy for Worldcon 2019. This is an opportunity to solidify membership, expand awareness of all three conventions, and teach what has made these honored conventions great for so many years.
Utah for 2019 does not push for any particular bid, Worldcon will vote what is best for their convention. We only wish to be up front, and declare if a NASFiC becomes open due to an overseas bid, that we will bid for that as well, and run/combine both for a unique experience.
Discover more from File 770
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
Isnt ut a little wierd that a wordcon bid is unopposed?
Giess: Isnt ut a little wierd that a wordcon bid is unopposed?
No, it’s not uncommon — especially when the only bid is for a non-U.S. site, in which case other Worldcon bidcoms will often choose not to compete against it. Because, you know, a lot of U.S. Worldcon members really are trying to put more “World” in Worldcon.
Around 1/4 of the Worldcons have been one-site-only bids.
Worldcon bids outside North America are almost always unopposed, as a courtesy.
Not really. Whether people rise up to oppose them is a political calculation. It was unlikely someone would bid against Dublin because of the committee’s years of cultivating international friendships and support. But it should not be forgotten that the first Helsinki bid (for 2015) was opposed by two US bids and lost to Spokane, or that their rivals for 2017 included Washington, DC, Montreal, and Japan.