It’s Official: 77th Worldcon Will Be in Dublin

For the first time in history of the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) the convention will take place in Dublin, Ireland.

Today, Dublin was confirmed as the 2019 location by site selection voters at Worldcon 75 in Helsinki. Worldcon 75 reports 1,227 votes were received.

Dublin 2019 will take place at the Convention Centre Dublin from August 15-19, 2019. The Guests of Honour range from writers to scientists and beyond – Bill and Mary Burns, Diane Duane, Ginjer Buchanan, Ian McDonald, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, and Steve Jackson.

Dublin 2019 chair James Bacon said:

The whole team are delighted to be bringing the Worldcon to Ireland for the first time. It’s a huge achievement and we are very proud to be able to welcome thousands of fans to this beautiful country that is steeped in storytelling. We have fantastic guests and we will building an exciting programme covering all aspects of science fiction, fantasy and horror in all media, including prose, comics, art, film, cosplay, science, TV to name a few in what will be a fabulous celebration here in Dublin.

The Worldcon is held in a different city every year and usually has around 5,000 attendees from around the globe.  Some of the highlights of the five day event include the Hugo Awards, the Masquerade and programming that runs all five days with over a thousand items including panels, talks, workshops, films, autograph sessions and more.

About the guests:

  • Bill and Mary Burns (New York):  Avid readers who have attended Worldcon since 1967.  Bill was the recipient of the Doc Weir Award in 2003 and both were Fan Guests of Honour at Eastercon LX.
  • Diane Duane (Wicklow): Diane’s first novel was published in 1979 and have sold more than fifty other novels during her career.  She has won numerous awards and has also written extensively for tv and film.
  • Ginjer Buchanan (New York): Ginjer has over fifty years in fandom and over 30 years as professional editor.  She has been nominated for the Best Editor- Long Form Hugo six times and won in 2014.
  • Ian McDonald (Belfast): Is a writer who has over written over 20 novels and numerous short stories.  In addition he has also worked in programme development in Ireland. He has won awards for his short fiction as well as novels.
  • Jocelyn Bell Burnell (Lurgan Co Armagh): Jocelyn is a Northern Irish astrophysicist who as a postgraduate student discovered the first radio pulsars.
  • Steve Jackson (Texas): Steve is a game designer by trade who owns Steve Jackson Games.  He has received 12 Origin Awards as well as various other honours for game design.

“World Science Fiction Society,” “WSFS,” “World Science Fiction Convention,” “Worldcon,” “NASFiC,” “Hugo Award,” and the distinctive design of the Hugo Award Rocket are service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society.

[Based on a press release.]

16 thoughts on “It’s Official: 77th Worldcon Will Be in Dublin

  1. A few friends of mine have been involved in the pitch, so it’s great to see them succeed (even if it was unopposed). Definitely going to be there!

  2. We’ll be there, but I read in their info that 2000 fit in the hall for Hugos & Masquerade?! I hope that’s a joke. Gak.

    Very groovy guest line-up, though I hope they add an artist.

  3. Very pleased that Bill and Mary are guests of honor. Bill’s efanzines.com website has kept the fanzine publishing community vibrant and active.

  4. Yay! My spouse only comes to cons if it’s a city that interests him and I know this will be one he doesn’t want to miss. Dublin! Who’s going to Joyce’s tower with me? =)

  5. That’s an impressive range of guests.

    And stay tuned for next year, which will be (barring last-minute competition) the first time a non-NorthAmerican site has been picked to succeed another non-NorthAmerican site. Putting a little more “world” into “Worldcon”….

  6. @Chip, assuming that bid prevails, I think everyone will really love Wellington, NZ. It’s a charming place, and the Kiwis (who of course would be massively supplemented by international fandom in this case) put on a very nice natcon there, which I’ve attended twice.

  7. I’d have preferred NZ to be 2021. Because that would have set me on a nice logistical rute for Worldcon going. 2017-2019-2021-2023. Membership-wise and voting-wise that would have worked great for me, also budget-wise.

  8. My only previous experience of Dublin is a long coach journey from Scotland to watch my rugby team getting beaten at Lansdowne Road, and then immediately travelling back after the game, disconsolately.

    Worldcon sounds more promising.

  9. The convention centre is quite central – about 5-10 minutes from the city centre by foot, and there’s also a tram stop that serves the city centre as well as some interest spots. By 2019 there should be a second tram line that will get people to most of the inner city.

  10. My only experience of Dublin is a friend’s wedding there in 1984, and I would love to go back. A good illustration of how welcoming the place is: I know somebody who goes there for the Ireland v Wales rugby match every year – including the years when it’ s played in Cardiff.

  11. Hey! My grandpa was born in Lurgan, and I have now learned here that Lurgan is also the hometown of Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Cool.

    But I have two years to come up with some other topic for small talk, in case I am fortunate enough to meet Dame Jocelyn at the Worldcon. Must get to work on this. I have a suspicion that Irish persons might find it tedious to be told by random Americans that random grandparents were born in their hometowns, or their home counties.

    Anyway, congratulations to the Dublin committee, good luck, and thanks for your willingness to throw a Worldcon!

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