The Glasgow in 2024 Worldcon Bid will officially launch at Dublin 2019. They previously announced the Glasgow Scottish Event Campus (SEC) as their proposed venue, and today they confirmed plans to host the event from August 8-12, 2024 (Thursday to Monday). The committee explains:
These dates have been chosen to accommodate school holiday dates across the UK, and we look forward to welcoming fans of all ages to this celebration of science fiction and fantasy.
We are excited by the thought that up to 5,000 science fiction fans and professionals will be assembling in Glasgow exactly five years from today. This will be the third time the Worldcon has come to the city, following previous events in 1995 and 2005, and the first time it has been held in the UK since 2014.
The theme of our Bid – and of our Convention, should we be successful, is “A Worldcon for Our Futures”. According to Bid Chair Esther MacCallum-Stewart, “science fiction has always provided insight into current events, by telling stories about where those events may take us. This is more important than ever at a time when the world is facing so much change and uncertainty – not only in science and technology but in economics, politics, culture and all aspects of society. Our aim is to bring people together – from writers and artists to scientists and activists – to debate these issues with energy and optimism.”
Dublin 2019 attendees are invited to join the Glasgow bidders for a Scottish ceilidh on the evening of Friday, August 16, and for their official launch party on the evening of Saturday, August 17.
Music for the ceilidh will be provided by the Science Ceilidh Band. Science Ceilidh have played their high energy take on traditional Scottish music around Europe, incorporating elements from continental balfolk, quebecois and nordic traditions with a cheeky dash of techno and geek culture for good measure.
The official bid website at https://www.glasgow2024.org is live and they will be updating it regularly with news from their campaign and ideas for the convention.
Art for the bid, including our logo, promotional materials, and website, has been provided by Hugo Finalist Sara Felix and UK fan artist Iain Clark. Iain’s art blends science fiction and fantasy themes with mythology, local architecture and history.
[Based on a press release.]
Discover more from File 770
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
This was a great site. The London one was two hours by pubic transportation from the airport and then you were stuck. The Glasgow site offered more opportunities for seeing sights around the city.
I’m looking forward to going to the SEC. I’ve been there for a few different things over the last few years, and it’s much bigger than it was in 2005 when Worldcon last went there. I really enjoy visiting Glasgow; I’ll take an excuse to go up there and spend some time wandering around.
Linda, that wasn’t my experience of the ExCel – it’s only 20-30 minutes from most places in the centre by public transport, and it’s also relatively close to Greenwich Observatory which is one of the best of the sights outside the centre; I never felt stuck at the ExCel and was happy to wander off when there wasn’t much I was interested in going on. I’ll agree with you about airports – but that’s a general problem with London airports; all of them are a long way from the city centre. The other tourist problem with London is that the city centre is very spread out, and sights can regularly be 15-20 minutes apart by public transport, and an hour or more walking.
I liked Glasgow and had a good time walking around there. Might combine it with another trek in the highlands.
Visiting London is like visiting a country: there is an awful lot you won’t see and you can spend a lot of time travelling between sights. Not an easy city to mix tourism with a visit for some other purpose (i.e. a conference or business etc)