Helsinki in 2017 has people representing 26 different countries participating in their Worldcon bid. Symbolic of that international involvement is a project to translate the site selection voting information into other languages.
Crystal Huff says, “All of us also speak English, but we’re really trying to ‘put our money where our mouth is’ in coordinating an international effort that would produce a really international Worldcon. That, for us, includes making information available in languages other than English, for those who don’t natively speak English but are excited about Worldcon.”
This is a campaign, so the post they’ve been translating unabashedly supports Helsinki. The original English text has already been translated into Finnish, Swedish, Chinese, German, Spanish and Irish/Gaelic. There are French, Japanese, and Dutch versions on the way.
Here are the links.
(Original English version ) So You Want to Vote on Worldcon Location? Yay!
(Finnish) Näin äänestät Worldconin Helsinkiin
(Irish/Gaelic) Ba mhaith leat vótáil ar suíomh Worldcon? Go hiontach!
(German) So, Du möchtest also über den Ort der Worldcon abstimmen? Hurrah!
(Spanish) ¿Quieres votar por la sede de la Worldcon? ¡Genial! (¡En Español!)
Helsinki is in a hotly contested race with bids for Montreal, Nippon and Washington DC. This kind of creativity might have more than just symbolic value, it could add needed support at the site selection ballot box.
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Helsinki in early September? Remember to bring your parka, mukluks and dog sled…
Taral: That’s as bad as the ignorant Americans who insisted it would be snowing at Montreal “because doesn’t it snow all year long there?”
Helsinki’s temperatures are only about 4° C lower than those of Montreal or the same time of year, with an average high of 17° C and average low of 7° C.
Parka & other snow gear is still vastly preferable to having to wear a bullet-proof vest when going to the US convention, due to all the cowboys running around shooting people. I saw it in a movie once, must be true. 🙂
(BTW, the proposed Helsinki dates are mid-August, when the average daytime temperature is around 20°C/68 F.)
No, it’s true, it snows in Montreal ALL THE TIME. I mean, I’m looking out of the window right now and what do I see? Snow. Snow today, snow yesterday, snow tomorrow. I can barely remember seasons that have anything other than snow.
Please let’s go to Helsinki!