Ever since I saw the Harpan Conference Center in Reykjavik, I knew that it needed to be the home of a Worldcon. It wasn’t something that I thought was possible, but in 2021 two things happened. One, I chaired a D.C. Worldcon from Tennessee. Two, I went to Icecon in Reykjavik. There, I asked the audience if anyone was interested in volunteering for Worldcon and the chair, Júlíus Árnason Kaaber, made the mistake of raising his hand.
What followed was a fruitful and exciting conversation.
Meeting the thriving Icelandic and European fan community convinced me that this was not only possible but the best of possible worlds. Iceland sits on both the North American and European tectonic plates and grows slightly larger each year as those plates separate.
Location: Reykjavik, Iceland
Harpan has over 6600 square meters of conference space and various halls can be split or combined in countless ways. All halls are multifunctional and equipped with the highest acoustic standards and latest technology equipment.
Attached to Harpan is The Reykjavik Edition, run by Marriott, with further meeting rooms and social space.
[See ‘Worldcon 2032 Summary Bid’ for more details.]
Hotels
There are an additional 22 hotels within 10 minutes walk. Within 2 miles of Harpan are a further 8000 hotel bedrooms across different price bands. We currently hold a reservation of over 1600 rooms and our accommodation partner will refine this if we win, increasing the allocation where necessary.
[See ‘Worldcon 2024 Summary Bid’ for more details.]
Dates
18th – 22nd August, 2032
Bid Committee
Mary Robinette Kowal (Chair)
Júlíus Árnason Kaaber (Vice Chair)
Marguerite Smith
Lauren Raye Snow
Alyshondra Meacham
Christine Sandquist
Stekkjastaur Rikrolson
Giljagaur Jólasveinar
Stúfur Leppalúðison
Þvörusleikir Grýlarson
Pottaskefill Þettason
Askasleikir Erson
Hurdaskellir Aprílgabbson
Skyrgamur Enson
Bjugnakraekir Værison
Gluggagaegir Þaðson
Gattathefur Ekkison
Ketkrokur Flottson
Kertasnikir Rikrolson
Edited to add: This was an April Fool’s prank and I really thought that having a committee member named Rikrolson would be a giveaway. Also, I did not think that the idea of me running another convention was believable.
Two jokes that probably only Icelanders spotted are that the last thirteen first names on the committee were the Icelandic Yulelads. There’s a string of surnames that are nonsense words and if you subtract “son” from the end say, “Þetta er Aprílgabb en væri Það ekki flott” or “This is an April Fool’s Hoax, but wouldn’t it be fun.”
This is so scarily matter-of-fact that I’m wondering if we’ll find out tomorrow that the prank is it’s all true.
The number of Rikrolsons on the committee list makes that doubtful, though.
It’s just so DRY, and given that you also have announced pranks and then had second layers where you actually were doing the thing, I was fooled.
I was not, however, rickrolled, because I know how to read link destinations. Better luck next time!