November 2022
Erasmuscon
Welcome to this Progress Report for Erasmuscon 2024, the first ever Eurocon to be held in the Netherlands. The first, really? Yes, really. We’ve had a Worldcon in 1990, but nothing on that scale before or since. So it’s about time we had a proper international convention in this country again. The first hurdle has been negotiated, we won the bid to host the 2024 Eurocon.
The second hurdle was finding a convenient weekend, which we did. Erasmuscon will be held on 16 – 19 August 2024 in Rotterdam. That is the week after the Glasgow Worldcon.
We have a date, we have a great location, the team is shaping up nicely and we’re making a start on the programme. Keep an eye out for further Progress Reports, as we’ll send updates as soon as we have more news.
All news can also be found on our website www.erasmuscon.nl
Location
Erasmuscon will be held at Ahoy Convention Centre in Rotterdam. Rotterdam itself is easily reached by national or international train, by air (Schiphol Airport is less than an hour away by train) or by ferry from the UK for those who come over from Glasgow Worldcon. The convention centre is situated right next to metro station Rotterdam Zuid. Local public transport is also excellent.
For those travelling by car, there is a large paid car park available.
Ahoy is one of the larger convention centres in the country. It boasts a concert hall and function rooms of all shapes and sizes. We may not need the concert hall, but a selection of the function rooms will come in handy.
Hotels
Rotterdam offers plenty of places to stay in any price range imaginable, from basic hostels to luxury hotels. At the time of this Progress Report, a brand new hotel is being built just opposite Ahoy. It will open in late 2023, so in good time for Eurocon.
Guests of Honour
Our first two guests of honour are Bo Balder and Jasper Fforde.
Bo Balder is the first Dutch author to be published in F&SF, Clarkesworld, Analog and other places. Her SF novel “The Wan” was published by Pink Narcissus Press. When not writing, she enjoys knitting, reading and gardening, preferably all three at the same time.
Jasper Fforde is known for writing an eclectic mix of genres, which might be described as a joyful blend of Comedy-SF-thriller-Crime-Satire. He freely admits that he is fascinated not just by books themselves, but by the way we read and what we read, and his reinvigoration of tired genres have won him many enthusiastic supporters across the world.
Read more about our Guests of Honour on www.erasmuscon.nl
Memberships
Registration for Erasmuscon 2024 is now open. The current price for a weekend ticket is 100 euros.
Be warned: the rate will go up on 1 January 2023, so make sure you book before then.
Our registration page is https://registration.erasmuscon.nl/
More information on the Worldcon is at https://glasgow2024.org/