Finncon X newsletter April 2003

This newsletter is going to take up the following things: - Bjørn Tore Sund from Norway will be our fan GoH - Information about economy accommodation - Information about registration - New agents - Agent's material - Programming and partying

*** Bjørn Tore Sund from Norway will be our fanGOH *** Finncon X - Eurocon 2003 is proud to announce that Bjørn Tore Sund will be our fan guest of honour! Bjørn Tore has made himself known as a very active fan even outside the Norwegian fandom. For a number of years now he has channeled his fannish energy to the European Worldcon, Interaction, that will be held in Glasgow August 4-8 2005. Bjørn Tore is the agent coordinator of Interaction. You can find more information on Interaction on http://www.interaction.worldcon.org.uk/ also there will be a couple of panels about Interaction and the whole Worldcon concept at Finncon X.

Guests of honour at Finncon X - Eurocon 2003: Karolina Bjällerstedt Mickos (Sweden) Jonathan Clements (UK) Boris Hurtta (Finland) Steve Sansweet (USA) Bjørn Tore Sund (Norway) Michael Swanwick (USA)

*** Information about economy accommodation *** For low budget travellers, Finncon X - Eurocon 2003 has arranged a classroom type accommodation near the city centre. The place is about 10 minutes walking distance from the main railway station, about 15 minutes from the centre of town and about 30 minutes from the con.

The house has one large room for sleeping on the floor (you need to have your own sleeping bag or the like), a little kitchen, toilets, showers, a washing machine and a sauna. Doors are open for a few hours per evening and night, and are locked during the daytime. The price is 5 euros per night.

Because this economy accommodation only has limited space (for maybe 50 fans) you really should register in advance to be sure to get your own sleeping space on the floor. You can register at the Finncon-registration pages at the address http://www.finncon.org/english/e.register.shtml

If you don't want to sleep in the same room with tens of other sf-fans, but are on a tight budget, you might consider the Turku Hostel. The hostel is situated close to the centre of town (address: Linnankatu 39), about 30 minutes walking distance from the con buildings. Close to the Turku Castle and the Passenger Ferry Harbour. The Hostel has twin (37 euros/room) and quadruple rooms (56 euros/room) or a low-budget alternative in a room for 6-8 persons for 13,50 euros perperson per night.

Discount for Hostelling international members YMF etc.

Web pages at http://www.turkutouring.fi/matkailijalle_2.phtml?path=MATKAILIJALLE%2FMajoit...

And then there are of course the hotels.

Finncon X has made a deal with Sokos Hotel Hamburger Börs and Sokos Hotel City Börs for hotel accommodation during Finncon X.

Prices are 76 euros/night at Sokos Hotel Hamburger Börs and 62 euros/night at Sokos Hotel City Börs. The prices are the same for single and double rooms and the price mentioned is per room (not per person). These hotels are situated just across the street from each other in the absolute centre of the town. The Sokos Hotel Hamburger Börs is considered to be one of the best hotels in town, so these prices are actually very good deals.

There are of course a lot of other hotels in Turku, but it might be hard to beat the con hotel prices. For example the hotel that is situated closest to the con building is the Spa Hotel Caribia (http://www.caribia.fi/) where a single room is 130 euros per night and a double 150 euros per night. You can find links and/or telephone numbers to most of the hotels and hostels in Turku at Finncons web pages, but here are some prices and addresses:

* Centro Hotel, address: Yliopistonkatu 12 a (http://personal.inet.fi/yritys/centrohotel/) Situated in the centre of town, not too far from the con hotels and about 20 minutes walking distance from the con buildings. Single room about 60 euros per night, double room about 70 euros per night.

* Sokos Hotel Seurahuone, address: Eerikinkatu 23 (http://www.sokoshotels.fi/) Situated in the centre of town about 25 minutes walking distance from the con buildings. Single room about 75-110 euros per night, double room about 75-135 euros per night.

* Ramada Hotel Turku, address: Eerikinkatu 28 Situated in the centre of town about 25 minutes walking distance from the con buildings. Single room about 75 euros per night, double room about 75 euros per night.

On http://www.finncon.org/english/e.accomodation.shtml you'll find a list of most of the hotels/hostels in Turku and their contact addresses.

*** Information about registration *** You can now register yourself for attendance at Finncon X - Eurocon 2003. Registration is by no means compulsory, but if you want to make sure that you'll get floor space at our economy accommodation you really should register.

Registering is also the way to get yourself an official Finncon badge (for free). Everyone who registers (wether they will stay at the economy accommodation or not) will get a badge with their name and country. So, if you are coming to Finncon, take a moment to register at our web pages (http://www.finncon.org/english/e.register.shtml).

But remember: Whether you register or not, you are just as welcome to Finncon X - Eurocon 2003!

*** Programming and partying *** The deadline for the programme for Finncon X - Eurocon 2003 is May 2nd. The programme is shaping up really nicely and we will have at least one continuous programme track in English. The Swedish programming is also looking very nice, there will be at least five programme items in Swedish. As soon as the programme gets finalized it will be published on our web pages at http://www.finncon.org/english/e.programme.shtml .

For all you foreign sf-fans coming to Turku and Finncon, we will arrange a special warming up party on Thursday evening (31.7). Please let me know if you know for sure that you are arriving by Thursday (or if you know that you are not arriving until later or not at all).

Dryga tre veckor kvar till Finncon X - Eurocon 2003!

Tveka inte att ställa frågor om du har några!

Hilsen

Johan Svensk agent