Finncon
| Finncon | |
|---|---|
 The Guests of Honour of Finncon 2007. |
|
| Genre | Science fiction / fantasy |
| Location | varies between Helsinki, Turku, Jyväskylä and Tampere |
| Country | Finland |
| First held | 1986 |
| Organizer | Finncon-yhdistys ry |
| Attendance | 3000–15000 |
| Official website | http://www.finncon.org/ |
Finncon is the largest science fiction convention in Finland and, with up to 15,000 participants, one of the largest SF conventions in Europe. Finncon is unique among SF conventions because it has no participation/membership fee, and is funded primarily on various cultural grants as well as income from traders. The event is organised annually in different cities in Finland.
From 2003 to 2009 and in 2011 the convention included the anime convention Animecon, which has boosted the convention's attendance and public visibility significantly. Lately the conventions have separated, and the future of the Finnish Animecon is currently uncertain beyond the 2011 combined Finncon-Animecon. The 2010 Finncon did not include Animecon.
[edit] Past Finncons
GoH is an abbreviation of Guest of Honour
- 1986 in Helsinki. GoH: Brian Aldiss
- 1989 in Helsinki. GoH: John Brunner, Tom Ölander
- 1991 in Helsinki. GoH: Iain Banks
- 1993 in Helsinki. GoH: Terry Pratchett and Bryan Talbot
- 1995 in Jyväskylä. GoH: Bruce Sterling, Vonda McIntyre, Storm Constantine
- 1997 in Helsinki. GoH: Norman Spinrad and Ian McDonald
- 1999 in Turku. GoH: Connie Willis and Philip Pullman
- 2000 in Helsinki. GoH: Neil Gaiman, Stephen Baxter, Ken MacLeod
- 2001 in Jyväskylä, the event was also Baltcon. GoH: Jonathan Carroll, David Langford, Stelarc, Richard Stallman and Johanna Sinisalo
- 2003 in Turku, the event was also Eurocon and Baltcon. GoH: Michael Swanwick, Jonathan Clements, Steve Sansweet, Karolina Bjällerstedt Mickos
- 2004 in Jyväskylä. GoH: Robin Hobb, Gwyneth Jones, John Clute, Cheryl Morgan
- 2006 in Helsinki (18–20 August) GoH: Jeff VanderMeer, Risto Isomäki, Justina Robson, Rickard Berghorn
- 2007 in Jyväskylä (14–15 July) GoH: Ellen Datlow, Joe Haldeman, Gay Haldeman, Elizabeth Hand, Cheryl Morgan, Ben Roimola
- 2008 in Tampere (26–27 July) GoH: Petri Hiltunen, Charles Vess, Farah Mendlesohn, M. John Harrison
- 2009 in Helsinki (10–12 July) GoH: George R. R. Martin, Alastair Reynolds, Adam Roberts, Jari Lehtinen
- 2010 in Jyväskylä (17–18 July) GoH: Ellen Kushner, Pat Cadigan, Sari Peltoniemi and Liisa Rantalaiho.
- 2011 in Turku (15–17 July) GoH: Nalo Hopkinson, Richard Morgan, Himeka, Yukihiro Notsu
[edit] Future Finncons
- 2012 in Tampere (July 20–22) GoH: Lois McMaster Bujold, Liz Williams, Irma Hirsjärvi
- 2013 in Helsinki
