News

Hugo Base Design Competition

2 Dec 2013 - Details of the competition for the design of the Hugo base can now be found on our Hugo pages here

Art Showcase Order Form

1 Dec 2013 - Copies of the Loncon 3 Art Showcase can now be ordered here.

Free Internet Access at Loncon 3

17 Oct 2013 - Great news! ExCel have announced this week that free wifi will now be available in the entire facility, so fannish reporting about Loncon 3 will be free to all attendees!

Loncon 3 Photography Competition

14 Oct 2013 - We are pleased to announce that the Loncon 3 Photography Competition is now open. Full details and rules can be found here.

Membership Search

05 Oct 2013 - The members page now has a search option available. You can use this to check your current membership status.

Merchandise

28 Sep 2013 - Loncon 3 merchandise can be purchased online from our partner, OffWorld Designs.

Games Programme

24 Sep 2013 - our games programme will include tabletop gaming, LRP, chiptunes, and even Azad!

Chesley Awards

24 Sep 2013 - we are delighted that Worldcon will once again be hosting the Chesley Awards, celebrating archievement in science fiction and fantasy art.

Masquerade

22 Sep 2013 - the cosplay Masquerade is one of the highlights of Worldcon!

Updated List of Dealers

22 Sep 2013 - our list of confirmed dealers is continuing to expand.

Sasquan - 2015 Worldcon

14 Sep 2013 - the committee and staff of Loncon were very saddened to learn of the sudden death of Bobbie DuFault, one of the co-chairs for Sasquan, the 2015 Worldcon. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this time.

Loncon 3 Attending Membership Rates Increase

9 Sep 2013 - membership rates to join Loncon 3 will rise from 1 October 2013.

New Video - "A Game of Cons"

2 Sep 2013 - our latest promotional video was premiered at LoneStarCon 3 and can be watched on our videos page.

Loncon 3 – One Year To Go

14 Aug 2013 - just 365 days from now, Worldcon returns to London.

Access Facilities at Loncon 3

13 Jul 2013 - Loncon 3 will be implementing a variety of arrangements between August and the start of 2014 to facilitate access to the convention for our members.

Guest of Honour Iain M Banks

9 Jun 2013 - the committee and staff of Loncon were very saddened to learn of the death today of Iain M Banks.Read more…

 

Worldcon in London

All the World Science Fiction Conventions prior to 1957 were held in North America. The first was held in New York in 1939 and didn’t have a specific name although it later became known as Nycon I, a simple contraction of “New York” and “convention”. A second convention took place in Chicago in 1940 and that was known as Chicon. The next Worldcon worked a theme on its name; rather than contracting Denver Convention to “Dencon” they opted for Denvention. The 1942 gathering was to have been held in Los Angeles, but the event was postponed because of the Second World War. It was eventually staged in 1946 and was known as the Pacificon, proving that the name of the convention didn’t have to reference the city in which it was held at all.

The 15th World Science Fiction Convention was the first outside the North American continent. Its organisers opted for the rather formal name “15th World Science Fiction Convention”, but fans inevitably sought to contract that and so the first London Worldcon was popularly referred to as Loncon. It was held at the King’s Court Hotel on 6 – 9 September 1957 and the Guest of Honour was the leading American editor John W Campbell Jr.

After that, the Worldcon returned to the USA for several years. It came back to London and the Mount Royal Hotel on 27 – 30 August 1965 with Guest of Honour Brian W Aldiss. The organisers of the 23rd World Science Fiction Convention could take a hint, and so the second London Worldcon was Loncon II.

And that was it for London and Worldcons for nearly half a century. The Worldcon became more international – visiting Germany, Australia, Holland and Japan – and the UK hosted the convention four more times, twice in Brighton on the south coast (1979 and 1987) and twice in Glasgow in Scotland (1995 and 2005). 2014, though, sees the Worldcon back in London and the convention really named itself: Loncon 3. Even if none of the guests have the middle initial W.

If you'd like to know more about the first two Loncons: