WordCamp Lancaster UK 2013 venue requirements

Bidding

Bids from individuals or groups are invited to propose the venue and related social activities for the follow-up to WordCamp Lancaster UK 2013, to be held Saturday and Sunday 13-14 July 2013.

The 2013 event will be number six in the series of annual WordCamps, held at a different location around the UK each July, following on from:

• Edinburgh (2012)
• Portsmouth (2011)
• Manchester (2010)
• Cardiff (2009)
• Birmingham (2008)

Procedure for bidders:

• Add brief details to the 2013 locations investigated page as early as possible to avoid duplication of effort and facilitate the pooling of bids.
• After reading all of this page, complete the appication form, which must be submitted before the closing date of midday on Friday 14 September 2012.

At any stage during this procedure bidders should not hesitate to contact the Core Group, who are happy to assist in the preperation of bids.

The requirements detailed on this page and the related appication form, which in combination specify the full 2013 requirements, are for an ideal venue in an ideal world. If all event requirements can’t be met please provide alternative proposals, either in the relevant section of the appication form or by contacting the Core Group.

The decision on the winning bid will be made by the WPUK mailing list (registration required), which will subsequently be subject to WordCamp Central confirmation.

Outline format

The weekend will be structured with a combination of:

• common sessions for all attendees in room 1, and at other times
• three parallel streams in rooms 1, 2 and 3, giving attendees a choice session by session

Venue

The venue must have easy access to public transport facilities with national and international links.

The following must be in walking distance from the venue:

• reasonably priced accommodation for attendees
• bars, food, pubs etc
• reasonably priced/free car parking

Access hours for all areas:

• Saturday 0800-1830 (includes 1.5 hour rig and 0.5 hour de-rig)
• Sunday 0900-1900 (includes 0.5 hour rig and 1.0 hour de-rig)

The hours for conference attendees is 0930-1800 for both days.

All rooms and areas must have:

• wifi internet access of sufficient capacity to accomodate 200 attendees, some using multiple devices
• mains socket distribution and extensions for the charging of portable devices and general use

Plans of all rooms and areas must be provided for planning purposes.

The venue must have the following rooms:

• Room 1 – minimum audience capacity 200 (used for common sessions involving all attendees and, at other times, stream 1)
• Room 2 – minimum audience capacity 100 (used for stream 2)
• Room 3 – minimum audience capacity 50 (used for stream 3)

The venue must have communal area(s) for:

• registration
• sponsor exhibition
• Happiness Bar

The venue must also have:

• an office, for the use of the Core Group and general admin
• a secure area for the storage of luggage, laptops, valuables, etc

Socials

The socials are an important element to the event, especially as many attendee will have travelled some distance to the WordCamp.

Please ensure food (including vegetarian options) and drink (including non-alcoholic and real ale options) are available at all socials.

• 1900 on Friday 12 July 2013 – informal social for those in area; it’s normally held in a pub – please take into account the numbers that potentially could be attending – however it is likely the number will be lower than Saturday
• evening of Saturday 13 July 2013 – the main official social; the booking of the venue, or reserving an area, is recommended, as there could be 200 attending; there is planned to be a contribution from the event budget for this social – eg for booking of the venue if payment is required
• evening of Sunday 14 July 2013 – informal post event social; there is likely to be a lower number than the previous two nights, and will need to be near the venue so people can go the social after the close of the WordCamp on Sunday

Budget

The WordCamp UK budget, raised from ticket sales and sponsorship, will be covering the event venue costs and a contribution to the Saturday social.

All other costs (eg overnight accommodation) will be covered by attendees on an individual basis.

All event expenditure and income must use the WordCamp UK bank account.