WordCamp Europe strives to make new connections, cross borders and strengthen one of the most diverse and vibrant WordPress communities in the world. The transparent application process for hosting WordCamp Europe is a part of that effort.
Hosting WordCamp Europe is a big responsibility. You get to join a global team of experienced organizers and bring all the knowledge and experience you have about your local community and city to that team. Local communities in the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Spain, Austria, and France have already faced that challenge and every year WordCamp Europe is bigger and better because of them.
You can do that too
Local European communities who are interested in hosting WordCamp Europe in 2018 are now welcome to submit their applications.
Yes, you can do it!
If organizing WordCamp Europe feels like something you’re not quite ready for yet, but you’d really like to do it, then don’t be shy. Yes, the local team has a huge responsibility in the WCEU team, but if you already organize a WordCamp in your city, then you’ve already done it all, just on a smaller scale. Don’t forget there is a solid team of other experienced organizers that will have your back and take care of a lot of the distributed work. Starting right now.
You get a mentor
An experienced member of the WordCamp Europe team will guide you through the process of creating and filling out your application. They will be at your service to answer questions, help you make important decisions and overall do the best they can to make sure you prepare the best application.
Get in touch by emailing us at host at wp-europe.org and you will get the help you need to better prepare your application.
Your Application for WordCamp Europe 2018
The application process opens today and will close on February 15th. A final decision will be made by the end of February 2017. Members of the 2018 team will be invited to be involved in the 2017 organizing team. If you’re serious about hosting WordCamp Europe in 2018, you should be prepared to dedicate some time for WordCamp Europe 2017 and most importantly – you should be on the ground in Paris in June.
What you need to do
To apply to host WordCamp Europe, you will need to fill out this application form. The form guides you through the requirements as you go along, but here’s a quick list of the information you will need to provide:
- Information about your team
Chapter 1 in which you introduce yourself and your team and make us really like you. It needs to include enough details about your event organizing experience and your co-organizers. The more we know, the better chance you have of winning us over.
- Location
Chapter 2 in which you make us fall in love with your city and give us the arguments why the next WordCamp Europe needs to happen there. A good choice would be a city that’s really easy to reach from everywhere (ideally one flight for Europe, not more than 2 flights for outside of Europe) and has a lot of options for lodging and food compatible with different budgets.
- Venue
Chapter 3 in which we get to know the venue you are proposing. Picking the right venue is essential for a good WordCamp Europe and in the past we have hosted the event in theaters, congress centers, hotels and concert halls. The atmosphere of the venue can define the whole theme of the event that year. Ideally, the venue would be central, big enough to host at least 3000 people and has at least two halls for separate tracks. If the venue is flexible and the capacity can be expanded, that would give you an extra edge.
- Contributor day venue
Chapter 4 – let’s make WordPress in your city! Contributor days are a major and important part of every WordCamp. For many this day is more important than the days of the conference. Securing a smooth contributor day in a nice, cozy venue, is one of the top tasks for a local team.
The Selection process
The host city is selected by the current organizing team and to make a decision, all of the applications are reviewed based on the following criteria:
Organizers
- How many WordCamps (or other events) have they organized?
- Do they have experience with large scale events?
- How many local organizers are there?
- How well developed is the local community?
Location
- Has this location held a WordCamp before?
- Has the WordCamp been successful? (success = well-managed budget, enjoyable WordCamp, no major drama)
- Does it have a local meetup?
- Is there a broad range of accommodation options that suit every budget?
- Is there an accessible airport?
- Are there low-cost airlines operating in this area?
- Is the city an appealing destination for attendees?
- Is the city affordable destination for attendees?
Venue
- Are the rooms adequate? There should be adequate seating for all participants, divided between 2-3 conference halls.
- Do the available dates suit?
- Does the venue have adequate space for registration, happiness bar, sponsors, etc?
- What is the proximity of the venue to the city center and possible accommodation?
Contributor Day
- Is there a contributor day venue available?
- Does it have a capacity of at least 300 people?
- Does the venue have wifi capacity?
Budget
- Is the submitted budget complete?
- How does the budget compare to previous WCEUs? More? Less?
- Can we reasonably raise all of the sponsorship money?
- Has everything been accounted for?
- Do any figures seem out of the ordinary? (Do we need to ask the organizers to justify them?)
Information overload?
Let’s sum up 🙂
Are you a current local organizer of a WordCamp in Europe and have a team that wants to host the event in your city? If the answer is yes:
- Email host at wp-europe.org to get a mentor to help you through your application.
- Apply to host WCEU 2018 by February 15h, 2017.
- The decision will be made by the end of February 2017.
We can’t wait to chat to you about hosting WCEU in your city. Good luck!
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