WordCamp Europe is almost over (we still have one stellar After Party though) and, as it has become a tradition, we’ve announced next year’s host city at the Closing Remarks. Without further ado, pack your bags and join us in Germany’s capital city of Berlin for WordCamp Europe 2019!
Why Berlin?
Berlin’s WordPress community currently has 1,300 members with a monthly meetup happening every last Thursday of the month. They’ve also established specialised meetups for developers, a beginner meetup and a small dedicated meetup for women in WordPress. Berlin has hosted five WordCamps so far, with the first one having been organised in 2010.
The German WordPress community is one of the more active in Europe, so you may know some of the members from this community already. They host around 30 meetups in different German cities, so we expect a large German attendance at the next WordCamp Europe, which could easily grow even bigger than it is now.
And it has grown so much that it is being organised by a large (50+) organising team. We asked Bernhard Kau, WCEU 2019 Local Lead to tell us why and how Berlin applied to organise this major European WordPress event.
The idea first came up at WCEU in Seville, there was a round table of community members who wanted to organise WordCamp Europe, not necessarily as a host city but joining the Organising team. That was the first time we considered hosting. The next year in Vienna, we agreed we’d like to host it in Berlin but we were not quite ready yet. Last year we talked about it again and we were ready to apply.
On Berlin, being a diverse and multicultural city, he said:
There are people from 191 countries living in Berlin, and from the UN member states there are all but two countries. It is a very international, very diverse city. Whoever you are, you will feel very comfortable coming to Berlin.
It has now become a tradition that the current Local Lead will lead the global team the following year. It helps make a transition to the next Organising team much easier and smoother. Milan Ivanović, who was the Local Lead this year, will take the role of the Global Lead for 2019.
Next year, we are going to Berlin and I can’t be anything but happy about it. WordCamp Europe in Belgrade was an incredible experience for me and I am looking forward to leading the team next year. Our call for organisers is already open and we invite people to step up and do their best to make next WCEU even better.
The Venue
WordCamp Europe 2019 will be held at the Estrel Hotel and Congress Center. The venue is well connected with public transport and accessible to everyone, no matter where you plan to stay.
Estrel Hotel is also one of the biggest hotels in Europe with more than 1,100 rooms and a huge congress center that can host up to 12,000 people. If you thought Sava Centar was huge – well, think again.
The same venue will host the Contributor Day, the two conference days and the After Party. And for the After Party, we are planning something magical but cannot disclose the details just yet. Though, we can give you a hint (it will take place in the Festival Center and it might include a show!).
Berlin
The German capital of Berlin is a multicultural city and will be a perfect home for the diverse community that WordPress has. If you think of Berlin as a typical German city, well, we will disappoint you. For sure you will find some good German beer and currywurst, but other than that – you will be astonished by all the different cultures that meet there.
From a cultural and travel destination point of view, Berlin is truly one of those cities you will love at first sight. You will enjoy a pulsating city life at Kurfürstendamm or Alexanderplatz, the nature parks like Tiergarten, Görlitzer Park or the Spree and even lakes like Wannsee or Müggelsee.
You could also visit a classic museum of art or history, or maybe try something more ‘special’ like the Computer Game Museum or Deutsches Currywurst Museum. And of course the city’s landmarks like the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin TV Tower or the Reichstag Parliament Building.
The WordCamp Europe 2019 website is live with tickets sale starting on September 1st.
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