Wikimania 2010/Bids/Oxford

Wikimedians in the UK and beyond are bidding to hold Wikimania 2010 in Oxford. If you are able to offer assistance, or would like to show your support, please add your name below.

• Country: UK
• City proposed: Oxford
• Proposed dates: Friday 30th July to Sunday 1st August
• Contact person(s): Tom Holden = Cfp (talk • contribs • email), Wikimedia UK and the local bid team.

Typical temperatures in Oxford in July and August are mild, making it pleasant to walk or sit outdoors. Rainfall in Oxford is lower than in the north or west of the UK, and July is both the driest and the sunniest month of the year.

The pound sterling (ISO 4217: GBP), known locally as the pound (£) is the currency of the United Kingdom, divided in to one hundred pence (p).

Currency exchange desks are available at all London airports, and also at the Post Office and most banks and travel agents in Oxford. Australian Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Euros, Japanese Yen, Polish Złoty, Swedish Krona and United States Dollars are all widely exchanged; other currencies are usually exchangeable at the airports.

Throughout the city there are many ATMs able to deliver British pounds to virtually any credit or debit card, as they are part of both the Cirrus/Mastercard and Visa Plus international ATM networks. Most credit and debit cards are widely accepted (Visa, Visa Electron, Maestro and Mastercard, and to a lesser extent AMEX, Diners and JCB). Travellers cheques are less common and may not be accepted outside the more heavily touristed areas.

Bus fares start at 1ドル (US1ドル.44). The minimum fare for taxis in Oxford is the lowest in the south of England, at 2ドル.30 (US3ドル.31).

This bid was covered in the Oxford Times here.

Britain is a multicultural country, and Oxford is no exception to this. While the major religion is Christian, Oxford provides places of worship for most other faiths, including Jewish and Muslim. A list of accessible places of worship can be found on Oxford City Council's website. Other services, including Google Maps, can locate other places of worship in Oxford. [1]

TODO: Address potential concerns of minority groups in this section.

The large opening and closing sessions will be hosted in Oxford Town Hall. We may also use this venue for the break-out sessions, or we may use somewhere associated with the university. Listed below are details of the Town Hall and possible candidates for the break-out sessions, all no more than fifteen minutes walk from each other and the centre of Oxford:

Oxford Town Hall is the meeting place of the council and houses the Museum of Oxford. It has a large central hall (seating 500 downstairs and an additional 242 in the balcony) and several smaller rooms (200, 120, 105, 70, 43, 40, 30, 30)[2], all of which are available for hire (see [3] for rates). The usual range of technical facilities appear to be available for hire (see [4]). We intend to set up the gallery[5] and its adjoining cafe[6] as a social space. Interactive 3D views of the town hall can be viewed here.

The Lord Mayor has expressed enthusiasm at the idea of Wikimania being held at the Town Hall and providing the organisation making the booking is a registered charity we expect to be entitled to a 50% discount.

Examination schools is the closest thing the university has to a centralised set of lecture theatres. Two seat 450, a third seats 250 and there are 14 seminar and breakout rooms seating between 10 and 120 people. The large rooms are 500ドル (720ドル) a day at the commercial rate, on which we may be able to improve and the smaller rooms are 200ドル (288ドル) a day. Projectors and wired networks are available for hire in each room at reasonable costs. There is a large enclosed garden area on which a marquee could be erected as a dedicated social space.

See here for further conference information.

All normal guests will be accommodated in Oxford colleges. The possibility of a partnership with the the OII has been raised in which case Balliol College would be the obvious first choice, given its links to the OII. Balliol is right in the centre of Oxford, at most fifteen minutes walk from the venues listed above and many of the other Oxford colleges are equally central. Most Oxford college accommodation is in single rooms, though a few double rooms are usually available. There are a mix of en-suite and shared bathroom rooms. Commercial prices for summer schools are around 50ドル (72ドル) per person per night (including food), though the 24 hour delegate rate for business conferences is up to double this[7]. I am optimistic that 50ドル a person per night is an upper bound on what we would have to pay. Most colleges (including Balliol) have a "hall" providing meals either as part of the accommodation package, or at reasonable rates. Most colleges (again including Balliol) have a variety of social spaces including bars, common rooms, TV rooms and garden areas. There are also countless restaurants nearby.

VIPs could be accommodated in nearby Oxford hotels, such as The Randolph (240ドル (346ドル) a night for a double room) or Malmaison (140ドル (202ドル) to 350ドル (504ドル) for a double room).

Wikimania traditionally hosts two parties, one for attendees (capacity of 250-350) and one for sponsors and VIPs (capacity 40-60).

• Attendees party(ies) propositions

Escape on High Street (very central) would probably fit the bill well. It is a combination restaurant/bar/club with a reasonable amount of comfy seating and good decorations.

• Sponsor party(ies) proposition

Freud in the Jericho region of Oxford would be perfect for the VIP party. It is housed in an imposing converted church and has a good selection of cocktails. It is within walking distance of the centre, though taxis could also be hired.

Oxford's city centre is compact and easily navigated on foot. The city has been described as one of Britain's top three cycling cities, with around 20,000 people per day commuting into the city centre by bike. There are good local bus services to the outskirts, including park and ride services for drivers.

There are two major coach services to and from London: the Oxford Tube and Oxford Espress. Each runs services frequently and well into the night. Both services offer free broadband wifi and plug sockets onboard.

Please see this page for more details of the UK's airports and their connections to Oxford.

First Great Western run trains from Oxford to London and other destinations in the south of England, including local services. Services run from early morning to late night. Two fast trains per hour link the city to Paddington station in Central London in 60 minutes.[8]

St Pancras International, with high-speed Eurostar rail services to Paris and Brussels, lies a short taxi or subway journey from Paddington station.

Oxford typically has two Cross Country trains per hour, running from the South Coast, through Oxford, to Birmingham and on to Manchester or the East Midlands, North East and Scotland. The journey time to Birmingham International Airport is 57 minutes.[9]

As an example, fares advertised by Virgin Atlantic for August 2008 start from 439ドル from San Francisco, 907ドル from Sydney and 429ドル from Mumbai.

• Those travelling from within the EU, North America, Japan, South Africa, Australasia or most of Latin America will not require a visa to visit the UK.
• Many people from other regions will also be able to visit the UK without a visa. To determine whether you will need a visa to visit the UK, go to www.ukvisas.gov.uk. The nature of any visa required will depend on your nationality and your current country of residence. An easy-to-use form is available here.
• It is believed that citizens of the following countries will normally require a visa, however you should confirm using the links above. :source

Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola

Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh

Belarus Benin Bhutan Bosnia-Herzegovina

Burkina Faso Burma (Myanmar) Burundi Cambodia

Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad

China, People's Rep.of Colombia Comoros Congo, Democratic Republic of

Congo, Republic of Cuba Cyprus, northern part of Djibouti

Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea Ethiopia Fiji Gabon

Gambia Georgia Ghana Guinea

Guinea Bissau Guyana Haiti India

Indonesia Iran Iraq Ivory Coast

Jamaica Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya

Korea (Dem. People's Rep) Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan

Laos Lebanon Liberia Libya

Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Mali

Mauritania Moldova Mongolia Montenegro

Morocco Mozambique Nepal Niger

Nigeria Oman Pakistan Palestinian Authority

Peru Philippines Qatar Russia

Rwanda Sao Tome & Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal

Serbia Sierra Leone Somalia Sri Lanka

Sudan Surinam Syria Taiwan

Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo

Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Uganda

Ukraine United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vatican City*

Vietnam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe

* service & emergency passports only

• The Wikimedia UK chapter may be able to act as a sponsor if you need one in order to get a visa.

Oxford is probably the second most visited city in England by international travellers. The city's history is entwined with the internationally famous University of Oxford. The city has many historic buildings open to the public, including most colleges, the Carfax Tower and the Sheldonian Theatre. Fivearts Cities has an overview of some architectural highlights.

Museums in the city include the Pitt Rivers, the Ashmolean, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the Oxford University Museum of the History of Science. Modern Art Oxford is one of Britain's leading contemporary art galleries.

Punting is popular on the city's Cherwell and Isis rivers, while open spaces include tranquil Christ Church Meadow and the landscaped University Parks. The city is also home to an important botanical garden.

Oxford has interesting and varied shopping opportunities. It is particularly strong on bookshops, which include Blackwell's.

Other popular tourist destinations, such as London, Windsor and Stratford-upon-Avon, lie within easy reach of Oxford.

Due to its large student population, Oxford has a varied and thriving arts and nightlife scene. In Oxford magazine provides listings of theatre, musical performances, nightlife, sporting and other events in the city.

There are many restaurants serving every conceivable cuisine, from popular British chef Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant and Raymond Blanc's nearby two-Michelin starred Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, to a wide range of budget options. There is also the possibility of providing cut price catering in a college hall. The Daily Info and the Oxford Restaurant Guide provide details of the many options.

There are a large number of excellent pubs and bars in the city - see beerintheevening for user reviews of top-rated venues.

Possibilities for local sponsorships

The AHRB/ESRC

BECTA

Electrocomponents plc

Exient Entertainment

Oxford Instruments

RM

Sophos

Oxford Entrepreneurs

Oxford Economic Partnership

Nominet

Thames Valley Partenership

Rutherford Lab

Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons

Torchbox

Moo

The Oxford Institute of Information Management at the Said Business School

The James Martin 21st Century School

Balliol College

Google UK

Oxford Trust/ITsON

Blackwell's

Blackwell publishers

OUP

eBay UK

Microsoft UK

Virgin Group

Facebook UK

Oxford Inspires

Yahoo UK & Ireland

OSS Watch

Oxford Internet Institute

Cannot provide financial support or staff time, but they're happy for us to describe the event as "in collaboration with the OII" which should help with getting other sponsors. They're also happy to give us advice and to help recruit and identify speakers.

To get involved it might be a good idea to join the Wikimedia UK mailing list or at least view the updated archives. Additionally, you can join the IRC channel to talk in real time. To show your support join our Facebook group here.

1. cfp 17:16, 11 October 2007 (UTC) [reply ]
2. Skenmy 17:19, 11 October 2007 (UTC) [reply ]
3. Possibly. Majorly (talk ) 17:38, 11 October 2007 (UTC) [reply ]
4. Tango 17:39, 11 October 2007 (UTC) [reply ]
5. KTC 23:21, 11 October 2007 (UTC) [reply ]
6. Gordo 22:28, 10 December 2007 (UTC) [reply ]
7. Kaihsu 11:15, 4 January 2008 (UTC): maybe; currently based in Oxford[reply ]
8. Seddon Seddon 00:32, 23 July 2008 (UTC) Based in Wales[reply ]
9. Sean Whitton based in Sheffield but can be involved in set-up etc. —Sean Whitton / 16:56, 28 July 2008 (UTC) [reply ]
10. Ironholds 11:05, 30 July 2008 (UTC) Will try and help out. I think more of the discussion should be moved from the mailing list to this meta talk page to make reading and finding archived material easier.[reply ]
11. Cormaggio Can help with general logistics, connecting with wmf volunteer groups, liaising with organisations, writing grant proposals.
12. Mart inp23 21:34, 1 August 2008 (UTC) [reply ]
13. Gazimoff 23:23, 1 August 2008 (UTC) - I'll do what I can to help out.[reply ]
14. :-) Stwalkerster [ talk ] 13:38, 6 August 2008 (UTC) - I'm based in Cumbria, but I'll do what I can[reply ]
15. Craigy144 20:04, 30 August 2008 (UTC) I'm not sure how I can help, but you have my support.[reply ]
16. --86.166.225.207 20:49, 30 August 2008 (UTC) happy to suport and get involved[reply ]
17. Zythe - Maybe, considering I will be living in Oxford for a good three years to come.81.96.164.52 21:03, 30 August 2008 (UTC) [reply ]
18. User:Reedy - Sounds good, i'll just lodge with Zythe ;). Im York based, so not local, but should be able to sort out to help out with stuffs Reedy 21:48, 30 August 2008 (UTC) [reply ]
19. OwenBlacker — might not be able to help much, but certainly will try... — 21:31, 30 August 2008 (UTC) [reply ]
20. Hazz 05:47, 31 August 2008 (UTC) - Maybe able to help out and I do live in Oxford so I know a thing or two about the area.[reply ]
21. User:Dynamization 08:33 31 August 2008 (BST) - Live in London but student so free time over next few years...
22. 93.96.23.110 08:54, 31 August 2008 (UTC) I will do what I can[reply ]
23. Edmund Patrick obviously Cambridge would be far better but never mind, you have my support, I will assist where and when I can, a possible useful skill is applying for monies from various H.L.F.s! which I do at least once a year.
24. Colds7ream - Live in Shrewsbury but yet another student, so I'll definitely be able to help out!
25. Sholeem Griffin- Live in Swansea but student so should be able to attend/help out.
26. EoinMahon Won't be able to attend but would like to show support.
27. Harry Wood Live in London. Very keen to see it hosted in Oxford
28. Andrew22k Support from Scotland.92.5.151.32 16:01, 1 September 2008 (UTC) [reply ]
29. Cdhaptomos live in Aberystwyth so can't be there but will suppport anytime.
30. I live in Oxford during term time and would be happy to help. Walton ^talk 09:58, 2 September 2008 (UTC) [reply ]
31. Haza-w – Depends on how this year's application goes, but a good chance I'll be there for 2010... 08:19, 3 September 2008 (UTC) [reply ]
32. Ross Gardler &ndash 4 September 2008 &ndash I'm service manager of [OSS Watch], the Innovation Support Centre for UK education based open source projects and procurments - we're here to help
33. Joe Shields only just started on Wikipedia really, I'm starting at Oxford this October and would love to do what I can. 10:32, 6 September
34. Rich Farmbrough 13:51 7 September 2008 (GMT).
35. Mervyn - in Oxford.
36. Booglamay - from Reading, but divide my time between Birmingham and London - Oxford is in the middle so it makes even more sense!
37. Pretzels - Media skills (film/publishing), web design / graphics, stage management experience, live blog experience
38. Mike Peel, so long as I'm in the country at the time...
39. MRacer - I live in the North East of England so I'm not sure what I can offer in concrete terms, but nonetheless would like to show support for the bid.
40. Faizaguo-I live in London. Two hours' drive. Definite yes.
41. --Mbimmler 23:08, 19 December 2008 (UTC) will help locally from Oxford (Merton) from Michaelmas term 09 onwards.[reply ]
42. AndrewRT 00:25, 31 December 2008 (UTC) Live in Nottingham, 2 hours drive away and I have a car.[reply ]
43. Tosão 20:57, 11 January 2009 (UTC) Oxford,Oxford![reply ]

Bid team leader: User:Cfp

Requirements: Arrange for delivery of all the below deliverables. Sell the Oxford bid as the best location, promising the most interesting conference, perfectly run.

Venue team leader: User:????

Requirements: Our venue(s) must be able to accommodate at least 500 people in its largest room, though 700+ is desirable. It/they must have at least two rooms capable of accommodating 150-200 and 4 or so smaller rooms accommodating around 50. It/they must have social spaces and catering facilities. Ideally we want a single venue capable of providing all of this, but multiple buildings may be tolerable if they are sufficiently close. All lecture theatres should be suitable for projections and we must be able to arrange blanket wireless coverage over the entire building(s).

Accommodation team leader: User:????

Requirements: The accommodation must be able to house up to 700 delegates all in reasonably close proximity to each other. It should provide social spaces for the evening, and possibly dining facilities.

Scholarship team leader: User:????

To do: insert scholarships requirements.

Speaker team leader: User:????

To do: insert speaker requirements.

Admin team leader: User:????

To do: insert admin requirements.

Budget team leader: User:???

Requirements: We need to draw up a budget and find a way of covering all the costs in includes through sponsorship. As an initial guesstimate we expect this to be in the 100,000ドル to 200,000ドル region (150,000ドル to 300,000ドル).

To do.

calculated assuming 1 USD = 0.?? GBP (date)

Anything you feel should be brought to the attention of the jury.

• We have a media repository here.

• Weaknesses of the proposed location ...and how to overcome those weaknesses

1. Oxford does not have an international airport.

   Excellent public transport links are available from all London airports and also Birmingham International Airport. Greeters could be stationed at pick-up and drop-off points.

2. The UK is perceived as an expensive location. (not if sterling stays as low as it is in late 2008...)

   The London airports are nearby and readily accessible from much of the world, reducing participants' transport costs compared to many locations.

   Negotiating sponsorship and discounts can reduce expenses.

   Prices of living in the UK are considerably cheaper than many European countries, due to a gigantic market in that area.

   The prices of foreign food (for foreign visitors)are low as their is a gigantic market for it.

3. There is no single venue for the conference.

   All venues used are within easy walking distance, and central Oxford is ideally suited to walking.

   Appropriate signage and maps distributed to participants could ensure that movement between venues is straightforward and efficient.

• Strengths of the proposed location

1. Oxford is a world-renowned centre of learning.
2. Oxford is a popular tourist destination with many attractions for conference participants.
3. Oxford has easy access to major international airports.
4. The most recent statistics available show that the UK is the country which contributes the third most edits to Wikipedia as a whole, making its editors the most active from a country which has not yet hosted Wikimania.

• Wikimania 2010
• Wikimedia UK

• Pages with broken file links