Finncon is a fandom-built
science fiction /
fantasy convention, held in
Finland.
The first Finncon was organized in 1986. The Finncon of year 2003 was the tenth Finncon ever and it was held in the coastal city of Turku. The previous events have been held in Helsinki (six times), Jyväskylä (twice) and Turku (once before 2003). Finncon 2004 returned to Jyväskylä again.
The Finncon of 2004 had many, many anime fans. The university of Jyväskylä was very crowded. Many said that the event was successful. Now the fans will have to wait until 2006, when Helsinki "SF mafia" will organize Finncon yet again.
While the main focus of Finncon is science fiction and fantasy, Finncon has always drawn comic enthusthiasts, anime fans, roleplayers etc. - after all, Finncon has been (and still is) one of the few events for Finnish fandom to get together and meet like-minded people around the globe.
Finncon has alweys been "built by the fans, for the fans". There has never been an entry fee in Finncon - the event has been free from the start.
The event has grown quite rapidly and it has gained reputation around Europe. The tenth Finncon had the status of Eurocon, which made it formally the most important science fiction / fantasy -convention of 2003 in Europe. The organizers of 2003 Finncon expected around 4000 visitors during the three days of event. The event was a success and much positive feedback was given.
Program of Finncon has always formed around different guests around the world, but the event hasn't forgotten its birth: still small seminars and panel discussions, "second hand sales" etc. are a significant part of every Finncon.
Some (somewhat familiar) guests of honour during the years:
Iain Banks, Ian McDonald, Connie Willis, Philip Pullman, Bruce Sterling, Richard Stallman, Stelarc, Ken McLeod, Steve Baxter, Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Carroll, Michael Swanwick, Robin Hobb etc.