At the World Science Fiction Convention each year (it's in San Jose for 2018), there is traditionally voting by the convention members to determine which city will host the convention in the future.
Can someone remind me how many years away the vote is for, and does anyone know which cities are competing in 2018 to host the convention?
We vote two years in advance. Last year the 2017 Worldcon, Helsinki, selected Dublin to be the site of the 2019 Worldcon and this year the 2018 Worldcon, San Jose, will select the site of the 2020 Worldcon.
Originally, the site was selected just a year in advance, but in 1969, selection was moved to two years in advance and the 1969 Worldcon selected both the 1970 and 1971 Worldcons. In 1986, site selection was moved to three years in advance and the 1986 Worldcon selected both the 1988 and 1989 Worldcons.
Choosing a Worldcon three years in advance meant that committees had to stay organized for too long, and the extra year did not result in the hoped-for greater clout with hotels, so in 2005, site selection returned to 2 years and the 2005 Worldcon did not select a site. (The 2004 Worldcon selected the 2007 Worldcon, 2005 selected nothing, and the 2006 Worldcon selected the 2008 Worldcon.)
As far as I know, the only bidder for 2020 is New Zealand, apparently in Aukland.
