The bid for a 2028 Worldcon in Uganda, which I had criticized here and here, has changed its proposed venue to Kigali, Rwanda. The name is now ConKigali. It may be an improvement in some ways, but is it enough of one to get serious consideration?
Freedom House gives Rwanda a rating of 23, categorized as “not free.” This is lower than Uganda’s rating of 34. From the standpoint of fans’ personal safety, though, Rwanda may be the less dangerous of the two. Homosexuality isn’t outlawed, but people traveling there still need to be careful what opinions they express. The US State Department has issued a long list of “significant human rights issues” in Rwanda.
Fan-run conventions are supposed to be events where people can express differing views. While I haven’t heard of anyone who attended the Chengdu Worldcon getting in trouble for their opinions, everyone understood that topics like China’s treatment of the Uyghurs were off limits. Kigali would likewise require self-censorship. Some people might be at risk because of what they’ve said before traveling to Rwanda.
I wouldn’t travel to Rwanda under its present government, and I wouldn’t advise anyone I know to go there. The Brisbane, Australia bid looks likelier to win. Australia also has issues; the government has banned commentator Candace Owens from entering the country because they don’t like her views, and it might conceivably ban some Worldcon speakers. But it’s unlikely the Australian government would kill visiting authors or sentence them to long prison terms for “spreading false information.”
Meanwhile in the USA, the next head of the FBI may be someone who has declared his intent to “come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections.” I’m feeling less skeptical about Steve Davidson’s worries about US Worldcons than I did on November 14.
In other news, a bid committee for Tel Aviv in 2027 has withdrawn its bid. Given the dangers posed by Hamas and neighboring hostile countries, that was an unfortunately sensible decision. Montreal is currently the only bid for 2027. Getting there would be just a few hours’ driving for me.