Boston Named Host City
For 2004 Democratic National Convention

November 22, 2002

Noreascon Four
The 62nd World Science Fiction Convention
P.O. Box 1010
Framingham, MA 01701
info@noreascon.org
http://www.noreascon.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Democratic National Committee announced November 13 that its 2004 presidential nominating convention will be held in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, during the week of July 26, 2004, slightly more than a month before Noreascon Four, the 62nd World Science Fiction Convention. This selection marks the first time in its history that Boston will host a major party political convention.

Said DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe in his prepared statement, "The committee has concluded that we should bring our national Democratic showcase to the shining city on the Hill."

The convention is expected to attract more than 25,000 people, use nearly all available hotel rooms and stimulate the city's economy to the tune of $150 million. The actual convention will be held in Boston's FleetCenter, rather than the Hynes Convention Center being used by Noreascon Four. The FleetCenter arena is home to the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins sporting teams.

The Democratic National Convention is not expected to have negative impacts on Noreascon Four. On the contrary, there is speculation that the city will push for early completion of parts of Boston's "Big Dig" Central Artery construction project and other infrastructure and transit improvements. So Worldcon members are likely to reap travel benefits from the larger convention.

Although the Democrats' convention is not directly related to the SF genre, Chairman McAuliffe is clearly a fantasy buff. He concluded, "Maybe we can even set a trend and help Boston end another long drought - a Democratic convention for Boston and a World Series Championship for the Red Sox...all in the same year."

Information about the 2004 Democratic National Convention is available at http://www.democrats.org (and the city of Boston's site, at http://www.boston04.com -- don't typo it as boston2004.com, or you get the Noreascon pages!).

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Noreascon Four
The 62nd World Science Fiction Convention
September 2-6, 2004
Boston, Massachusetts

Guests of Honor:
Terry Pratchett
Jack Speer
William Tenn
Peter Weston

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