Chicago in 1982

Chicago in 1982 was the successful Worldcon bid that became Chicon IV. The co-chairmen were Ross Pavlac and Larry Propp. It was announced at Windycon V and in early 1979 announced that it was bidding the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

In balloting at Noreascon 2, Chicago defeated the rival Detroit in '82 bid by a margin of 1,108 to 410 (with 121 other votes of various kinds. St. Ghu in '82 also ran). In an unprecedented escalation of bidding expenditure, Chicago outspent Detroit by four or five times.

See 1982 Worldcon Site Selection for full details.

Besides the co-chairs, the committee included Larry Smith, Bob Hillis, Yale Edeiken, Kurt Clemmer, Sharon Ferraro, Mary-Anne Mueller, Elizabeth Pearse, Teresa Minambres, Paula Smith, Phil Foglio, Jon Stopa, Joni Stopa, Leah Bestler, and Bob Tucker. Unsurprisingly, it was seen as a Columbus Cavalry bid.

The highlight of the campaign was the legendary "balloon hit", in which Chicagoans sneaked into the hotel room of Detroit bid chairman Rusty Hevelin before the vote and filled it wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling with inflated balloons. The lowlight was their campaign advertisements comparing the city of Detroit to the Nazi concentration camp in Dachau (more than half the Detroit bidders were Jewish).

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1979 Site Selection

1979

This is a page about a convention bid. Please extend it by adding information about who was bidding, officers, committee list, what they were bidding for, who their opponents were, and who won.