I have not yet published the 2025 organiser's report, sorry. Most if it is done, but stuff like being a small part of helping set up a wonderful pan-European bi+ network, Bi+ Equal has got in the way and there are a couple of sections still to finish.
But here's a preview of part of it:
(starts)
People may remember that when I posted before BiCon 2024 that its trans inclusion was not up for debate, some bigots got upset and started emailing me. This year, it was slightly different…
In mid-April, someone emailed me to say that people were getting upset about the venue on a Discord server for a local trans group. I applied to join, saying it was fine if I was restricted to just the 'other events' bit, and that's what happened.
It turned out that someone had spotted (and approved of) the 'it's not up for debate' that was on the posters and flyers I distributed around Nottingham, and another person was complaining about the school's policy on gender at the time of admission. Given that can be from the age of three and what they do if someone changes gender identity after they're at the school is fine, I remained OK with it as a venue.
No-one actually complained to me after saying that or after I'd pointed out the loooong history of BiCon's policy. And that half the toilets at the venue are already gender-neutral.
(ends)
Reader, it has not ended.
So another email has come in, with the same basic complaint.
The same basic response applies 🙂
The slightly longer version would include that 'AVAC – all venues are compromises' and if you refuse to make any, you simply won't have a venue.
Other venues in Nottingham include the University of Nottingham. That positively boasts about its campus in the incredibly LGBT-phobic Malaysia. We still used them for BiCon 2015.
Another is Nottingham Trent University. Many 'universities' are really property companies that happen to have students in their buildings for some months of the year. NTU is no exception! Its corporate structure is such that the university not only does not own its accommodation, it doesn't own the lecture spaces either. This added 20% to every single aspect of the cost to us – BiCon is 'non-profit education' as far as VAT rules are concerned, and should pay 0% VAT on supplies from 'education' suppliers, like universities. We still used them for BiCon 2023 (and lost lots of money mostly as a result of the VAT!)
As various people will attest, I could go on 🙂
I haven't looked again at the school's policies. Given the recent email, like last year's single email, references a story in 2022 and I did check them in 2025, I don't see the point. In a large number of ways, it's an excellent venue for us (this is the first time in forty two years BiCon has used the same venue two years in a row!), that it was extremely likely to be the venue was announced months ago, and it's too late to change it now.
If you don't like that BiCon is trans-inclusive and has been for well over 35 years now, don't come.
If you don't like that my reaction to that appalling Supreme Court ruling was to write that it was a load of shit, and get 200 'trans power' logo badges to give away to attendees, don't come.
If you don't like that we had a stall from a local (but not from Nottingham) trans group, who went away with assorted gifts including two sets of dilators for their members, don't come.
Thanks.