Sectus 2007, a Harry Potter Fan Conference in London, July 19-22, 2007
With two major Harry Potter-related events having just come and gone (the J.K. Rowling charity reading at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and Lumos, a fan convention in Las Vegas), many Harry Potter fans are currently on the search for other fun fan events to bide the time while they wait for the release of the fifth Potter Movie (slated for Summer 2007) and the release of the finally book in the series, a major event that doesn’t yet have a date.
While it may be a long trip for those in the States, one of the major Harry Potter fan events of the year will be the European Harry Potter conference, Sectus 2007, taking place in London, July 19 – 22, 2007. Location is a large part of the event’s draw, with many attendees preferring to attend a Harry Potter event in the boy wizard’s home country, fictional though he may be. Sectus, while offering a mix of fan and academic programming, is probably the most fan focused of 2007’s three Harry Potter conferences.
Most of Sectus’ events will be held at the Park Crescent Conference center at London’s Regent’s Park. While the conference center has a range of event rooms and meeting areas, it does not provide lodging, making Sectus a more spread out Harry Potter event than hotel-based conferences. The Sectus website, however, does provide a range of information about convenient lodgings in a wide range of price groups. Additionally, groups of Harry Potter fans will no doubt band together so that those interested in particular aspects of Harry Potter can take lodging together and have the comfort of traveling as a group while in Harry Potter costume.
Because Sectus 2007 is almost a year away, little is known about the details of the Harry Potter event’s programming at this time, although Steve Vander Ark, creator of the Harry Potter Lexicon website and a popular speaker in the Harry Potter fan community, has just been announced as a guest presenter.
For those wishing to present Harry Potter related programming at Sectus 2007 the proposal deadline is not until Jaunary 15, 2007, providing ample time for preparing your proposal. For those who sign up early, registration is only �£45 until 31st October 2006, but will go up as high as �£65 as the event gets closer. Currently, Sectus does not list any specific age requirements on its site, but this is also an adult-focused Harry Potter event. Additionally all those submitting papers or programming must be over 18.
