Wikimania:Expressions of Interest/2028/Bilbao, Basque Country
Expression of interest: Bilbao, Basque Country
Abstract/description
At least one in every hundred Basque speakers has edited Wikipedia in Basque at some point. The Basque language, a relatively small language, is leading the list of Wikipedias by sample of articles, and is one of the few languages with all the articles from the extended list. More than a third of the biographies in Basque Wikipedia are women. The Basque Wikimedians User Group is promoting a full encyclopedic-style video project and is promoting technical advancements, making our platforms more appealing to new readers. We have a thriving children encyclopedia, leading the idea of making content available for everyone. All of this is possible because we have a very active community, wide help from local institutions, universities, media, educators and volunteers. The Basque Wikimedians User Group wants to celebrate these activities with the world, hosting Wikimania 2028 in Bilbao and the Basque Country.
Bilbao, with a population of 350,000 (and a metropolitan area with 1,000,000 inhabitants) is the largest city in the Basque Country and a culturally interesting city. It was the very first winner of the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize back in 2010. Formerly an industrial city, it is now known because of its regeneration as a cultural hub, with the world famous Guggenheim Bilbao Museum as a symbol of that change, while the old city remains the center for food tourism and nightlife. Bilbao has plenty of infrastructure for hosting large conferences, with a large hotel offer, both modern and historical venues and a very large exhibition center outside the city.
The Bilbao Airport (BIO) is within 15 minutes by public transportation or taxi to the city center, and the city is also accessible by train, bus and even ferry. The Bilbao Airport has direct flights from many European cities and is well connected with some of the largest regional hubs, including Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, London and Istanbul. Recently, a direct flight from New York (JFK) has been added to the flight offer. Most of the places in Bilbao are within walking distance, with good pedestrian streets and infrastructure; however, it has an easy-to-use Metro system, tram lines and good bus connections with other places of the Basque Country.
Wikimania is a world-class event to celebrate our achievements. We want to make this celebration with the local volunteers, institutions and partners. The idea of moving people from all around the world so we are enclosed in one venue doesn’t fit the spirit we want to celebrate. That’s why we are proposing to host some of the events in other places around the Basque Country, so participants have a better taste of how we are leading the achievement Basque Wikipedia is. A wide range of potential partners for meetings and cultural crawls exist within a one-hour travel distance, and we want to welcome all of you with that in mind.
Organizers
The Basque Wikimedians User Group currently has 63 members, a board of directors consisting of six people, and five full-time employees. We have a team that works on the various cultural and educational projects we develop, but they have also attended numerous Wikimedia events and are well acquainted with how the movement works.
In 2019, we organized the first conference on Wikipedia and Education in Donostia, which was attended by around 110 people from all over the world. For this event, three members of the team who are currently still working for the association took care of all aspects of logistics, scholarships, programming, communication, payments and budget, etc. We also had the support of a group of volunteers from our association, who were able to organize themselves to carry out the tasks at hand. Therefore, despite being on a different scale, we already have experience as a team and as a User Group in organizing events, and these same people can supervise the different aspects of this event.
Venues
Bilbao has a good range of venue options, from large conference centers to more packed venues:
- Euskalduna Jauregia
Located in the site of an old shipyard, Euskalduna is a large conference and cultural center within the Abandoibarra renewal project. It’s the home of the Bilbao Symphonic Orchestra and holds large scale events. Their main room can seat up to 2,164 people, but it can be divided in two sections. The venue has another 600 seats room, four rooms for more than 100 people and another 5 for more than 70 people. It has foyers, halls, terrace, a restaurant for 450 people and its own parking. It is served by a tram station and it has a metro station within a 5 minutes walking distance.
- Bizkaia Aretoa/Azkuna Zentroa + Arriaga
Another good option is separating the opening and closing ceremonies from the main program. Bizkaia Aretoa is an university-managed building between Euskalduna and the Guggenheim. It has a large meeting place for 400 people and many other rooms that can fit all the participants. Their large terrace gives a cool outdoor space with views. The Arriaga Theater, in the heart of Bilbao, is a historic theater building with more than 1,000 seats available. A combination of both venues should be enough to fit all the participants. The same combination can be made using the Alhondiga-Azkuna Zentroa, a large medialab with cinemas, exposition areas, a library and polivalent spaces.
- Guggenheim Bilbao Museum
It might be possible to host a closing party at the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum. Their atrium fits around 800 people, but they have more spaces where an event can be organized. They offer their own catering and night visits. The Museum is currently available for Corporative Patrons, but petitions made by non-profits are evaluated. If not possible, there are many other venues where a closing party can be held.
- Option for decentralized venues
The BWUG has a variety of partners around the Basque Country that can host a preconference event or even a dedicated one-day track during Wikimania. There are many interesting places within a one-hour travel distance, from museums to natural reserves, and from historical buildings to a quantum computer. We think that distributing some of the events can help the participants to have a wider vision of how we are organizing a whole country in the open knowledge ecosystem, and give a better cultural experience.
Lodging and catering
Bilbao is now an established tourist destination, following years of redevelopment and infrastructure improvements. The city has 11,494 accommodation places, 86% of which are in hotels and the remaining 14% in apartments.
The city center, where the venue would be located, has a wide range of hotels and other kinds of accommodations in all categories and price ranges, all easily accessible. In addition, the city has large-capacity hotels with which we could reach agreements to accommodate a large number of attendees. A good amount of hotels are located in the proposed venues area.
Alongside its range of hotels and in line with the annual increase in tourism, Bilbao has a solid range of restaurants. The whole city, and especially the center, offers a variety of options and services throughout the day. Bilbao, as many other places in the Basque Country, is a food-tourism destination. As for the event itself, there are specialized catering companies that offer their services in accordance with all established dietary requirements. For the opening and closing ceremonies, it might be worth considering a gastronomic experience that allows guests to get to know Basque cuisine up close, depending on the venues chosen.
Travel, visas and transportation
The Bilbao Airport (BIO) is within 15 minutes by public transportation or taxi to the city center, and the city is also accessible by train, bus and even ferry. The Bilbao Airport has direct flights from many European cities and is well connected with some of the largest regional hubs, including Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, London and Istanbul. Recently, a direct flight from New York (JFK) has been added to the flight offer. Most of the places in Bilbao are within walking distance, with good pedestrian streets and infrastructure; however, it has an easy-to-use Metro system, tram lines and good bus connections with other places of the Basque Country.
Bilbao is within the Schengen Area, which includes 27 European countries with open borders. No passport is required to travel from and within this area. If its visa application is denied by Spain, people can submit a visa application for another European country and then reach Spain as a second step. We hope to have solid help from the Basque Government, which can ease the visa process for many countries in the world.
Facilities and services
Life expectancy in the Basque Country is among the highest in Europe, reaching record highs in 2024 with men averaging 81.9 years and women reaching 87.2 years. Living standards, diet and good health coverage are part of this high age. Health care is free and universal, with European standards. The region has a comprehensive network of public and private hospitals, with 39 hospitals and over 7,000 beds. Key facilities include the University Hospitals of Cruces and Basurto in Bizkaia, both in Bilbao.
Overall accessibility is good in Bilbao, and all venues proposed have wheelchair access. Metro, bus and tram are also accessible by wheelchair, and equipped with blind navigation systems. Bilbao is a walkable city, which makes it easier for wheelchair navigation.
There is no problem about freedom of expression for such an event in Bilbao. International events are safe, protected and promoted. Bilbao is a LGBTQ+ friendly city, and the legislation protects gay marriage and trans rights. LGBTQ+ people won’t have problems in most of the places, and there’s a dedicated night scene, a queer-themed cinema festival and very active pride activism groups.
Internet connections are reliable, wi-fi is fast and everywhere and multimedia streaming is usual. Hybrid or remote participation are totally possible.
The BWUG wants to celebrate the commitment of smaller language communities, so language diversity will be in the center of the event. We will partner with local language-technology institutions to provide translations.
Institutional help
The Basque Wikimedia User Group has various projects subsidized by local governments in the southern Basque Country, both by the Basque Government and the Government of Navarre. Both institutions support the projects we develop locally, and we work closely with them to develop these projects. In this regard, for this event we could find different ways for these institutions to help in the organization or execution of the ever. Local institutional coverage is totally feasible.
Safety and security
Bilbao is a mid-size city where personal security is high and criminality is low. It was notably ranked the 4th/5th safest city in the world by the World’s Best Cities 2023 and 2021 reports. People should be aware of pickpockets in some areas of the city, especially if they are crowded, but attacks against people are extremely unusual, and walking in the city, even at night, is generally safe. People lodged in further areas can use the public transport without problems and taxi services are reliable and safe. Taxis wait for women to enter their destination if they are asked for.
Tentative dates
Best dates in Bilbao for Wikimania are in the second half of July. Normally, a large-scale music festival (Bilbao BBK Live) happens in the second weekend of July. August is a complex month, because there are fewer services in the first 15 days, when most people have holidays, so many services may be closed while hotels are in high season. July and August are high festival seasons in the Basque Country, with many local massive festivals happening around. Bilbao has its own huge public festival in the second half of August. The world-famous San Fermin festival in Pamplona ends July 14th, so the best options lie between those two dates.
Bilbao is within CEST time in August, and regular working times are usually late for other countries' standards. Daylight ends at 22:00, so people like to have lunch and dinner late. However, we would arrange times to a more convenient schedule.
Weather is getting complex, as climate change makes it less predictable. Usually, summer is mild, with some rainy days and not as hot as in the Mediterranean. However, heat-waves can occur, which are known in advance. Extreme weather protocols exist and would be included in the event.