[python-uk] RE: Python UK conf

[Andy Robinson]

> > I would love to go, apart from the price. 570 pounds is 
> an awful lot
> > of money. Why is it so expensive? (PyCon this year was 
> $200, which I
> > still think is a lot. For example, YAPC::Europe is 99 EUR).
> >
> > Wouldn't a cheaper conference attract more attendees? 
> It's a shame I
> > can't go. The lineup looks great but at that price it 
> would have been
> > cheaper to fly to PyCon ;-)

Fair question ;-)

First, the Python conference is only 2 days so you
only have to pay for 2 days.  If you pay ?25 to join
the ACCU, the price is ?260.   This is sort of "mid range"
for professionally run conferences, not dirt cheap but not
the worst I have seen.

Second, the ACCU has kindly arranged this event for us
and just asked if we wanted to add Python tracks; we are
saying "yes" for the second time in a row.  They
run it to break even but the event DOES have to cover
the event manager's salary and all the costs of a professional
conference centre; it's not a "volunteer effort".
We have absoutely no say in the costs.  

Our choice each year is simple.  We can accept their offer of having 
a superbly-organised event which puts Python "up there" with C++
and Java, and a budget to get speakers like Guido with no risk
to ourselves, or we can decline it.  Sadly we can't persuade
them to halve the price :-)


There is no way it can ever compete with a volunteer effort
like EuroPython on price, and for this reason I expect EuroPython
will be 2-3 times as popular at least.

- Andy