The Wikimania jury has met and are pleased to announce that Wikimania 2007 will be held in Taipei, Taiwan. Taipei had the winning combination of a dedicated and experienced bidding team, a great venue with centralized accomodation and community areas, and strong sponsorship opportunities. Taipei also provides the opportunity to focus attention on the growing Asian language projects and the international aspect of the Wikimedia Foundation, as well as learning about other free knowledge efforts and projects in the region.
This was a very difficult decision. Every one of the shortlisted bids this year were outstanding. The Turin bid came in a close second; their team made a great effort to procure two strong locations and extensive government support, and gathered the Italian community together to develop an outstanding bid. Alexandria deserves recognition for bringing the Egyptian and Arabic-language community into the spotlight, and for finding a remarkable venue partner in the Library of Alexandria. London also produced a very strong bid, with a great venue, focus on educational outreach, the diversity of London, and the strong Wikimedia UK team.
Thank you to all of the bidders, including those who did not make the shortlist, for your time and energy in developing these bids. We hope this year's city teams will find ways to build on the contacts and sponsors developed in the bid process for a 2008 bid or for hosting a regional event.
We strongly encourage all who bid this year, and those of you wondering whether your city could have done the same, to consider preparing city bids for Wikimania in 2008 or 2009. Unofficial bids for 2008 should be started now, as the decision on that city will be made this winter (more details on 2008's bid process coming soon; watch http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimania_2008/Bids for updates).
Now the work for the winners will begin, as they develop plans for the conference next summer. We encourage the entire community to support Taipei over the coming year in producing an outstanding conference.
With thanks, The 2007 Wikimania bid jury