(Posting this several weeks after the convention partly because I was hoping to have some sort of statement from the conrunners, a statement that at this point does not appear to be forthcoming.)

Glasgow 2024, a Worldcon for our Futures, had this statement on their Accessibility page:

“The Accessibility Team is committed to providing an equitable experience for all disabled members of Worldcon. Support will be available for those with mobility needs, visual impairments, hearing loss or differences, and various types of neurodiversity. “

A message from the con chair added this:

“Considering access, inclusion and diversity as integral to Glasgow 2024 has created an environment where we think carefully about what Worldcon can become – a convention to represent all of our futures as well as a place where everyone can celebrate, and an event where we can take these realities joyfully forwards after it is over.”

This all sounded, if not entirely reassuring, at least hopeful. So I bought my tickets.

It was not, in fact, an equitable experience for all disabled members of Worldcon.

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As I’ve previously noted, many genre events – workshops, conventions and the like – claim that they are focused on offering an inclusive experience, open to all, welcoming to people with disabilities. And yet. The vast majority I’ve attended have at best struggled to be accessible; at worst, failed at basic accessibility, or created less than fun, humiliating situations. Like the time when I was in my wheelchair, on the floor in front of a raised stage that did not have a ramp –

For a panel discussing Disability in Science Fiction.

Still, I thought things were improving.  Or, at the least, communication was improving, with inaccessible events doing a somewhat better job at warning prospective attendees about potential problems before said attendees handed over their (usually non-refundable) money. I could even point to a couple of events that were largely accessible, and to statements suggesting that a couple of historically inaccessible events (hi, Clarion West) were taking active steps to change that situation.

And then came Covid.

Ironically enough, Covid initially seemed to make events more equitable, since everyone, it seemed, had to do the same online events. It made me feel as if finally – finally – I could enjoy the same access to events that everyone else enjoyed.

That turned out to be very, very wrong.

Oh, genre events continued to claim that accessibility was a priority – while heading to wheelchair-inaccessible spaces – even, in one case, a ninth century castle literally designed and built to be inaccessible. (That is, after all, the point of a castle – one reason I don’t get particularly dismayed when I am unable to tour a castle in my wheelchair. Unlike a hotel, castles aren’t meant to be welcoming to all, or even most.) Events that had started to offer various accessibility aids stopped offering them.

Along with this came increasingly confused and hostile conversations about Covid mitigation policies. Some events could not, for legal reasons, offer any Covid mitigation efforts at all other than hopeful statements about masks. This included both supersized events like Orlando’s Megacon (which rapidly gave up even on the “masks are recommended” comments) and smaller events such as Orlando’s International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts: Florida law expressly prohibited both events from having any sort of stated Covid policies at all. Some events went to great efforts to mitigate the spread of Covid, to the point of not just requiring masks and other Covid mitigation efforts, but bringing in air filtration systems. And some events decided to just not bother with Covid policies at all – or offer policies so loose that they could hardly be called policies.

These conversations happened in a worldwide context of unequal access to vaccines and boosters and unequal attitudes towards vaccines throughout the world.

I spoke to many disabled folks – writers and non-writers – who said they were just going to give up the idea of attending live genre events at all. They did not feel welcome. After all the time I’d spent raising awareness and advocating for increased accessibility, both publicly and behind the scenes, I felt crushed.

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Glasgow 2024 hired an Access team, created an accessible check-in for those with disabilities, and, once the con was officially open, offered both an Access desk and a Complaints department.

And critically, they put significant efforts – financial and otherwise – towards creating a hybrid con where members unable/unwilling to participate in person, for whatever reason, could still enjoy and access the panels through live streaming. This included having a person in the live audience check the Discord for comments and questions from the streaming audience. That was great, and something that I’d like to see more cons do, though I realize the costs may be prohibitive for smaller cons.

Unfortunately, this was less true for the live event. Issues included, but were not limited to:

1. Getting around the convention. As Access noted on July 26^th (just a couple of weeks before the convention):

“If the weather is good, the best way to get between the SEC and the Crowne Plaza is outside. This route is under 100 meters and flat, and will have signs. If the weather is not good, or you need to stay inside for some reason, there is an enclosed walkway via the Armadillo. Note that there is a level change between the Armadillo and the Crowne Plaza – there is a single chairlift that may have a queue. There are eight steps as an alternative to the chairlift, if you are comfortable traversing them.”

The chairlift kept breaking during the convention, forcing wheelchair and mobility scooters to head outside. As it turned out, the route did not have signs, and was not completely flat – and the closest door at the SEC was not always open, forcing wheelchair and mobility scooters to go further.

2. On July 7^th, Access noted another issue:

“The lift at Exhibition Centre station was out of service for a few hours on Tuesday. We recommend you contact Passenger Assistance to ensure your journey is not disrupted. Additionally, some lifts may be out of service at Glasgow Central; you can use the Argyle Street entrance to access the lower level station (for trains to Exhibition Centre)

This lift continued to have problems throughout the con: wheelchair and mobility scooter users could not, therefore, take the train – the cheapest route to downtown Glasgow, where several attendees had booked rooms.

3. And then this, also brought up on July 7^th:

Most disabled toilets at the SEC Centre require a special “Radar” key to access. Please visit the Accessibility Desk to borrow a key. We have a limited quantity, so please return it when you are finished.

For “most,” read “all.” The problem, however, turned out to be less the Radar keys, and more the size of the disabled toilets – too small for even a wheelchair to turn in, making access to the facilities….interesting. On top of that, I could not close the doors to these restrooms without assistance.

I ended up using the two disabled toilets at the Crowne Plaza instead, but see above.

4. Speaking of lifts, the second floor at the SEC Centre – where I had my reading – was accessible only by one tiny, tiny lift that could only take one wheelchair or mobility scooter user at a time and pretty much nothing else..

5. Access recommended the Premier and Village hotels to wheelchair and mobility scooter users. After 11 pm, entry to the Premier required placing a room key against a keypad too high for most wheelchair users; I needed assistance.

The direct route from the Premier and Village hotels to the SEC Centre, the Armadillo and the convention spaces at the Crowne Plaza hotel was blocked by a huge speedbump that many wheelchairs couldn’t navigate. The shortest alternative required heading to the main entrance of the Crowne Plaza and going through the bar, the restaurant, and then through a door to the glass patio – a door that was locked twice when I tried to go through.

5. The SEC, Armadillo and Crowne Plaza’s existing food facilities could not possibly feed all attendees there, even if their kitchens had been open for longer hours, so Worldcon brought in some food trucks.

After three attempts at waving my arms despondently while waiting in front of the food trucks – whose staff could not see me – I gave up.

6. Travelling offsite was unusually difficult, even by wheelchair standards; just getting to the nearby Radisson hotel – which hosted some Worldcon-related events – was an unpleasant adventure. Not great for me; also not great for anyone who came with me who needed to get to another panel or event. I felt terrible.

That part, of course, wasn’t Worldcon’s fault, but I couldn’t help but contrast that situation with other Worldcons, where, whatever the other issues, I had been mostly able to go to offsite restaurants without any comparable difficulties.

7. Oh, and Glasgow 2024 did not provide ramps to stages.

This isn’t everything, but I’m tired.

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Glasgow 2024 did not require proof of vaccination, Covid testing, or masks. The Access desk at Worldcon and at least two vendors did offer free masks to attendees – but very few people took advantage of these offers. At a guess, maybe 20% of Worldcon attendees were masked at any given time. Each day, we heard of someone else who had caught Covid. By the last day of the con, this was several someone elses. The numbers are hazy – everything was self-reported, and some people only reported on social media, not directly to the convention – but at least 8% and possibly as many as 20% or more of Glasgow 2024 attendees tested positive for Covid within a week of the convention.

I kept my mask on except when eating and drinking – but that did mean taking off the mask in a crowded bar with unmasked people. That decision is on me.

When I came home, I tested positive for Covid. I had a mild case.  

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What next?

Well, there’s World Fantasy 2024 in Niagara Falls. I bought a membership from someone else who couldn’t go in hopes of making up for having a less than great time overall at Worldcon. 

Just as I was getting ready to buy my plane ticket, WFC 2024 announced their Covid policy. To say the least, it was lacking – and those who wrote it apparently remain unaware, in this year of grace 2024, that Covid is an airborne virus, not a oooh, don’t touch that filthy thing virus. Several people that I’d hoped to meet up with cancelled their plans to attend.

Today, WFC published a tentative schedule with multiple problems, including questionable and ableist language in panel descriptions, and, just for fun, language that can be read as supportive of an increased role for AI in publishing.

There’s Worldcon in Seattle in 2025.

Shortly after Glasgow 2024 ended, the Seattle 2025 Worldcon announced, to their great credit, that they would be providing financial assistance to underserved, marginalized groups to help create a more inclusive, welcoming and diverse con. This financial assistance, they further noted, would go to four groups: Pacific Northwest members; POC members; queer members; and members of the global South. This is all awesome and very welcome and something I completely support.

But notice which traditionally marginalized group is missing from that list?

Yeah.

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On August 12, 2024, my last day at Glasgow 2024, I filed an official complaint, in person, about the con’s multiple accessibility issues. I was assured that this complaint would be escalated to the appropriate people for a response.

As of today, I have not received a response.