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Gay scene: Event will combine with the 10th International Conference on Bisexuality
BiCon 2010
Registration now open for 2010 UK bisexual convention
BiCon 2010, the UK's 28th annual conference and convention for bisexual people and their friends, allies and supporters, has announced that online registration for the event is now open.
Held at the University of East London from August 26 - 30, BiCon 2010 will be combined with the 10th International Conference on Bisexuality to create the largest event of its kind ever seen in the UK - a long weekend celebration of bisexuality and bisexuals, with a daytime programme of discussions, seminars and workshops and a wide range of entertainment in the evenings.
The International Conference on Bisexuality was established as an international version of BiCon, allowing bisexual activists from around the world to meet and combine strategies, compare solutions and fight against prejudice and biphobia. BiCon's organisers hope that many countries will be represented, through individual delegates and also by attendees sent from both bisexual and LGBT organisations worldwide.
Writing in the Guardian earlier this week, BiCon 2010 chair Marcus Morgan detailed the unique prejudice meted out to bisexuals by the LGBT and wider community and called for greater visibility to dispel their "mythical status", noting: "Ask around in a local LGBT bar, or group, or event today and you won't find many people out about being bi.
"Why don't we come out? A lot of the people using the LGBT scene are bisexuals in the closet - they came out as gay or lesbian because they knew that would get a good reception. But for a bi on the gay scene, the closet has two doors, a bit like an airlock - behind one of them is a cosy atmosphere with no pressure, and behind the other is what appears to be a vacuum.
"Of course, it's not actually a vacuum, just seems so by comparison with the loud brash bright lights of the commercial LGBT scene. The bisexuals might not be the celebrities hosting the talk shows and lounging on magazine covers, but they're out there."
Accommodation at BiCon 2010 is available on the same site as the event venue and more information and online registration can be found at: www.bicon2010.org.uk
