The World Esperanto Congress (Esperanto: Universala Kongreso de Esperanto, UK) is an annual Esperanto convention. It has the longest tradition among international Esperanto conventions, with an almost unbroken run for 119 years. The congresses have been held since August 5, 1905, every year, except during World War I, World War II, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the 1920s, the Universal Esperanto Association has been organizing these congresses.
These congresses take place every year and, over the 30 years from 1985 through 2014, have gathered an average of about 2,000 participants (since World War II it has varied from 800 to 6,000, depending on the venue). The average number of countries represented is about 60. Some specialized organizations also gather a few hundred participants in their annual meetings. The World Congress usually takes place in the last week of July or first week of August, beginning and ending on a Saturday (8 days in total). For many years ILERA has operated an amateur radio station during the conventions.
Until 1980, meetings were held in Europe and the United States, with the exception of Japan in 1965. Since then, other countries have been Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, South Korea, Australia, Israel, Vietnam and Argentina. In 2024, the congress will be held in Africa for the first time, in Arusha, Tanzania.
History edit
Statistics edit
Countries edit
Countries by number of times as host:
| Times hosted | Country | Years hosted |
|---|---|---|
| 8 |  Germany[a] | 1908, 1923, 1933, 1951, 1958, 1974, 1985, 1999 |
 United Kingdom[b] | 1907, 1926, 1930, 1938, 1949, 1961, 1971, 1989 | |
| 6 |  France | 1905, 1932, 1950, 1957, 1998, 2015 |
 Switzerland | 1906, 1913, 1925, 1939, 1947, 1979 | |
 Netherlands | 1920, 1954, 1964, 1967, 1988, 2008 | |
| 5 |  Poland[c] | 1931, 1937, 1959, 1987, 2009 |
| 4 |  Belgium | 1911, 1928, 1960, 1982 |
 Finland | 1922, 1969, 1995, 2019 | |
 Austria[c] | 1924, 1936, 1970, 1992 | |
 Sweden | 1934, 1948, 1980, 2003 | |
 Denmark | 1956, 1962, 1975, 2011 | |
 Italy | 1935, 1955, 2006, 2023[d] | |
| 3 |  Spain | 1909, 1968, 1993 |
 United States | 1910, 1915, 1972 | |
 Hungary[c] | 1929, 1966, 1983 | |
| 2 |  Czech Republic[e] | 1921, 1996 |
 Norway | 1952, 1991 | |
 Yugoslavia | 1953, 1973 | |
 Bulgaria | 1963, 1978 | |
 Japan | 1965, 2007 | |
 Iceland | 1977, 2013 | |
 China | 1986, 2004 | |
 Canada | 1984, 2022 | |
 Brazil | 1981, 2002 | |
 Cuba | 1990, 2010 | |
 South Korea | 1994, 2017 | |
| 1 |  Austria-Hungary | 1912 |
 Danzig | 1927 | |
 Greece | 1976 | |
 Australia | 1997 | |
 Israel | 2000 | |
 Croatia[f] | 2001 | |
 Lithuania | 2005 | |
 Vietnam | 2012 | |
 Argentina | 2014 | |
 Slovakia | 2016 | |
 Portugal | 2018 |
Continents edit
Of the 102 congresses that have happened so far,[g] 84 were hosted in Europe, 8 in Asia, 6 in North America, 3 in South America, 1 in Australia/Oceania and none in Africa.
Cities edit
Cities by number of times as host:
| Times hosted | City | Years hosted |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Vienna | 1924, 1936, 1970, 1992 |
| Copenhagen | 1956, 1962, 1975, 2011 | |
| 3 | Antwerp | 1911, 1928, 1985 |
| Bern | 1913, 1939, 1947 | |
| Paris | 1914, 1932, 1950 | |
| Budapest | 1929, 1966, 1983 | |
| Warsaw | 1937, 1959, 1987 | |
| Rotterdam | 1967, 1988, 2008 | |
| 2 | Geneva | 1906, 1925 |
| Kraków | 1912, 1931 | |
| The Hague | 1920, 1964 | |
| Prague | 1921, 1996 | |
| Stockholm | 1934, 1980 | |
| London | 1938, 1971 | |
| Zagreb | 1953, 2001 | |
| Helsinki | 1969, 1922 | |
| Reykjavík | 1977, 2013 | |
| Beijing | 1986, 2004 | |
| Havana | 1990, 2010 | |
| Seoul | 1994, 2017 |
The remaining cities hosted the event only once.
See also edit
Notes edit
- ^ As West Germany in 1951, 1958, 1974 and 1985.
- ^ Does not include the 2021 Congress, which was originally scheduled to be in Belfast, but was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- ^ a b c Does not include the 1912 Congress in Kraków, which happened in the territory of Austria-Hungary.
- ^ Scheduled.
- ^ As Czechoslovakia in 1921.
- ^ Does not include the 1953 Congress in Zagreb, which happened in the territory of Yugoslavia.
- ^ This excludes the cancelled 1914 congress and future congresses.
References edit
- ^ a b "Universala Esperanto-Asocio: Listo de UK-oj". uea.org.
- ^ a b "Virtuala Kongreso de Esperanto 2020". vk.mondafest.net.
- ^ "Universala Esperanto-Asocio". uea.org.
- ^ "Listo de aliĝintoj - Virtuala Kongreso de Esperanto 2021".
- ^ "Universala Esperanto-Asocio".
- ^ "Listo de aliĝintoj - Virtuala Kongreso de Esperanto 2020".
- ^ "Universala Esperanto-Asocio: Gazetaraj Komunikoj". uea.org.
- ^ "Universala Esperanto-Asocio: Universala Kongreso". uea.org.
- ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-08-14.
- ^ "Pribina - KONGRESA KURIERO DE LA 101 A UNIVERSALA KONGRESO DE ESPERANTO" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ^ Universala Esperanto-Asocio: "Fina statistiko de Lillo: 2698 aliĝintoj el 80 landoj".
- ^ Universala Esperanto-Asocio: "Rezolucio de la 99-a Universala Kongreso de Esperanto".
- ^ Universala Esperanto-Asocio: "La 98-a Universala Kongreso de Esperanto Archived 2013-05-03 at archive.today".
- ^ "Loa! - Kongres a Kuriero de la 97a Universala Kongreso en Hanojo, Vjetnamio" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ^ Vikinga Voĉo, n-ro 6 (La kongresa Kuriero de la 96-a Universala Kongreso de Esperanto.
- ^ "Universala Esperanto-Asocio". uea.org.
External links edit
Media related to World Esperanto Congress at Wikimedia Commons- Official website
- Photos of the World Congresses in the Bildarchiv Austria
