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    Virtual Worlds Forum is forced to re-schedule after shooting at venue

    Mike Butcher

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    Mike Butcher is the European Editor for TechCrunch. A former grunge rock drummer, he became a long time journalist, and has since written for UK national newspapers and magazines including The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The New Statesman. Mike is also a co-founder and shareholder of TechHub, a co-working space/service/community with several locations... → Learn More

    Sunday, October 5th, 2008
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    This is an urgent message for anyone who was attending or speaking at Virtual Worlds Forum in London this week. The whole thing is going to be re-scheduled due to an incident on Sunday at the venue in which a member of the public was shot. The venue was to be “The Bridge” in London SE1, which is is situated in a series of Victorian arches adjacent to London Bridge. The site dates back to the early nineteenth century but now operates as a club and venue for meetings. Part of Weston Street, near the venue, consists largely of a very long tunnel running underneath London Bridge station.

    [UPDATE: Today, Monday, everyone will be at The Hospital private members club - 24 Endell St, WC2H 9HQ here. Refreshments, wifi and virtual worlds networking].

    The message from founder Sasha Frieze is below. Check their blog or their Twitter for the latest info:

    URGENT! VWF IS RESCHEDULED.

    Early this morning there was an unrelated incident at the venue in which a member of the public was shot. The police have closed off the venue for three days, which means that we cannot use it for Virtual Worlds Forum.

    With less than day to go, we cannot find an alternative venue over these dates. So we have taken the very difficult decision to reschedule the event.

    What it means for you is
    1) The event will not take place as planned on Monday and Tuesday.
    2) For those people who are in London, the Four Day members pass to the Hospital is still available. Please go to 24 Endell St, London, WC2H 9HQ to collect your pass – there’s quite a few people in town, so lots of people to hang out with.
    3) The South by South West party on Monday night is still going ahead.

    And obviously we are planning the reschedule and we will give you details as soon as we have them.

    We are very very sorry for the inconvenience. We will do our utmost to make sure that you get the most out of your involvement with VWF and keep you informed as regularly as we can.

    Sasha and the VWF Team

    UPDATE: The organisers are desparately trying to find a last minute venue to arrange a sort of un-conference, so that at least the speakers and attendees can meet and network – probably on Tuesday. Stay tuned…

    • http://plugg.eu Robin Wauters

      Man, that’s a nightmare … I would probably get a heart attack if that happened to Plugg.

    • http://thenextweb.org/ Boris

      That is just awful! You try to plan for unforeseen circumstances but how do you plan for something like this! I agree with Robin; don’t know how I would do in such a situation…

    • Antony Pace

      Someone was shot at The Bridge so we are going to The Hospital. It shouldn’t but it made me smile.

    • http://www.t3d.co.uk Tony Tickle

      I had dinner with the sponsors ‘Unity’ last night in shorditch and heard it was canceled. Sasha will make it happen again soon… meanwhile I am back in my office in Manchester… an UnConference is planned for tomorrow see below.

      Virtual Worlds Forum Unplugged – Unconference tomorrow, Tuesday 7 October
      To bring together the fantastic group of people that are still here in London we have now arranged an unconference tomorrow. Virtual Worlds Forum Unplugged will take place on Tuesday from 9.30am – 4.30pm. Arrive early to meet and shape the agenda, and there will be great informal sessions throughout the day.If you’re still in London, come, share ideas, talk, network, do business. It’s already shaping up to be a fascinating and enjoyable day.

      The event will take place at The Hospital, 24 Endell Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HQ.
      Map here: http://london.thehospitalclub.com/location_map.html

      Second Life camp – The Show Must Go On
      IBM are kindly setting up a virtual “refugee camp” expo for displaced avatars at their Virtual Business Center in Second Life so that everyone can still meet up this afternoon. The virtual expo will be available from 1pm-4:30pm UK time (8am-11:30am EST).
      For more information see: http://virtualeconomicforum.com/content-library/blogging/about/vwf_08_in_second_life_thanks_to_ibm/

    • http://uk.techcrunch.com/2008/10/06/update-virtual-worlds-forum-back-on-as-an-unconference/ Update: Virtual Worlds Forum back on as an unconference

      [...] just got this email from the organisers of the cancelled VWF event. Virtual Worlds Forum Unplugged – Unconference tomorrow, Tuesday 7 October To bring [...]

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