natey.j80

Well its the first convention I have ever attended which has implemented this strategy. Sorry but I dont understand the reasons behind this and by the statement.. "allowing people to budget accordingly"? I have always paid a standard entry ticket to conventions and have attended the talks without paying a penny extra. This included high profile Next Gen and Voyager casts (Stewart, Frakes, Spiner, Mulgrew etc) and also original crew members such as George Takei, Nichelle Nichols etc. So I dont understand whats different about this event. Sorry but I feel that there is something not quite right about this. Just never heard about having to pay to attend any talks where an entrance fee has already been paid regardless of the type of ticket. In events such as the Hay festival I appreciate the need for paying for talks due to capacity issues and also the fact that the money paid for the talks helps sponser the event but you do not pay an entrance fee. However under the Hay fesitval arrangement you can pose with famous people for a free photo where you can use your own camera plus they will even sign and do autographs for free (assuming you buy their book) and you dont have to attend their talks to do this. How much will the paid talks be? If you need to charge for certain talks I think the cost of this should be kept to as low as possible. Just please bear in mind that fans like myself have already spent a considerable amount of cash to make this event happen in the first place. Keeping fans happy and allowing them to enjoy what will be a special weekend where they can maximise their time and enjoyment needs to take priority over a poor cow being milked to death! There will be free talks and paid for talks. The reason that the paid for talks have been announced first is so that people can budget accordingly. The standard tickets don't include any talks but can put their own schedule together by buying all talks separately. The free talks will be announced later.

totally agree with you. the cost of this thing is rising dramatically and I have had to restrict what I book and who I want to see I am slightly disgusted on hearing that talks are now subject to charges according to the website. This has never happened in any of the conventions I have attended over the years. I have opened up a new topic thread about this. Talks which are included in the entrance fee have always been at the heart of what these conventions are all about. Never have I heard about having to pay for talks! :thumbdown: :thumbdown:

I agree that we should have at least have Chris Pine attend as he is technically the 6th Captain?? The new Star Trek film was a success despite mixed feelings from fans. No doubt the next film will equally be a success - well assuming they can get their act together and release it!

Oh please not let it be Simon Pegg! What a big mistake to the Star Trek film reboot. No offense to Simon Pegg but a very bad casting decision made there. Even worse than the French captain who was originally planning to play Janeway!

I was a little suprised to see that the event organisers have decided to charge for talks - according to what appears on the ST:Londons website. I dont recall this being mentioned way back when entrance tickets first went of sale. I appreciate the need to charge fans for photosessions and autographs but talks have always been at the heart of conventions and the ones I have attended over the years have not charged - even the massive Star Trek Generations convention way back in the late 90's in the Royal Albert Hall had an entrance ticket fee but that included the talks. I am very dissapointed at the organisers decision to do this and slightly a bit disgusted - talk about milking the cow for every drop! I would like to know what my entrance ticket for the weekend pass covers? In all previous Star Trek conventions I have attended the entrance fee has included the cost of the talks. In times of a double dip recession the money that people can afford is limited. Surely the money raised by the entrace ticket plus autographs and photosessions is enough to cover the cost of the event? I like many other fans have already invested alot into this convention especially when you need to factor in train/air and hotel costs for the weekend plus autographs and photoshoots. What are peoples views on this? Do you feel as if you have already paid enough to attend this event and that the talks should be free?