Worldcon, or more formally The World Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during World War II). It is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (or WSFS). The members of each Worldcon are the members of WSFS and vote both to select the site of the Worldcon two years later and (since 1955) to select the winners of the Hugo Awards, which are presented at the convention.

For pages about individual Worldcons, see List of Worldcons (by date) or List of Worldcons by city.

Activities and events at the convention typically include (but are not limited to):

The World Science Fiction Society administers and presents the Hugo Awards, the oldest and most noteworthy award for science fiction. The award is voted on by Worldcon members. Categories include novels and short fiction, artwork, dramatic presentations and various professional and fandom activities.

Other awards may be presented at Worldcon at the discretion of the individual Convention Committee. This has often included the national SF awards of the host country, including the Japanese Seiun Awards as part of Nippon 2007, and the Prix Aurora Awards as part of Anticipation 2009. The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and the Sidewise Award, though not sponsored by the Worldcon, are usually presented, as well as the Chesley Awards, the Prometheus Award, and others.

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.

In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop and rock artists.

Gary Jules (born March 19, 1969 as Gary Jules Aguirre, Jr.) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his cover version of the Tears For Fears classic "Mad World", which Gary recorded with friend Michael Andrews for the film Donnie Darko. It became the UK Christmas Number One single of 2003. Since then, Gary's version has been used on popular American TV shows, in a commercial for the critically acclaimed video game Gears of War, an episode of CSI: Las Vegas, and a Season 5 episode of the medical drama House.

Some of Gary's early projects/bands were The Ivory Knights, Our Town Pansies, Woodenfish, Kofi, The Origin, Invisible, No poetry, and Heroes and Heroin.^{[citation needed]} Gary's 2003 residency at the Los Angeles Hotel Café helped develop the venue as a successful singer/songwriter venue for other artists such as Gary.