World Congress of Esperanto

The World Congress of Esperanto (in Esperanto: Universala Kongreso de Esperanto, acronym UK) has the longest tradition among international Esperanto conventions, with an almost unbroken run of more than a hundred years. The congresses have been held since 1905 every year, except during World Wars I and II. Universal Esperanto Association has been organizing these congresses since the 1920s.

These congresses take place every year and gather on average about 2000 participants (since World War II it has varied from 800 to 6000 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).

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, S. Korea, Australia, Israel and Vietnam.

Number Year City Country Number of
participants
99 2014 Buenos Aires Argentina
98 2013 Reykjavík Iceland
97 2012 Hanoi Vietnam
96 2011 Copenhagen Denmark 1458
95 2010 Havana Cuba 1002
94 2009 Białystok Poland 1860
93 2008 Rotterdam Netherlands 1845
92 2007 Yokohama Japan 1901
91 2006 Florence Italy 2209
90 2005 Vilnius Lithuania 2235
89 2004 Beijing China 2031
88 2003 Gothenburg Sweden 1791
87 2002 Fortaleza Brazil 1484
86 2001 Zagreb Croatia 1691
85 2000 Tel Aviv Israel 1212
84 1999 Berlin Germany 2712
83 1998 Montpellier France 3133
82 1997 Adelaide Australia 1224
81 1996 Prague Czech Republic 2972
80 1995 Tampere Finland 2443
79 1994 Seoul Republic of Korea 1776
78 1993 Valencia Spain 1863
77 1992 Vienna Austria 3033
76 1991 Bergen Norway 2400
75 1990 Havana Cuba 1617
74 1989 Brighton United Kingdom 2280
73 1988 Rotterdam Netherlands 2321
72 1987 Warsaw Poland 5946
71 1986 Beijing China 2482
70 1985 Augsburg Germany 2311
69 1984 Vancouver Canada 802
68 1983 Budapest Hungary 4834
67 1982 Antwerp Belgium 1899
66 1981 Brasília Brazil 1749
65 1980 Stockholm Sweden 1807
64 1979 Lucerne Switzerland 1630
63 1978 Varna Bulgaria 4414
62 1977 Reykjavík Iceland 1199
61 1976 Athens Greece 1266
60 1975 Copenhagen Denmark 1227
59 1974 Hamburg Germany 1651
58 1973 Belgrade Yugoslavia 1638
57 1972 Portland U.S. 923
56 1971 London United Kingdom 2071
55 1970 Vienna Austria 1987
54 1969 Helsinki Finland 1857
53 1968 Madrid Spain 1769
52 1967 Rotterdam Netherlands 1265
51 1966 Budapest Hungary 3975
50 1965 Tokyo Japan 1710
49 1964 The Hague Netherlands 2512
48 1963 Sofia Bulgaria 3472
47 1962 Copenhagen Denmark 1550
46 1961 Harrogate United Kingdom 1646
45 1960 Brussels Belgium 1930
44 1959 Warsaw Poland 3256
43 1958 Mainz Germany 2021
42 1957 Marseille France 1468
41 1956 Copenhagen Denmark 2200
40 1955 Bologna Italy 1687
39 1954 Haarlem Netherlands 2353
38 1953 Zagreb Yugoslavia 1760
37 1952 Oslo Norway 1614
36 1951 Munich Germany 2040
35 1950 Paris France 2325
34 1949 Bournemouth United Kingdom 1534
33 1948 Malmö Sweden 1761
32 1947 Bern Switzerland 1370
World War II
31 1939 Bern Switzerland 765
30 1938 London United Kingdom 1602
29 1937 Warsaw Poland 1120
28 1936 Vienna Austria 854
27 1935 Rome Italy 1442
26 1934 Stockholm Sweden 2042
25 1933 Cologne Germany 950
24 1932 Paris France 1650
23 1931 Kraków Poland 900
22 1930 Oxford United Kingdom 1211
21 1929 Budapest Hungary 1200
20 1928 Antwerp Belgium 1494
19 1927 Danzig Free City of Danzig 905
18 1926 Edinburgh United Kingdom 960
17 1925 Geneva Switzerland 953
16 1924 Vienna Austria 3400
15 1923 Nuremberg Germany 4963
14 1922 Helsinki Finland 850
13 1921 Prague Czechoslovakia 2561
12 1920 The Hague Netherlands 408
World War I
11 1915 San Francisco U.S. 163
10 1914 Paris France canceled due
to World War I
9 1913 Bern Switzerland 1203
8 1912 Kraków Poland 1000
7 1911 Antwerp Belgium 1800
6 1910 Washington, D.C. U.S. 357
5 1909 Barcelona Spain 1500
4 1908 Dresden Germany 1500
3 1907 Cambridge United Kingdom 1317
2 1906 Geneva Switzerland 1200
1 1905 Boulogne-sur-Mer France 688



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    “If the Third World War is fought with nuclear weapons, the fourth will be fought with bows and arrows.”
    —Louis, 1st Earl Mountbatten Of Burma Mountbatten (1900–1979)

    “The profession I chose was politics; the profession I entered was the law. I entered the one because I thought it would lead to the other. It was once the same road; and Congress is [s]till full of lawyers.”
    —Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)

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    —George Steiner (b. 1929)