- 7 out of 11 of potential notable speakers I have lined up live in London. They are far more likely to attend a London conference but would not take a plane ride because it isn't worth their time. I don't want to give their names away to keep it a pleasant surprise
From running the UK exchange Intersango, we've had a lot of contact with high up financial types in particular.- My press contacts are largely in London: BBC, Guardian, Independent, Channel4 news, Wired, Wall Street Journal.
- London is better connected internationally than Berlin.
- We held an after conference survey. 10 voted for London, 6 for Berlin, 5 for Prague. 4 others abstained. 70% of the respondents actually attended this conference.
- I am in London.
- 2 months ago I held the London Bitcoin Meetup at the London Hack Space. The space was small so we limited the event to 30 people, and denied 10 people on the waiting list. 40 people turned up anyway.
- London is expensive (50 EUR per night for hotel). However from speaking with a couple hotels so far, they were willing to negotiate a group deal. I also have friends in London and the London Hack Space who could donate sleeping bag space.
- Many of our previous speakers came from London: Amir Taaki (me), David Birch, Simon Dixon, Jason Chia, Max Keiser. We also had a nice turnout from UK participants although I agree that the attendance in Prague was much higher among Germans.
Together I think these points make a compelling case for London.
yossarian is going to respond below so please read his message too.