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YOUR INVITATION TO JOIN US ON THE MAGICAL TRIP OF A LIFETIME
TO FISM 2009 IN BEIJING, CHINA
The World
Championships of Magic, FISM, is held every three years in a
different country and features six days filled with magic
lectures, workshops, shows, dealers and 150 contestants
vying to be ‘World Champion of Magic’. In 2009 FISM will
take place in Beijing, China. It’s the first time since 1991
that FISM will be staged outside of Europe and for
Australians it means it’s the closest, and most affordable,
FISM we’ve had in a long time.
Tim Ellis and I
visited China earlier this year to take a look at the
preparations, the venue, the hotels and the city in which
FISM 2009 will be staged. We we’re shocked. Beijing isn’t at
all what we imagined it would be. It’s a big city (a HUGE
city) that makes New York look like a country town. It’s
modern, efficient, well organised and very welcoming to
westerners.
Our hotel was
fantastic, a five star hotel for less than $150 Australian
(breakfast included!), taxis were very cheap, the subway is
state of the art, food for every taste is abundant and very
cheap (a 600ml bottle of Coke is 48c, a Big Mac Meal is $4),
and the venue where FISM2009 will be held is astonishing! (You
can read all about our trip and see some pics
here)
The FISM2009
organisers have agreed to work with us to host a group of
Australian delegates to FISM. If you’re thinking of coming
to Beijing in 2009, we’d like to invite you to be part of
that group. It doesn’t cost you anything more than if you
were to go to FISM on your own, in fact you may even save
money, and you get to travel with a group of fellow Aussie
magicians.
1
– Go to
www.Fism2009.org and register online for FISM. It
costs 388 Euros (that’s just over $100 Aussie a day and it
includes a banquet!)
2
– Contact Tim Ellis, tour co-ordinator, on 03 9486 4445 or
tim@magicunlimited.com and let him know you’d like
to be a part of the Aussie delegation to FISM2009.
3
– We will negotiate the best possible airfares flying Qantas
direct from Sydney to Beijing. Closer to the date we’ll
contact you and let you know the cost from your city to
Sydney to Beijing and return. At this stage, if you change
your mind and would rather travel on a different airline or
at a different time, that’s fine.
4
– We’ll help you to organise your VISA for China (about $30
Australian).
5
– We’ll all meet up in Sydney on Friday July 24 (around 10am
according to current schedules) and fly together for 12
hours arriving in Beijing at 8.10pm.
6
– We’ll be guided quickly through customs as a group,
collect our luggage and be taken by private bus direct to
our hotel.
7
– As a group, we will be given first option to book rooms at
the official convention hotel. The cost will be around $150
Aussie a night per room, and you can have two (maybe three?)
per room. (No promises, but if you bring your laptop the
hotel we stayed at had free internet in the room).
8
– When we arrive at the hotel, we should receive our goody
bags and registrations when we check in.
9
– The next day, Saturday, is yours to do as you please.
Relax, take a sightseeing tour around the city, visit the
Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, or just
enjoy the incredible selection of shopping. (We’ll give you
some insider’s shopping tips too!)
10
– FISM begins and, as a group, we’ll take the subway to the
FISM venue so you are 100% sure you know your way around,
then the World Championships are yours to enjoy! And if you
have any questions or problems, come see us and we’ll give
you direct access to FISM organisers and get it sorted right
away.
Important points:
Yes,
you can use your Frequent Flyer points to try to upgrade
your economy ticket if you travel with the group.
Yes,
you can fly back from Beijing to Melbourne on any flight you
like, you don’t need to return with the group.
Yes,
you can even fly into Beijing earlier, you’ll have to make
your own way from the airport to the hotel though.
Yes,
we will put together a very helpful guide to Beijing & FISM
for you that you’ll receive before departure.
I hope to see
you at FISM!
SUE-ANNE
WEBSTER
President, MUGS
(Magic Unlimited Group Sessions)
Official
Australian Member of FISM |
