ICANN

"L'Hôtel de Ville" or the Paris town-hall, was first built in the 17th century and rebuilt after a fire in the 19th century. It houses stunning rooms like this one, the "salle des fêtes".

Toured the Paris town-hall a few days ago with fellow members of the Paris ICANN meeting launching group and ICANN's Kieren McCarthy. The reason we were there was to evaluate a possible location for the much-anticipated gala dinner event.

Actually it's fair to say that the whole meeting is much anticipated. As a blasé local, I have to admit I'd come to take the allure of Paris in summer for granted. Not so for the ICANN meeting attendees already planning their June trip to France for the meeting. A lot of people have told me that they plan on coming with their wives/husbands, or even members of the family, to combine what promises to be an intense week's work with a little well-deserved sight-seeing before or after the meeting.

The gala dinner will be one of the highlights of the week. If it does take place inside the town-hall, monument and history lovers will be in heaven. Much to my shame, I have to admit that my recent visit was the first time I'd been inside this public building with its elegant corridors, richly decorated rooms and grand reception halls…

Registration is already possible for the Paris meeting which, as is the case for every ICANN meeting, is free and open to all. Anyone planning to make the trip should register asap, especially as its possible to pre-register for both the welcome ceremony and the gala dinner, a first for an ICANN meeting and something which should make planning those two events a little easier.