With big issues on the table to be decided —.XXX and gTLD — the icing on the cake could be former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who will give the keynote address on Wednesday at an ICANN evening affair at the Westin Hotel at Union Square.
The following day the Free Speech Coalition plans to rally with industry professionals against ICM Registry's .XXX proposal, which likely will be put to a vote at its general board meeting on Friday. The rally around the Westin starts at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, which also coincides with St. Patrick's Day, one of the most festive annual days in San Francisco. The rally will include a press conference.
Citing the need to hash out its differences with Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), ICANN has slightly altered the schedule for the meeting by holding all-day meetings with GAC on Tuesday and Thursday.
There also will be 5-1/2 hours of public comment sessions specifically devoted to new gTLDs. There will still be a two hour public comment period for other topics on Thursday.
The complete schedule is available here.