Bruce,

I feel very grateful to you for offering to Bitcoin a dedicated TV show and an international conference.
But I have to say that I agree with Jgarzik regarding the location, and I have a few concerns about the content and the atmosphere.

The Bitcoin Conference is now permanently associated with Bitcoin's brand in everyone's mind.
Accordingly, it must fit with the image the whole community is willing to give of Bitcoin.
It must feel right to merchants, developers, researchers, hackers, bankers and the general public.
Defining what this image should be is a topic of its own, but I take no risk telling that it should be very professional.

Organizing private events is a good thing to strenghen the community.
But it should not be associated with Bitcoin in an ambiguous way.
I suggest you create a separate branding for such initiatives, like "The Bitcoin Club", "Bitcoin Meetups" or whatever..

Imagine if you attend a Defcon thinking it's going to be about hacking, only to find yourself unconfortable in some private party where you don't know anybody... Imagine if the Linux Expos were organized in Ibiza, or if LUGs were an ambiguous mix of party going and Linux geekness.

In practical terms, I would divide your list of events in two lists rebranded as follow :

The Bitcoin Conference (in major financial places to start with):
- New York
- London / Paris
- Hong Kong / Singapore / Tokyo
These would require a higher budget, heavy media coverage, and a seamless organization.
It would be community and sponsors funded, and would cover mostly technical, financial and business related aspects of Bitcoin.
It would cater mostly to professionnals, and serve the purpose of broadning the economical base and public awareness of Bitcoin as a reliable financial backbone.

The Bitcoin Club / Meetup (anywhere):
- here, anything goes
This event would be mostly funded by people attending the event, and sponsors willing to be associated with the community life.

Separation of concerns is the key.
You have a high status in the Bitcoin community, and with high status comes high responsibility.