A Successful 30th Congress Anniversary
Our challenge was to make the 30th Anniversary of the European Congress of Pathology a great success in an unfamiliar congress destination.The host City was Bilbao – a relatively small city with not a lot of flight connections, so we thought that registration figures might be lower than in the previous years. Also, Bilbao is not too renowned internationally as a congress city.
The congress centre is beautiful, an architectural masterpiece, but feels like Hogwarts (and looks like it from the outside, too) – it is hard to find one’s way around.
Solutions
The Local Organising Committee Chair was extremely active and working very closely with us. We arranged an exhibition of all past congress posters/various documents in the registration area, which was very well frequented.
Various anniversary speeches were held in the Opening Ceremony and a selection of special giveaways and printed matters were produced for the 30th anniversary.
Outcomes
3500
Participants
87
Countries
26
Topics
The Congress was a huge success. Media coverage was at an all-time high and the congress was the talk of the town – front covers of different newspapers showed the congress. The whole city of Bilbao seemed focussed on the congress. The ECP turned out to be the biggest international congress Bilbao had ever hosted. And it was also one of the biggest congresses for the society with more than 3,500 participants.
150
637
E-posters
616
Posters
Additionally, Bilbao is a culinary and cultural hotspot: Participants raved about the food at the Welcome Reception and guests of the President’s Dinner enjoyed an outstanding evening at the impressive Guggenheim Museum.
"As we continue to professionalize ESP's activities, in particular our annual meeting, satisfaction of the ESP members as well as the contribution of our sponsors are vital to the success of this meeting. With your efficient support, the scientific and financial significances of the annual congress have greatly enhanced, and the event is getting rave reviews for its educational and social content."
Prof. Dr. Pierre Bedossa, Past-President ESP
