Birmingham fights off European competition to land top medical congress

BIRMINGHAM has fought off competition from European cities such as Brussels and Geneva to secure a major conference.

The International Convention Centre (ICC) has been selected by the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) to stage its 2020 Congress.

The Congress, which is the leading international meeting in this field and brings together the world’s brightest minds in immunodeficiency, will take place at the ICC between October 14-17 2020 and will attract something like 2,500 delegates during the four days.

Catherine Newhall-Caiger, NEC Group Business Development Director, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming ESID to the ICC and the city of Birmingham.

“It will be the first time in 30 years that this Congress has taken place in the UK and we expect a significant number of delegates (who) will also mark the 50th anniversary of Immunodeficiency in the National Health Service and ESID’s 19th biennial meeting.”

The ICC participated in a thorough bidding process from ESID to ensure the venue would be the right choice, which culminated in individual members voting throughout a four-week period.

Birmingham was the clear choice with 38% of the vote from 692 participants.

Dr. Aarn Huissoon, Consultant Immunologist based at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, led the bid on behalf of the Local UK Organising Committee.

He said: “The UK has a long history of immunology innovation and Birmingham has played a large part in this, so I am proud to bring ESID 2020 to our wonderful city. Working with the ICC to bring the Congress here has been a pleasure as they are completely invested in making the event a success.”

Emma Gray, Director of Marketing and Communications for Meet Birmingham, said then decision to host the congress in Birmingham would be a major boost for the city’s economy.

She said: “ESID’s decision is a further boost in our efforts to attract and retain significant national and international medical events, and part of our strategy to secure more conferences aligned to the sectors we are targeting for investment.”

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