City wins European medical conference

THE International Convention Centre in Birmingham has beaten competition from Europe to bring a major medical conference to the city.

The European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) Congress chose Birmingham for its 2020 conference ahead of Brussels and Geneva, the first time in 30 years it has visited the city.

The congress is one of the leading international meetings in the field and will bring together the world’s brightest minds in immunodeficiency alongside 2,500 delegates during the four-days event in Ocotber 2020.

Ian Taylor, venue sales director for ICC owner the NEC Group, said: “I have no doubt we will be able to help make this conference a resounding success.

“At the ICC, we work in partnership with our clients as part of their team to advise and consult and we encourage them to use our in-house expertise and knowledge to make sure they get the best out of their event.”

Aarn Huissoon, consultant immunologist based at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, led the bid on behalf of the the local 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. Birmingham has undergone huge transformation recently with more exciting developments over the next few years.

“I believe my colleagues from around the world will enjoy their time here, and even our UK colleagues will be pleasantly surprised.”