Florence favoured for noted congresses

Firenze Convention Bureau strengthens its commitment to the city with numerous congresses won this summer, developed in collaboration with Firenze Fiera. The coming months and years are set to see several high-calibre events hosted in Florence, with the city having been awarded prestigious conventions across several fields.

ESSO 42, the 42nd European Society of Surgical Oncology Congress was awarded to Florence thanks to the business development carried out with the EU Convention Bureau network. Hosted in Valencia in 2012 and Rotterdam in 2019, Florence is next to host the delegates in 2023, held in the spaces of Firenze Fiera. Another congress awarded thanks to the efforts of the convention bureau is EBMT 2025, the Annual Meeting of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, a significant medical-scientific congress that was already hosted in Florence in 2008 with a record 4,713 participants. Firenze Convention Bureau, Firenze Fiera and Dr. Saccardi, the local host (director of the Cell Therapy and Transfusion Medicine Unit at Careggi University Hospital) presented a joint candidacy campaign on January 22, 2022. The success of the venture was announced on January 24, also thanks to an incentive plan of 20,000 euros implemented towards the congress that will take place in 2025. An expected 4,000-6,500 participants will come to the city, with an estimated economic impact of 9 million euros.

The World Space Research Committee also chose Florence, 62 years after its last edition in the Renaissance city, having hosted the event in 1961 and 1964. The 46th COSPAR Assembly will take place at Fortezza da Basso from August 1-9, 2026, with 3,000 delegates from all over the world arriving in the Tuscan capital. Historically, only London and Washington have hosted the assembly twice, and Florence is the only city in the world to win a third edition. Promoted by INAF (National Institute of Astrophysics), the candidacy was developed and won thanks to teamwork coordinated by Professor Pietro Ubertini and Professor Sofia Randich of the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory, and by the scientific committee supervised by Professor Tomaso Belloni and Dr Francesca Altieri. The support of Firenze Convention Bureau, Firenze Fiera, AIM Group International and the University of Florence as well as local institutions led to the honour in what marks a very positive period for the Florentine meeting industry.

The summer saw not only these victories, but also the awarding of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society that will bring 600 scientists, engineers and students to the city for their annual international conference, set to be held at Palazzo dei Congressi and Palazzo Degli Affari from June 18-21, 2023. Firenze Convention BureauFirenze Fiera and Kenes Group collaborated to bring the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) to the same venues from October 21-25, 2024, with 500 delegates expected. The same number of delegates are set to arrive from June 18-July 2, 2025, for the Annual Congress of Computational Neuroscience (OCNS), a candidacy won thanks to collaboration with MCR Conference.

These are successes for the entire Florence meeting industry, which has confronted the challenges and opportunities of the period with resilience and foresight. The support of the Municipality of Florence, the Florentine Chamber of Commerce and Fondazione CR Firenze now see excellent rewards with the constantly fruitful relationship between the University of Florence, Firenze Convention Bureau and Firenze Fiera flourishing as evidenced in the many congresses won.