ECR attendance holds steady as officials ponder cross-town move

Feb 27, 2002

Attendance at the 2002 European Congress of Radiology (ECR) will be roughly the same as last year’s, despite a decrease in European attendance at the 2001 RSNA meeting in Chicago. According to ECR executive director Peter Baierl, this year’s meeting will attract about 7,000 professional attendees, with a total attendance of approximately 13,000.

Baierl emphasized that the drop in European attendance at the RSNA had nothing to do with the RSNA meeting itself, and everything to do with problems and concerns about air travel in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. Moreover, he said, attendance figures are not a critical measure of a meeting’s importance.

"Europeans have a different view," Baierl observed. "It’s not all about numbers. Plus the ECR, unlike some conferences, has never exaggerated or inflated (its) attendance figures."

Although attendance will not increase, the ECR has added more computer terminals to improve Internet access for attendees. In 2003, all meeting information will be available online, including poster exhibits, Baierl said. Another change for this year is the renaming of the Golden Mile -- an exhibit area for cutting-edge radiology computer technology -- to the Matrix.

The number of exhibitors also is expected to remain constant, with 200 technical exhibits slated to occupy roughly 8,000 square meters of exhibit space at Austria Center on the Vienna outskirts.

"The exhibit space is full," Baierl said.

With no room left to accommodate either additional exhibits or larger booths for current vendors, the ECR has begun considering a change of venue for the meeting. Two years ago the ECR considered leaving Vienna due to concerns over the rightward shift of the Austrian government, and also because of suggestions from some vendors and European radiologists that perhaps it was time to move on. After extensive discussion, the ECR decided that staying in Vienna was the more financially responsible decision.

Now, a happier dilemma gives ECR the option of leaving Austria Center but staying put in Vienna. A new 170-million euro convention center near the city’s Prater district is nearing completion. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has already committed to hosting its 2003 meeting in the center, with 30,000 attendees expected.

"We’re going to be looking closely at the new site," Baierl said.

Although the new Reed Messe center will be ready to host the ESC in 2003, construction won’t be completed until 2005. When finished, the center will cover more than 35 acres (15 hectares), and offer 70,000 square meters of exhibition space. It will provide parking for 4,500 vehicles and will be linked to the city’s transport system via a new station on the extended U2 subway line, and will also be adjacent to the Prater fairgrounds. More information (in German and English) about the new convention center can be found at www.messe.at.

By Brenda Tilke
AuntMinnie.com contributing writer
February 28, 2002