One of Liverpool’s ambassadors, consultant liver surgeon, Mr Graeme Poston from University Hospital Aintree, alongside Liverpool Convention Bureau and ACC Liverpool, has helped to secure the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO) conference, to be held from 14th – 16th September 2014.
ESSO represents more than 2,000 cancer surgeons from across Europe and the Middle East and with the conference estimated to bring in between 600-800 delegates to the ACC Liverpool, it is also expected to generate around £1.4 million in economic benefit for the city. The ESSO conference is the largest gathering of cancer surgeons in the world. A special Lord Mayor’s reception will be held for delegates travelling to Liverpool.
Carol O’Reilly, Liverpool Convention Bureau Manager comments; “This win is a great coup for the city and a reward for our collaborative efforts in securing the event. We faced competition from capital cities including Athens, Geneva and Berlin, so quite rightly we are extremely proud to have secured such a high profile conference, which underlines our international reach and expert knowledge.”
Mr Poston, who has also been appointed as President-elect of the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO) continues; “A lot of hard work goes into these bids. Clinicians work very closely with venue management teams and Liverpool Convention Bureau to present the best possible bids for bringing major conferences to the city. It is very competitive, but Liverpool’s worldwide recognition through music and football gives us an advantage. We are building on that by demonstrating that we can successfully host major events.”
Jacquie Rogers, General Manager of BT Convention Centre, part of ACC Liverpool added; “It is great to see the city being backed by members of the medical profession and with this kind of support and endorsement, ACC Liverpool is being recognised as a skilled and adaptable venue to host major association events of this nature. We look forward to welcoming ESSO in 2014.”
Securing the ESSO conference is the latest in a series of major clinical events to be secured by bids from clinicians across the city, with the support of the convention bureau and venues. These include the Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons Great Britain and Ireland (AUGIS) in 2008, the Association of Surgeons Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI) and the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) in 2010, while 2012 will see the city play host to the UK Digestive Disorders Federation (DDF) which includes AUGIS and BSG.
Mr Poston, who recently won a lifetime achievement award for excellence in cancer surgery, added: “Success breeds success and the more times the city hosts clinical conferences, the more we can convince leading clinicians from across the world that they are coming to the right place to share best practise and help to improve the quality of care for all of our patients.”
