Get ready to spend at least part of your summers in Vienna. The European Society of Radiology (ESR) announced on 12 May that it would hold another three editions of its annual European Congress of Radiology (ECR) in early July.
In an email, ESR announced that ECR would take place in early July for the years 2023-2025. The news confirms rumors from earlier this year that the congress would shift to a summer schedule. ESR gave the following dates for the next three meetings:
- ECR 2023: 5-9 July
- ECR 2024: 3-7 July
- ECR 2025: 2-6 July
ECR has been held in Vienna, Austria in early March for some three decades, since settling on the picturesque city on the Danube River as a permanent location in 1991. However, as with many things, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a change to that schedule.
Both the 2020 and 2021 editions of the congress were shifted to online-only events due to the pandemic. After initially hoping to hold the 2022 congress in person in March, the omicron wave prompted the ESR to host a virtual event in March and shift the in-person ECR 2022 conference to 13-17 July in Vienna.
The move of ECR 2022 to July prompted speculation that the meeting might shift to a summer schedule on a permanent basis. Indeed, in March an ESR spokesperson confirmed that the society had booked the Austria Center Vienna conference venue for both March and summer dates through 2025. The 2023-2025 congresses will continue to be held at Austria Center Vienna, the spokesperson confirmed.
In its 12 May email announcing the switch, ESR said a summer congress would enable the society to organize a "safe and secure meeting" under more favorable conditions.
"The decision to hold ECR in the summer has been made primarily with considerations related to the pandemic," the email stated. "The needs of our attendees, faculty, and industry partners are always our first priority."
