Euroanaesthesia 2026, Rotterdam – Congress Highlights

Euroanaesthesia is a favourite in our calendar. Each year we look forward to the moment we come together as a community to share knowledge, stimulate new ideas and celebrate scientific excellence in our field. Whether your interests are education, knowledge exchange, or innovation, or if your speciality is general anaesthesia, intensive care, pain management, emergency medicine or perioperative medicine, Euroanaesthesia has so much to offer. Euroanaesthesia unites these specialities, providing an opportunity to come together in a bigger, unified field of practice and allowing vital communication between each speciality. Our networking and social events facilitate this communion, further enriching our fields of knowledge while allowing attendees to feel a part of a bigger family.

This year Euroanaesthesia will travel to Rotterdam in the Netherlands. As the Netherlands’ second largest city, Rotterdam is more than just one of the largest ports in the world. Rotterdam is a city renowned for a vibrant cultural life and innovative modern architecture. For those seeking culture, you will have a smorgasbord on offer from museums, cultural centres, music events, visual arts, poetry, to cinema, and theatre. Blended into its rich historical heritage is a thriving multicultural population, enriching the city with food and music from all over the world. Its skyline boasts unique architecture: the Cube Houses, Erasmus Bridge, Markthal, and De Rotterdam are just a few of its proudest achievements and worth a visit if you have time.

Getting to Rotterdam couldn’t be easier. Networks linking travel by air, train, sea, or car facilitate travel to the city. Rotterdam is accessible by air via Rotterdam The Hague Airport. High-speed rail links connect the city to major hubs such as Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris. The city is also one of the key stops of the Eurostar.

The Rotterdam Ahoy! complex will host the congress this year. Designers originally conceived this site as an exhibition centre to celebrate the rebuilding of the city after its significant destruction during WWII. Over the years it has seen constant expansion and modernisation. The complex now comprises a sports arena, the Sportpaleis, a conference centre, and one of the top-rated concert arenas in the world. This location aligns with ESAIC’s vision of practicing sustainability, as this is a core ethos of this congress centre. Rotterdam Ahoy! prioritises efficient energy management and resource recycling, as well as developing space for inclusivity and charity. Rotterdam Ahoy! is easily accessible by bus, metro, and train. If you don’t fancy staying in the city centre, there are also many hotels within a short walking distance of the congress centre. Please check our congress website for accommodation and transport recommendations.

Every year Euroanaesthesia begins with one of our favourite moments of the congress, the opening ceremony. Key to this ceremony are the Sir Robert Macintosh and Prof. Ibsen lectures. These sessions honour professionals for their outstanding contributions and highlight their importance in the medical community. The speakers will present ground-breaking ideas or address critical issues that stand out as deeply relevant.

This year, the topic of leadership is top of the agenda. The ESAIC president, Prof. Idit Matot, highlighted leadership as a key mandate of her presidency. In her January newsletter, The Leadership Link: Connecting People and Purpose,she introduced her goals for her presidency. She acknowledged the valuable role that anaesthesiologists play as leaders on the perioperative pathway and how important it is to develop this leadership. Going further, she aims to empower leadership skills for anaesthesiologists, including starting a leadership programme for senior anaesthesiologist who wish to become department chairs. She also highlighted ESAIC’s role in being a leader in environmental sustainability and leading the European Preparedness for Crisis Management Strategy for anaesthesiologists and intensivists. It was clear from her message that she envisions ESAIC becoming an organisation that creates and supports leaders to become the best they can be.

Our opening lectures reinforce the importance of this vision. In the Sir Robert Macintosh Lecture, Prof. Stephanie Klein Nagelvoort-Schuit (Groningen, Netherlands) will present on the topic of “Leadership in healthcare in times of transition”. Prof. Maurizio Cecconi (Milan, Italy) will present the Prof. Ibsen Lecture on the topic of “Learning from crisis: shaping the future with clinical and scientific leadership”.

As usual, we have packed our scientific programme full of high-quality education. This year’s programme reflects ESAIC’s commitment to clinical relevance, innovation and inclusivity. Carefully built by the ESAIC Scientific Committee and its expert forums, every proposed session results from focussed collaboration between specialists from different fields. Each year we have a series of ‘hot topics’ sessions covering general anaesthesiology, intensive care medicine, pain medicine, critical emergency medicine, obstetric & paediatric anaesthesia and ESAIC guidelines. You can find more details in our full scientific programme.

We are extremely proud to introduce new, innovative, immersive simulation workshops: “AMDC – Airway Management in Difficult Circumstances”. This immersive 4,5-hour programme will boost the confidence, skills, and crisis-readiness of anaesthesiology professionals who attend. This workshop combines realistic high-fidelity simulations, hands-on practice under operationally challenging conditions and expert instruction by experienced physicians from Erasmus MC, Mobile Medical Team (MMT) Nederland and ANWB Medical Air Assistance (MAA). They will ensure participants receive informed guidance and constructive feedback throughout the session.

Each scenario aims to enhance situational awareness, patient safety, and team performance under pressure. Following each scenario is an extended debrief, providing space for reflection and deeper learning. Adventure Experience Group and IMC TEC will facilitate all simulations. This programme is being sponsored by Medtronic, a company that has long-standing links to Patient Safety initiatives. Please note, this workshop is available through pre-registration only.

The very popular Simulation Lab (SimLab) returns with a full programme covering hi-fidelity simulation, procedural simulation and workshops on ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia. Our SimLab staff are some of the most experienced facilitators in the world. During High-Fidelity (HF) simulation sessions, one or two challenging clinical scenarios are reproduced in a fully immersive environment using a high-fidelity patient simulator (mannequin). Delegates will observe and then actively manage the clinical cases. A structured debriefing led by skilled instructors, where participants engage in reflective discussion and feedback, follows each scenario. These SimLab sessions will cover scenarios in obstetric anaesthesia, cases in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the Post-Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU). There will also be scenarios in adult trauma and difficult airway during anaesthesia and perioperative medicine. These sessions are available through pre-registration and are onsite only. The SimLab can only exist through the support of Philips, who provide vital equipment, and Laerdal, who provide the high-fidelity patient simulators.

Our Exhibition Centre will showcase the latest industry technology. At the heart of the Exhibition Centre, we will host Innovation Talks 2026 at the SQUARE. Here, ESAIC Key Opinion Leaders and industry experts will explore the current trends and progress of the patient journey in perioperative care. These will cover safety, precision, and patient monitoring at each stage of the pathway, leading to improved outcomes in postoperative care. There will also be presentations on EU research projects where ESAIC is a stakeholder, such as the ground-breaking SAFEST project that is revolutionising Patient Safety across Europe.

The ESAIC EXPO also returns in 2026. The ESAIC EXPO is a space dedicated to ESAIC sessions and initiatives highlighting the work of ESAIC committees in promoting collaboration, education, research, and innovation in scientific progress. Here you can meet key stakeholders in dedicated sessions. The ESAIC EXPO will also host the Best Abstract Prize Competition. This year we have already received 1,500 abstract submissions. We will showcase the best 6 abstracts, and 3 prizes are up for grabs.

Problem-Based Learning Discussion (PBLD) returns to our programme in Rotterdam. Although PBLD’s can only accommodate 30 people in the active discussion, it will now be possible for additional participants to observe from tribunes at the back of the room. This way we could increase capacity without hindering the concept of a PBLD, which is made for small groups. You can still learn a great deal through observing and listening to the discussions. Make sure you get to each location early because we only guarantee active participation on a first-come, first-served basis, and these popular sessions are likely to fill fast.

This year, we will also showcase our Open Rooms Concept using the innovative Silent Seminar headsets. Silent Seminars delivers professional wireless headset solutions that eliminate sound clash, improve audience focus, and support seamless multi-session events. This technology offers users an immersive audio experience during sessions.

As every year, the conference programme will receive CME accreditation. Please note that compliance reasons prevent accrediting some activities for CME, such as workshops, sessions at the SQUARE, and poster sessions. Participants will receive an attendance certificate for attending any workshops.  

Finally, for ESAIC staff, this congress will have been over 18 months in the making. We always enjoy seeing the results of hard work and dedication to making these events the best they can be. We look forward to meeting you and welcoming you to Rotterdam for this unique experience.