In the year that is coming to a close, a longstanding trend has emerged at the Congress Center Basel (CCB): alongside a large number of congresses that regularly switch their destinations, it is proving possible to acquire an increasing number of recurring international events for Basel as a location. After the record autumn of 2015, which saw more than 25,000 congress participants within a period of three months, Jonas Scharf, Head of the CCB, is looking forward to new international congresses next year. Biotech Outsourcing Strategies cmc is being held in Basel for the first time in 2016 and would like to become established on an annual basis in this city where the Rhine turns northwards. The ESC congress of the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health and the ECFS congress of the European Cystic Fibrosis Society will also both be bringing more than 2000 participants to Basel. And a further highlight in the Basel congress diary is the 2016 International Symposium on Dental Hygiene.
Similar to awarding the Olympic Games
Recurring congresses make for dependability in planning. International scientific events that go to different congress destinations all over the world, by contrast, are generally subject to an elaborate bidding process. “Bidding for rotating congresses is certainly an exciting challenge, like awarding the Olympic Games. In such cases, we are in direct competition with destinations like Vienna and Paris”, explains Letizia Elia, Head of Marketing & Business Development. The team at the Congress Center Basel then works in close cooperation with the City of Basel, frequently accompanying the organisations for a number of years on all the issues that arise. “Through this intensive and successful cooperation, it has proved possible to stage more than 65 international and 60 national congresses of different sizes with a total of some 650,000 participants between 2010 and 2015”, says Jonas Scharf.
Event Hall for congresses
The state-of-the-art infrastructure at Messe Basel plays a decisive role in the Congress Center’s strong international position. Both the eleven modular rooms on the ground floor, which were brought into operation in summer 2013, and the link to the exhibition complex by Herzog & de Meuron are impressive features. Hence the DGHO annual conference, which marked the highlight in terms of participant numbers in Basel in autumn 2015, was staged without need for any structural alterations. The Event Hall, in particular, which is located in the complex by Herzog & de Meuron is being increasingly used for large-scale congresses. Thanks to the footbridge, participants can move freely between the different premises, thus enhancing visitor comfort and making Basel’s congress infrastructure even more attractive.
The established life science location of Basel is also one of the mainstays of this success. A description of Basel by the Terrapinn company sums it up: “The City of Basel is a major life science hub, home to major pharma and biotech companies such as Actelion, Novartis and Roche and a site of global drug innovation”. Terrapinn was responsible for the successful CCB première of the European Antibody Congress in November 2015, which is to be staged for a second time in Basel next year.
