ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancers Congress 2024: Practical Information

Assistance with hotel bookings can be offered at the Support desk, located in the Registration area.

ESMO-MORA: The ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancers Congress programme has been accredited with 19 ESMO-MORA category 1 points. Recertification is necessary for medical oncologists to remain professionally certified by ESMO. It also guarantees that a certified medical oncologist has continued to update her/his knowledge and still possess the necessary skills and standards for the practice of medical oncology. See here for further details.

During the ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancers Congress your badge may be scanned outside session auditoria by ESMO for operational and statistical purposes. Badges scanned inside the Exhibition area by third parties may be for statistical or marketing purposes. Should you agree to have your badge scanned, the following information will be transferred: title, first name, last name, institute, department, profession, city, country, email address. Individuals have the right to refuse their badges being scanned.

The Certificate of Attendance will be available for download for the ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancers Congress section of the ESMO website from Saturday, 16 March 2024. You will need the ESMO Username and Password to log in and then complete the evaluation questionnaire. 

The cloakroom is located in the Foyer at the entrance on the ground floor and follows the Registration area opening hours.

The ESMO Daily Reporter is the official Society’s newspaper freely available in digital format at this link. Stay up to date with the latest advances in oncology with daily news and commentaries from key opinion leaders on the scientific findings presented at the Congress. Go online and read fresh contents from Thursday 14 March to Saturday 16 March.

There will be an exhibition onsite. See the exhibitor list here.

The exhibition opens with the following schedule:

Visit the ESMO Booth to discover more about ESMO’s activities and all the benefits of being an ESMO Member, and join or renew your Membership from there to take advantage of special offers reserved to Congress delegates.

Congress content is the copyright of ESMO. It is strictly forbidden to record or capture in any way the official programme, Satellites sessions, the Exhibition and/or the posters presented during the meeting. Video recording of the Congress sessions is only possible for few minutes by Press Representatives (news coverage), while photographing of sessions content by accredited Press Representatives is allowed for personal and non-commercial use only, i.e., photos cannot be published or reproduced in any way.

In general, video recording of full Congress sessions without authorisation is prohibited and permission needs evaluation and approval by filming@esmo.org.

Anyone conducting filming activities and carrying professional equipment is requested to inform ESMO (filming@esmo.org) in order to receive clear guidance and secure a special vest to be worn all times while filming.

Photographs and/or footage may be taken throughout the Congress by ESMO appointed photographers and cameramen. These might be used by ESMO in its own publications, on the website and social media channels. The subjects of the photographs and/or the footage are chosen at random. By attending the Congress participants consent to the fact that photographs and/or footage may be captured and used by ESMO.

Coffee breaks and lunches will be offered to delegates during the onsite congress with the following schedule:

It is each participant’s responsibility to check and comply with the latest health and travel regulations to ensure a smooth and safe journey from the Country of origin to the event venue, and back.  

During the event, ESMO will apply health and safety protocols according to the latest local authority guidelines and regulations. 

In general, ESMO recommends  

• to apply health precautions and measures according to formal guidance and personal medical history,  
• to stay up to date with the vaccination status 
• to perform a Rapid Antigen Test and wear a mask in case of symptoms. 

Hand sanitisers will be available throughout the venue; the use of mask is at own discretion in the absence of symptoms. 

Normal caution must be exercised by all. ESMO bears no responsibility for untoward events in connection with, before, during or after the Congress.

Please refer to the Registration desk.

ESMO Membership offers valuable educational resources and opportunities to collaborate as one oncology community. Discover all the benefits of being an ESMO Member – visit the ESMO Booth and find out how to join, taking advantage of special offers reserved for Congress attendees.

The official language of the Congress is English.

Traditional printed posters will be displayed in Foyer at the ground floor.

Instructions for Poster presenters are available here. 

Invited speakers and oral presenters will be contacted by CTI Meeting Technology and provided details about the upload of their presentation slides.

Instructions for speakers, oral presenters and the Congress template slides will be available online soon.

If you are a Press Representative and wish to have access to the ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancers Congress please check the dedicated page or contact press@esmo.org.

If you are a Third-Party representative and need assistance about Third-Party media activities and related queries please check the dedicated page or contact media@esmo.org.

The onsite Congress will take place from 14 to 16 March. Please consult the online programme for all details.

Official Congress Programme

The registration system for small group and group will remain open until 14 February. But the individual registration will remain open throughout the congress.. You need an ESMO account to register yourself to the ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancers 2024, if you do not have one yet, please create it here.

In-person participation includes:

• Participation in scientific and educational live sessions with the possibility to interact with the expert panel
• Onsite networking opportunities with faculty and peers
• Entry to the Poster area
• Interaction with the industry partners in the trade exhibition
• Participation in the Industry Satellite Symposia
• Access to the Post-event resources and sessions on-demand
• Coffee breaks and lunches

The safety of all Congress attendees is of utmost importance to ESMO.

Safety advice when attending a Congress:

• Always remove your Congress badge upon leaving the venue
• Be vigilant in crowds, restaurants and on public transportation; watch out for people creating distractions and diversions
• Be careful not to leave your luggage unattended in any public place, including the hotel and Congress venue; keep your personal belongings with you, both inside and outside the venue

ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancers Congress 2024 and the concomitant Exhibition have been designated as no-smoking events throughout the entire venue, including all meeting halls, functions, Registration, and catering areas. All participants are kindly required to respect the no-smoking policy, which includes electronic cigarettes.

The official hashtag of the ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancers Congress 2024 is #ESMOSarcomaAndRareCancers24 .

Access the latest science and be part of the conversation on our social media accounts:

• X
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

The Speaker Centre is located in “Room C 1/2” on the first floor.

Access to the Speaker centre is restricted to the following persons (guests / accompanying persons are not permitted):

• Invited Speakers
• Proffered Paper and Mini Oral Presenters
• Scientific Committee members
• ESMO Executive Board, ESMO Council and ESMO Honorary members
• Designated representatives of companies using the official slide management system.
  A maximum of one person per presentation upload will be granted access.

ESMO is committed to doing business in a sustainable way, acting in a socially as well as environmentally responsible way.

A number of actions have been implemented towards minimising the environmental impact of the ESMO Congress 2023, including:

• Free city transportation pass are available to all delegates staying at hotels in Lugano, to incentivise the use of public transportation
• No Congress Bags – The material usually provided in the bag will still be available through the Virtual Congress Bag on the Virtual Congress Platform
• No printed Programme Book – The online programme is accessible via the ESMO website, as well as on the Congress App
• Reduction of Society’s printed material distributed onsite – Information is already available in digital format
• Locally sourced food, in so far as is possible
• Water dispensers to refill own bottles

To learn more about the Society’s commitment towards a more environmentally friendly approach to ESMO activities, follow the work of the ESMO Climate Change Task Force.

The ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancers Congress 2024 will take place at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Lugano, Switzerland.

Palazzo dei Congressi Lugano
Piazza Indipendenza 4
6900 Lugano - Switzerland

View map

The Convention Centre is located in Lugano, just next to the lake and the city centre.

It can be easily reached in 10 minutes from Lugano SBB main train station:

• by bus: take line 2 direction Castagnola and stop at the “Palazzo dei Congressi” station
• by funicular / walk: it is possible to take the funicular from the station to the city centre and walk 10 minutes.

More information can be found here.

Sessions from the official congress programme

Registered delegates and ESMO Members can access resources on OncologyPRO from 18 March 2024 for 2 years.

Satellite Symposia

Satellite Symposia webcasts will be available on OncologyPRO or ESMO website (only if permission has been granted by the Pharma Company) for ESMO members and registered delegates, from 18 MArch 2024 for 2 years.

The ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancers 2024 venue, is overall accessible with a wheelchair. All areas of the Congress Centre have either flat entrances or easily accessible elevators.

Wi-Fi internet access is a free service offered to all delegates during the ESMO Sarcoma and Rare Cancers 2024. The network is called “PalazzoCongressi” and the password is: Luga2024 .