The landmark EAU 25^th Anniversary Congress will be held in the beautiful city of Barcelona, the capital of the region of Catalonia in Spain. For the first time this special EAU Annual Congress will be held over a weekend: from Friday 16 to Tuesday 20 April 2010. Over the last 25 years, the EAU has consistently served as a platform for urological professionals to share new insights with each other and the world, with the goal of improving patient care worldwide.

The success of the Annual EAU Congress underlines the crucial role of the scientific programme’s quality. In recent years we have not only seen an increase in the number of participants but also the growth and development of what is now an outstanding scientific programme. A wide range of topics and pressing issues in our specialty will be presented, including paediatrics, bladder cancer, female urology, renal cell carcinoma, reconstruction and functional urology, benign prostatic obstruction and stones, to name but a few. A total of 1,089 abstracts were accepted, including 46 video abstracts. These will all be presented in 78 abstract sessions and 8 video sessions. The Anniversary EAU Congress in Barcelona expects to attract more than 11,000 delegates and approximately 3,000 company representatives.

The press programme enables you to make the most of your time at the Anniversary EAU Congress. There is a fully equipped press centre on site, which is open during congress hours. The official EAU press event will take place on Saturday 17 April from 12:00 to 13:30 hrs in the Press Conference Room. A welcome reception for all members of the media is included. This year the press event consists of a round table discussion entitled: Prostate cancer screening in Europe – the debate continues. The focus will be on the future of European healthcare policies in terms of prostate cancer screening after the study results from last year. Leading experts, such as Professors Schröder (NL) and Holmberg (SE) will be discussing the issue, led by Professor Hamdy (UK). Mr Alojz Peterle, Member of the European Parliament, will talk about the present EU policy and how the EU sees the future in this respect. Media representatives will be given ample opportunity to ask questions.

Come and meet urological experts in specific fields in an informal setting during our Meet the Expert sessions. You are welcome to ask any question about the selected topic. There is ample time to sit down and discuss the latest developments. The meetings will be recorded and posted online as podcasts after the meeting.
The programme is as follows:  

Meet the Expert session 1
Sunday 18 April 2010 from 11:00 to 12:00 hours
The future of robotics in Europe
Professor Alex Mottrie, Aalst (BE)  

Meet the Expert session 2
Sunday 18 April 2010 from 14:00 to 15;00 hrs
Minimally invasive procedures (excluding robotics)
Professor Jens Rassweiler, Heilbronn (DE)  

Meet the Expert session 3
Monday 19 April 2010 from 13:00 to 14:00 hrs
New developments in tissue engineering
Professor Wouter Feitz, Nijmegen (NL)

Please visit www.eaubarcelona2010.org for further details about the scientific programme, registration procedure, press programme etc. Or contact Ms Lindy Brouwer, EAU Communication Officer, at l.brouwer@uroweb.org.