ECCMID takes place annually in the spring and is recognized by academia, the clinical setting and industry as the largest European congress for the presentation and discussion of research in the fields of clinical microbiology and infection. The first European Congress of Clinical Microbiology (ECCM) was organised in 1983 in Bologna. After the Society's adoption of infectious diseases in the late eighties, the first ECCMID was held in 1991 in Oslo. Initially a biannual congress, ECCMID became an annual event after 1999 in Berlin. The venues of ECCMID have been systematically selected to ensure that the congress is easily accessible to colleagues from different areas of Europe on a rotating basis. Since its initiation, ECCMID has grown in size and stature and now attracts around 15,000 participants every year. The number of submitted abstracts has risen to over 6,000 of which 70% are accepted for oral or poster presentation. ECCMID is a congress that industry supports through sponsored symposia as well as a large and comprehensive exhibition of laboratory equipment, diagnostic tools and pharmaceutical products.