The Gold Coast will host delegates from North and South America, Europe and Asia for the International Congress of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery in September 2032. Experience Gold Coast
The Gold Coast has secured the International Congress of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery (ICSES) for September 2032, with more than 1,400 delegates expected at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The four-day congress is forecast to generate A$6.5 million (US$4.6 million) for the city, attracting surgeons, researchers and medical professionals from North and South America, Europe and Asia. It will be the event’s first return to Australia since Sydney hosted it in 1998.
The win follows a campaign that began in 2018, with the Gold Coast competing against destinations in Germany, India and Colombia.
Local expertise drives the bid
Experience Gold Coast worked on the bid with Dr Ezekiel Tan, an orthopaedic hand and upper limb surgeon at Gold Coast University Hospital and an ambassador for the city’s BE Connected programme.
The programme brings local industry leaders and researchers into the city’s efforts to attract conferences, connecting their professional networks and expertise with destination bidding support.
“The ability to attract an event of this calibre to the Gold Coast is a testament to the city, as well as the quality and strength of Australian surgical research and expertise,” Tan said.
Tourism and Events Queensland and Tourism Australia also supported the bid, with the latter providing assistance through its Business Events Bid Fund Program.
Building on the Games year
The congress adds an international medical meeting to the Gold Coast’s business-events calendar in the year it co-hosts the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Experience Gold Coast director of business events Andrea Molnar said the timing offered an opportunity to build on the investment, expertise and international connections generated by the Games.
“As a host region for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Gold Coast will be at the centre of global conversations around sport, performance, health, innovation and legacy,” she said.