The European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress 2026 will take place from 5 to 9 September in Barcelona, Spain, with the option to join online.
Content Table
The European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress 2026 theme is: “United for better breathing: partnership between patients, clinicians and researchers”
This reflects a strong focus on collaboration and creates important opportunities for patient involvement across the Congress programme. The 2026 priority topics include:
Patient perspectives will be a key part of the ERS Congress 2026 and ELF will support ERS assemblies and session organisers to include patient and carer perspectives in sessions and ensure the programme reflects what matters to people living with lung conditions. This is an important opportunity for the ELF community to contribute across the Congress and support stronger, more visible patient involvement.
ELF recently hosted a webinar on how patient voices can shape ERS Congress 2026.
The ERS Congress is an annual conference. It brings together the world’s respiratory experts to present and discuss the latest scientific and clinical advances across the entire field of respiratory medicine. For more information about the ERS Congress programme, visit the ERS Congress website.
Each year, ELF organises activities at the Congress to support patient representatives in getting actively involved. We are dedicated to ensuring that patient organisations and representatives have the opportunity to attend the Congress and share their valuable expertise in sessions throughout the programme. Once again, we are delighted to welcome patient representatives from diverse countries, organisations and lung conditions.
ERS and ELF provide a dedicated Congress registration category, and reduced cost, for patient organisations and their representatives. The patient representative registration aims to make Congress more affordable and accessible, particularly to those who wish to bring more than one member of their organisation.
Members of the ELF Patient Advisory Committee and patient advisory groups are entitled to further benefits from the ERS Congress.
ELF-registered patient representatives cannot access the ERS exhibition area or industry-sponsored sessions. This restriction is required by law in Barcelona and industry guidelines.
Registration will open on 14 April 2026. More information will be published soon.
The ERS exhibition is an area of Congress where ERS industry partners can communicate directly with ERS members and healthcare professionals about new products and medicines.
Promotion of prescription medicines is limited to healthcare professionals only. This means that entry into the exhibition area at ERS Congress is available only to healthcare professionals. It is against the law for companies to promote prescription medicines to members of the public. Patients and representatives of patient organisations are not categorised as healthcare professionals in Barcelona.
In accordance with industry and national guidelines, patients, patient representatives and members of the public who are attending the ERS Congress are not permitted to enter the ERS Congress exhibition area in Barcelona.
Please note that if you are a healthcare professional and you choose to register as a patient representative at a reduced cost via ELF, you are not permitted to enter the ERS Congress exhibition area or access any industry-sponsored sessions.
ERS and ELF staff and the Congress security team are instructed to respect these guidelines. We ask you to understand that we work within these guidelines at the request of our industry partners and the laws put in place by the country hosting this year’s ERS Congress.
ERS Congress industry partners welcome interaction with Congress delegates that are not categorised as healthcare professionals and ask you arrange to meet your contacts in other areas of the Congress centre. The World Village is a dedicated space at the ERS Congress for delegates to gather, strengthen existing partnerships, make new connections and find out more about ERS’s ongoing initiatives.
For further information regarding the ERS exhibition area please contact corporate.relations@ersnet.org who will be happy to help.
The ELF Patient Organisation Networking Day is an opportunity for members of the ELF Patient Organisation Network to connect, share knowledge and explore current challenges in respiratory health. The 2026 event will take place on Saturday 5 September with the theme “United for better breathing: partnership between patients, clinicians and researchers”.
This event offers a space to reflect on the overall ERS Congress theme, best practice for partnership in healthcare and to learn from organisations that are working collaboratively in innovative and effective ways.
More information about this year’s event will be published soon.
At the ERS Congress 2026, we are committed to ensuring that patients are not just present but actively involved in shaping discussions, sharing insights and influencing the future of respiratory healthcare. Each year, we look for new and innovative ways to increase patient participation, both in person and online. This year, opportunities include:
All confirmed speakers and contributors to the programme from the ELF network will be published on this page.
The Healthy Lungs for Life campaign will join us in Barcelona. More information on our public lung function testing and Take the Active Option event will be published soon.
