Content Table
We are looking forward to welcoming everyone planning to attend the ERS Congress either onsite in Barcelona or online. In anticipation of the Congress, the page offers guidance and information, as well as answers to some frequently asked questions that are specific to ELF and patient representatives. You can also visit the ERS’s dedicated webpage for ERS Congress here.
Important: If you are joining us in Barcelona, please print your badge before coming to the Congress centre. All registered attendees should have received their badge by email. You can also download your badge from myERS by logging into the MyERS portal.
Patient representatives should check that they have a “Patient Representative” badge. If your badge is incorrect, it may prevent access at the Congress. Please contact us immediately if you notice any issues.
Everyone attending the Congress needs to be registered in order to access the Congress centre and online content. All registered attendees will receive their badge by email in August.
If you are attending in-person, please print your badge before coming to the Congress centre. You should print your badge in colour, on A4 paper. When you arrive at the Congress centre you will be able to collect a badge holder and lanyard. Everyone at the Congress must wear their registration badge at all times so that the security personnel know that you have permission to be inside the Congress centre.
Patient representatives should check that they have a “Patient Representative” badge. If your badge is incorrect, it may prevent access at the Congress. Please contact us immediately if you notice any issues.
If you were successful in obtaining an ELF travel bursary towards your costs, then we will send you an email to let you know what you need to do to claim your bursary. If you have not yet received your email, please contact us.
If you are registered to attend the Congress virtually, we will send you information in advance on how to join Patient Organisation Networking Day and access the online ERS Congress sessions.
The ERS Congress app is the official companion for this year’s event. The app is now available on iOS and Android devices. Users can access the app before, during and after the event to browse the programme, access the onsite map, watch back sessions and network with other users.
The download link for the app will be shared here soon.
ERS has negotiated a special rate with TMB for a 5-day unlimited travel card covering all buses, metro (including the airport), and urban railways (zone 1) within Barcelona, at €17.86 per person. To purchase a transportation card, please email the registration department: ers2026registration@kit-group.org.
Patient representatives received booking confirmation at the time of reservation. This includes details of luggage allowances. Should passengers have any questions or require clarification, they can contact BTA using the details below.
It is the responsibility of each passenger to check in for their flight and ensure they have the correct travel documentation such as passport, identity card and any relevant entry documentation.
For any queries about your travel, please use BTA’s contact details below:
During office hours 09:00 – 17:00
Email: ers@btafirst.com
Phone: +41 21 644 22 99
Outside office hours and during weekends, passengers can contact BTA’s 24-hour support service.
Emergency Travel Service
(outside office hours, additional charges apply)
Phone: +44 134 426 79 17
Email: btaromandie@afterhours.travel
ELF pre-paid for a group of rooms for patient chairs, speakers and PAG representatives. For those who have chosen to stay at the hotel, you made the reservation directly through the booking website and received confirmation by email.
The hotel will complete a deep clean of all rooms in the group booking.
The hotel details are as follows:
Hotel Viladomat, Calle de Viladomat 197, 08015, Barcelona
The ERS accommodation partner, B Network, is managing the group booking. For any queries about your reservation, please use B Network’s contact details below:
During office hours:
Email: ers2026hotels@bnetwork.com
Phone: +34 635 038 442 / +34 935 500 355
For any queries about your room, services available at the hotel, taxi reservations from hotel to congress centre etc, please contact the hotel reception.
ELF and ERS cover the costs for patient chairs, speakers and some patient advisory group representatives to attend the ERS Congress. This has been confirmed to each individual in advance.
Under the ELF travel policy, we encourage participants to use the most sustainable and economic transport available, while suiting your needs. We understand many of the patient and carer representatives attending the congress have health conditions which limit their mobility.
We would ask you to bear in mind the following guidance when planning your travel:
The following information will help you understand the different transport options:
From airport to ELF patient hotel
🚕 Taxi ~25 – 30 min · €40 – 50. Maximum permitted by travel policy €80.
Bus ~40 – 50 min · €7.75 from airport to ELF patient hotel
From ELF patient hotel to Congress centre
🚕 Taxi ~15 – 20 min · €25 – 30
🚇 Metro ~25 – 30 min · €5 –6 from ELF patient hotel to Congress centre
L5 Entença → direction Cornellà Centre, change at Collblanc, then L9 Sud → direction Aeroport T1, get off at Fira
From Airport (T1 & T2) to ELF Patient Hotel
🚕 Taxi~25–30 min · €40–50 Maximum permitted by travel policy: €80.
🚇 Metro Option ~45–55 min · €5.50 L9 Sud (T1 or T2) → direction Zona Universitària Change at Collblanc → L5 → direction Vall d’Hebron Get off at Entença → walk to hotel
🚌 Bus Option~50–65 min · €2.40 Bus 46 from T1/T2 → direction Barcelona Get off at Plaça Espanya → walk or connect to local bus (H12 / 52) to hotel
From ELF Patient Hotel to Congress Centre (Fira Barcelona Gran Via)
🚕 Taxi~15–20 min · €25–30
🚇 Metro Option ~25–30 min · €5–6 L5 Entença → direction Cornellà Centre Change at Collblanc → L9 Sud → direction Aeroport T1 Get off at Fira
🚌 Bus Option~30–40 min · €2.40 Bus H12 (Gran Via) → direction Hospital de Sant Joan de Déu Change at Plaça Cerdà → Bus 46 → direction Aeroport Get off at Fira Gran Via
For patient chairs, speakers and some patient advisory group representatives funded by ELF and ERS, you can claim back eligible expenses after the Congress for example for food and transport.
To ensure your claim can be processed:
After the Congress, the ELF team will contact you with instructions for how to enter your reimbursement claim. It is not possible for ELF to refund any payments without a receipt to evidence the transaction.
It is not permitted to bring banners, stands or roll-ups into the Congress Centre due to safety regulations. The venue will be exceptionally busy.
For organisations who have reserved time on the ELF-patient organisation stand in the World Village you can bring printed materials such as leaflets and also use the TV screen to display your logo, a video or slide show.
For sustainability, we would encourage you to limit the amount of printed material you bring.
The ERS Congress 2026 is taking place in the Fira Gran Via from 5 to 9 September 2026. This is a large venue and, while everything is well-signposted, it can be easy to get lost.
ELF have labelled a map of the centre in September that is clearly annotated with the locations relevant to patient representatives, including the ELF World Village stand and the Patient Organisation Networking Day location. We will also mark areas to sit and other facilities.
The ERS have published their practical information for attending the ERS Congress 2026. This page provides helpful guidance for quick reference by delegates, including topics such as:
It also includes information on accessibility and wheelchair hire. Wheelchairs can be borrowed on site from the designated cloakroom or accessibility service desk at Fira by providing your contact details (and possibly ID), and must be returned before the venue closes each day.
The World Village is a dedicated space for Congress attendees to gather, strengthen existing partnerships and make new connections. There will be an ELF stand and patient community space with seating available. Throughout the Congress, these will be a point of information and a space for patient representatives to meet and network. During the Congress, come to the World Village on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday for networking at the community space, as well as talks in the World Village Auditorium. Visit ELF Events at ERS Congress for our schedule of events each day.
In most European countries, the promotion of prescription drugs by pharmaceutical companies is legally restricted to healthcare professionals. The definition of a ‘healthcare professional’ can vary from country to country. This also applies to participation in medical meetings, where the classification of attendees may differ between international and national events. As a result, some ERS Congress participants may not be permitted to enter the Congress Exhibition area.
In Spain, patients and representatives of patient organisations are not legally permitted to enter an area where prescription medicines are being promoted. Accordingly, patient representatives attending the ERS Congress are not permitted to enter the exhibition area, including healthcare professionals who have registered as patient representatives through ELF.
All ERS symposia, as well as the majority of industry symposia, will be accessible to patient representatives. If an industry symposium has specific audience restrictions for legal or compliance reasons, the session organiser is responsible for managing these limitations. Such restrictions will be clearly communicated outside the session room. ERS and ELF are not responsible for enforcing these restrictions, which must be fully respected.
ELF is involved in a wide range of activities throughout the Congress. We have created a new page with a day-by-day overview of our events and highlights from the programme.
We are looking forward to welcoming you to ELF Patient Organisation Networking Day on Saturday 5 September in Room 3C, Fira Gran Via, Barcelona. For information about the programme and start times, visit the event page. For those registered for Patient Organisation Networking Day, please find below some important information about the event for either in-person or online attendance.
Following our event, you are all invited to attend the ERS Congress opening session, which takes place from 17:45-20:30 in room 1A and gives you a further chance to network with each other. ELF staff will be available to take you to the room after our event finishes.
We are running the day as a hybrid event. You should have received an email with instructions for how you can join online on the day. Please read these in advance as it will include information on how to log on to the ERS platform, this is essential for entry into the session. To join, you will access via the ERS live stream. For the breakout discussion groups, you will need to join a separate Zoom link.
The communication team have created a short template to help patient representatives share their experiences from ERS Congress 2026. The template includes ready-to-use social media posts, prompts for writing a short news update or blog and guidance for note-taking during sessions.
