39th Annual Congress – Lisbon

CCL, Lisboa Congress Centre

Praça das Industrias, 1
1300-307 Lisbon, Portugal

How to get there

An application will be made to the UEMS EACCME® for CME accreditation of this event.

Join us in making ESICM LIVES 2026 a more sustainable congress

I. Key initiatives 

 Sustainability & Environment

1. Waste sorting: Waste is carefully sorted at the venue.
2. Bring your water bottle: All participants are encouraged to bring their own reusable bottles.
3. Badge holders and lanyards: From 2024 onwards, ESICM has moved to recyclable cardboard badge holders instead of plastic. Lanyards are also designed for reuse, as they are no longer rebranded every year.
4. Local food: The venue sources all food from local small-scale suppliers. On Wednesday, 14 October, we encourage everyone to go vegetarian for a day. On this date, all food offered at the CCL, Lisboa Congress Centre will be entirely vegetarian.
5. No single-use plastic is used in the catering areas. Lunch boxes are provided in recycled paper containers.
6. Morning Charity Run & Walk – Support ICU patients around the world!
7. ISO 20121:2024 Certified PCO: ESICM has partnered with K.I.T. Group, which is ISO 20121:2024 certified for sustainable event management.

 Accessibility & Convenience

1. Transport connections: The venue is easily accessible by public transportation from both the airport and the city center.
2. Accessibility of facilities: All areas of the congress centre are accessible. For further assistance, please reach out to the organisation team.
3. Mothers’ room: If you require a space, free rooms can be arranged at the registration desk.

II. Sustainability Tips 

1. Go digital and limit paper usage 

You can download the ESICM App on Apple and Google Playstore. In the App you will find all information regarding the congress, including the full scientific programme, the exhibitors list and much more.

2. Water, water everywhere 

Bring your own reusable water bottle to refill at the water stations located throughout the congress.

3. Live like the locals

Save time and reduce your impact on the environment by getting to the congress venue by public transport, the fastest, most cost-efficient and environmentally friendly option. If public transport is not a viable option for you, we encourage you to use low-emission vehicles.

4. Limit your carbon footprint while travelling 

Lisbon is well connected to the European rail network, making it easy to reach by train.

If you must travel by plane, choose direct flights when possible to limit the carbon emissions.

Make your stay more sustainable by choosing a Green Certified hotel* and benefit from negotiated rates. You can find Green Certified Hotels on our accommodation platform.

*To be certified, hotels must fulfil internationally defined criteria specially adapted for establishments within the tourism sector. They must make considerable environmental efforts across areas such as food and beverage, energy, waste, and water. They should also calculate their carbon footprint and set targets to reduce it.

5. Save Energy

Save energy by turning off computers, laptops and other electronic devices when not in use. Recharge them only when needed. Turn off the AC and switch off the lights when leaving your hotel room.

6. Recycling made easy 

Use the designated recycling bins throughout the congress centre to help us get your waste where it needs to go.

7. Your lanyard will live again 

When you leave, please deposit your lanyard in the corresponding waste bins. Or keep it to reuse it next year.

The official language of the Congress is English. There will be no simultaneous translation.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

The Congress Committee of LIVES 2026, the 39th Annual Congress of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, welcomes the submission of abstracts of original contribution to the field.

Deadline: The abstract submission system will close on 15 April 2026, 23:59 CET.
This abstract receipt deadline is firm and any abstracts received after the deadline will not be accepted. Abstract submitters will receive an e-mail confirmation immediately after submitting their abstract. If you do not receive this e-mail, please contact the Abstract Department.

ABSTRACT AWARDS

Ten Best Abstracts Awards
Presenters of the 10 best abstracts will receive an award including one free registration to LIVES 2027 (core congress).

Three N&AHP Abstract Awards
The N&AHP best abstract award includes one free registration to LIVES 2027 (core congress).

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ABSTRACT PREPARATION
Please read the instructions carefully before submitting your abstract.
All abstracts must be submitted in English and must be submitted electronically. No paper abstracts will be accepted. Abstracts not prepared correctly will not be considered for review.

Abstract authors should not split data to create several abstracts from one data set. If splitting is deemed to have occurred related abstracts may be reduced or simply rejected.

REVIEW PROCESS
The submitted abstracts will be examined anonymously by the ESICM Congress Committee.
The authors will be informed of acceptance/rejection of their abstract by e-mail at the end of June 2026. All abstracts selected for presentation at the Congress will be presented either in the form of an oral or an e-poster presentation and will be published in the ICMx Journal.

ABSTRACT CATEGORIES

1. Acute Kidney Injury and haemofiltration
2. Acute respiratory failure and mechanical ventilation
3. Haematologic-oncologic issues in the ICU
4. Cardiac arrest
5. Cardiovascular issues in ICU
6. Critical care organisation, quality management, information systems, outcomes
7. Imaging in intensive care
8. Infections and prevention
9. Sepsis
10. Metabolism, endocrinology, liver failure and nutrition
11. Neurointensive care
12. Nursing care and physiotherapy
13. Perioperative care
14. Pharmacology & Toxicology/Poisoning
15. Sedation, analgesia and delirium
16. Systemic diseases
17. Transfusion and haemostasis disorders
18. Trauma
19. Ethics and end of life care
20. Brain death, organ donation and transplantation
21. Information systems and Data Science
22. Translational biology
23. Rehabilitation & PICS
24. Education (NEW CATEGORY)
25. Environmental sustainability (NEW CATEGORY)

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
• Abstracts must be submitted in English and should not exceed 3,000 characters, including spaces. Theabstract title, the list of authors and the references are not part of this count.
• Images and tables may be included in the abstract.
• Abstracts should not include data that is already published.
• Abstracts should be as informative as possible and should be adequately ordered in the following sequenceand structure:

INTRODUCTION
OBJECTIVES
METHODS
RESULTS
CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCE(S)
GRANT ACKNOWLEDGMENT

• All accepted abstracts will be presented in e-poster form. A limited number of accepted abstracts will alsobe selected by the Scientific Committee for oral presentation. Instructions for e-posters and oral presentationswill be sent to the corresponding authors after the review process.
• Preference will be given to new and/or ongoing work.
• Abstracts are to be submitted using the online Abstract Submission System only. ESICM does not acceptsubmission of abstracts by mail, fax or email.
• Abstracts should not contain proprietary or confidential information.
• The presenting author must be registered for the Congress in order for his / her abstract to be published.
• Please do not submit multiple copies of the same abstract.

Instructions for images and tables
• Caption is required.
• No more than 3 figures allowed.
• Numbering is mandatory if there are several images.
• Check that the images are correctly referred to in the text.
• Check the quality of the images in the summary received by email.
• Tables must be inserted in the body of the text and not as images.

Notes:

• Submission of an abstract constitutes a formal commitment by the author to present the abstract in thesession and at the time decided upon by the Congress Committee. One of the co-authors can take over ifneeded. Failure to present the abstract, for other than duly motivated reasons, will lead to rejection ofabstract submission at the next ESICM Event.
• Registration fees for the presenting author will not be waived.
• It is the authors' responsibility to submit abstracts in perfect order with no errors in spelling and grammar.Abstracts will not be corrected.
• ESICM does not accept neither case reports or case series.
• The authors agree that ESICM will publish abstracts in the ICMx Journal and record the presentation forsubsequent use, as it deems appropriate.
• The signing author certifies that any work with human or animal subjects related in this abstract complies with the guiding principles for experimental procedures, as set forth in the Declaration of Helsinki and related publications.
• Submitting an abstract also certifies that at the time of submission, the scientific material found within the abstract has not been presented at any other meeting and will not be published in any form other than abstract form prior to the ESICM Annual Congress.

Failure to adhere to these rules will result in the automatic rejection of the abstract.

• Abstracts opening February 2026 / deadline mid-April 2026
• Scientific Prog under construction
• Educational Prog under construction

Registrations opening May 2026

Code of Conduct

The ESICM LIVES Annual Congress is a professional scientific meeting committed to providing a respectful, harassment‑free, and inclusive environment for all participants, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, appearance, ethnicity, race, national origin, pregnancy, medical condition, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, citizenship, age, or religion.
All delegates, including speakers, exhibitors, poster presenters, media, staff, and other participants, are expected to conduct themselves with integrity and to treat all individuals involved in the ESICM LIVES Annual Congress with respect.

A number of hotels in different categories have been pre-booked at preferential rates for the congress. Rates include breakfast, local VAT and city tax. The hotels are located both close to the congress venue and in the city centre, with convenient and fast routes to the congress venue.

Book your hotel accommodation ahead of time and benefit from the best rates and choices. 
Please contact the Hotel Department for further information.

Accommodation

K.I.T. Group GmbH is the official housing agency, selected by the congress organiser, to be in charge of the hotel bookings for ESICM 2026. Individual bookings and small groups of up to 10 delegates can be made via the booking platform which will be available approximately by May 2026.

Group Bookings
Please note that group reservations, 10 rooms or more, will be handled with separate contracts and separate regulations. Please contact the Hotel Department for further information.

The designated official accommodation partner for the ESICM LIVES Annual Congress 2026 in Lisbon is K.I.T. Group GmbH:

K.I.T. Group GmbH
Kurfürstendamm 71
10709 Berlin
Germany
Tel. +49 30 24603 209
Email

Your hotel reservation will be part of the Congress Reservation block booking and the K.I.T. Group GmbH will be available to provide support.

Sponsorship

For questions regarding sponsorship, please contact:

Joel Alexandre
ESICM CEO
joel.alexandre@esicm.org

Elise Maquestiaux
ESICM Events & Sponsors Coordinator
elise.maquestiaux@esicm.org

Exhibition Space

For questions regarding exhibition, please contact:

Hester Folley
K.I.T. Group
industry@esicm-congress.org

An application for pre-clearance has been made to the MedTech Europe Code of Ethical Business Practice for this event, see on Event Details CVS

Sustainability checklist for industry partner