the annual meeting of the association is held in a different european city each year. it attracts 17,000–18,000 participants from over 100 countries worldwide. abstracts are invited from members and non-members. all abstracts are anonymously reviewed by a programme committee, chaired by the honorary secretary. the easd was one of the first international associations to introduce the anonymous review of abstracts. the scientific programme of the meeting, providing titles of the lectures and symposia, is made available online at an early stage, and, once confirmed, the speakers' names are made available about 6–8 weeks before the start of the meeting. all abstracts accepted for presentation can be accessed online via the online programme. a search function assists the visitor in finding abstracts in their field of interest. since 2012 the easd virtual meeting presents posters and talks from the conference online free of charge.