The 2026 ERS Congress, organized by the European Respiratory Society (ERS), brought together nearly 20,000 respiratory health professionals from around the world at the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via venue from September 5 to 9. Considered the premier international gathering in this field, the congress featured an extensive five-day program comprising over 500 sessions and approximately 5,000 research presentations.
Centered on the theme “United for better breathing: partnership between patients, clinicians and researchers,” the 2026 edition focused on collaboration among patients, clinicians, and researchers. Key topics addressed included advances in early detection, the climate change and pollution impact on lung health, and new artificial intelligence and digital health applications.
The scale of the event required a massive audiovisual and technological deployment carried out by Fluge Audiovisuales Barcelona, which was responsible for supplying, installing, and operating the sound, lighting, and video systems, as well as designing and providing technical consultancy for the various spaces. Project preparation spanned more than a year, involving intensive planning, coordination, and decision-making.
One of the major challenges was the complete transformation of Hall 3, where 13 conference rooms were set up to operate simultaneously, alongside two overflow areas. Concentrating so many spaces within a single hall demanded exceptionally precise coordination among production, technical teams, and operations staff throughout the five-day congress.
Meanwhile, Hall 1 hosted the main plenary hall, configured to accommodate 1,500 attendees. The video setup featured a central 15 x 4.5-meter LED screen flanked by two large, semi-curved side LED screens—each measuring 15.5 x 4.5 meters—creating one of the project’s most impressive technical spaces.
Sound, lighting, video, live production, technical design, and space adaptation were all part of a production that demanded meticulous planning and the simultaneous coordination of numerous technical and design teams. The setup also extended to the television studio in CC5, the Barcelona and Europa rooms, spaces in CC3 and CC1, and various areas of Hall 2.
The project’s complexity was defined largely by the need to coordinate and operate multiple audiovisual environments simultaneously. In addition to the 13 conference rooms, the setup encompassed the plenary hall, the television studio, overflow areas, various auxiliary spaces, and the exhibition zone—all operating in parallel throughout the event’s five-day run.
Fluge Audiovisuales Barcelona worked alongside Micemedia (ERS’s technical consultancy) and collaborated with ShowTex, Angle, and DEG Digital Events to execute a project distinguished by its scale, the diversity of its spaces, and a high level of simultaneous activity.
