Request for Proposal

Host City for the ILTS 2028 Annual Congress


Issued by:
International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS) 
c/o
Riggs Enterprise Corp. 
Email: [email protected] 
2025 Congress Website: https://ilts-congress.org
ILTS Website: https://ilts.org

Deadline for Proposals: 10/31/2025
Submission Format: PDF proposals emailed to: [email protected]

View PDF here

Request for Proposals

ILTS is requesting proposals to host the ILTS 2028 Annual Congress. Bids should be submitted by a Local Convenor (more information below).


About ILTS and the Annual Congress

The International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS) is a leading global association of approximately 1,600 international members dedicated to advancing the science and practice of liver transplantation. The ILTS mission is to promote and disseminate multidisciplinary scientific advances in liver transplantation worldwide. ILTS membership includes a multidisciplinary community of transplant surgeons, hepatologists, anesthesiologists, intensivists, researchers, and allied health professionals.

The ILTS Annual Congress is the world’s premier event in liver transplantation, attracting approximately 1,500 attendees each year, including 1,100 delegates and attendees representing 30+ corporate sponsors. The Congress rotates internationally, with recent events held in Houston (2024) and Singapore (2025). In 2026, the ILTS Congress will take place in Geneva, and in 2027, it will be held in Montreal. 
History of recent ILTS Congresses:
2009 New York, USA
2010 Hong Kong, China
2011 Valencia, Spain
2012 San Francisco, USA
2013 Sydney, Australia
2014 London, UK
2015 Chicago, USA
2016 Seoul, South Korea
2017 Prague, Europe
2018 Lisbon, Portugal
2019 Toronto, Canada
2021 Virtual
2022 Istanbul, Turkey
2023 Rotterdam, Netherlands
2024 Houston, USA
2025 Singapore, Singapore


Congress Overview

Preferred Dates: May or June 2028 (4-day event, plus setup and teardown)
Duration: 4 days (Wednesday–Saturday), including:
  • Pre-Congress workshops
  • Meet-the-Expert sessions
  • Plenary and breakout scientific sessions
  • Hands-on training e.g., anesthesia, perfusion, ultrasound
  • Industry symposia
  • Leadership and closing reception

Host Destination Criteria

ILTS seeks host destinations that demonstrate the following:
  1. Venue Requirements
  • Plenary room for 1,200+ attendees
  • 10–15 breakout rooms (50–300 people)
  • Dedicated workshop space for wet-lab or simulation-based training
  • Exhibition space for 30–40 sponsors/exhibitors (minimum 1,000–1,200 sqm)
  • Speaker ready room, working lounges, and staff office
  • Onsite catering services and ample networking areas

Room requirements

Important: The venue and/or city convention bureau should contact Megan Norris, Director, ILTS, for the full specifications: [email protected]. The deadline to submit a bid is 10/31/2025 at 11:59PM CET. Late submissions will not be accepted.
  1. Location Attributes
  • International airport with direct connections to major global hubs
  • Walkable and/or shuttle-accessible hotels (1,000+ rooms across multiple categories)
  • Proven success in hosting international medical/scientific meetings
  • Multilingual service support
  • Strong infrastructure for accessibility, safety, and sustainability

  1. Local Support & Partnerships
  • Incentives for international congresses (e.g., in-kind support, grants, discounts)
  • Access to local medical universities or liver transplant centers
  • Potential for collaboration with regional or national medical societies
  • Professional Congress Organizer (PCO) capabilities or recommendations
  1. Sustainability & Legacy Commitment
  • Commitment to sustainable event practices (venue certification, zero-waste goals)
- Willingness to co-create a local legacy project with ILTS (e.g., public health campaign or academic exchange)

Proposal Guidelines

The proposal should be submitted in the form of a bid book. The book should not exceed 30 pages and should only be sent in electronic format (pdf). The bid book should include and describe the following:

Bids should be submitted by a Local Convenor. A Local Convenor is a current ILTS Member acting as an ambassador for a city to host the ILTS Congress. Local can be defined as either living in the host city or the host country. The Local Convenor will not be required to make any contractual commitments and will not receive any financial compensation – either personally or for their institution. Their responsibilities include:
  • submitting the initial bid
  • supporting the generation of exhibition and sponsorship revenue
  • securing local/national financial subvention and benefits-in-kind
  • supporting local/national attendance promotion
  • supporting the Congress Secretariat as required in developing local initiatives and partnerships

1. Destination Overview

  • Introduction to the city and its relevance to ILTS and the field of liver transplantation.
  • Information on the interest and commitment of local, respected scientists and institutions to support the ILTS Congress.
  • Description of any existing relationships between the host city/country and the liver transplantation community.
  • Accessibility of the destination (international and local transportation).
  • Visa regulations and ease of entry for international attendees.
  • Details of any major national or international events (e.g., EASL, AASLD, TTS, ESOT, public/religious holidays) that may conflict with the proposed meeting dates.

2. Venue Proposal

  • Overview of the proposed congress venue, including:
    • Location and contact details for sales representatives.
    • Accessibility via public transportation.
    • Floor plans, capacity charts, and proposed allocation of space for ILTS sessions and exhibitions (detailing how it meets requested capacity).
    • Case studies or examples of similar-sized international congresses previously hosted.
  • Details of venue certifications (e.g., environmental sustainability).
  • Photos of the venue and its key spaces.
  • Proposed meeting dates and current availability, avoiding, if possible, any conflict with major national or international events in hepatology and organ transplantation.
  • Information on rental, audiovisual, and mandatory venue-related costs.

3. Hotel Options

  • Proposed room blocks across at least three hotel categories (e.g., economy, business, luxury).
  • A proximity map showing hotel locations in relation to the venue.
  • Sample pricing and room availability.

4. Financial Support & Incentives

  • A detailed budget including all relevant costs (venue rental, AV, mandatory cost, etc.).
  • Description of financial or in-kind support that can be provided by the city or venue (e.g., subventions, complimentary local transportation, complimentary services, complimentary or subsidized social events, airport welcome desks, etc.).
  • Outline of available services from the Convention Bureau or Tourism Authority.
  • Local Convenors, in collaboration with Secretariat and the ILTS Executive Committee, should outline how they would generate a minimum of USD 200,000 in local/national Industry funding, providing details of specific companies, existing relationships and any potential initiatives that could assist in activating Industry support.

5. Sustainability, DEI, and Legacy

  • Description of the city and venue’s sustainability practices and any certifications held.
  • Features that support diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
  • Legacy opportunities, such as:
    • Potential partnerships with local hospitals or universities.
    • Community engagement or educational initiatives tied to the Congress.

6. Contact Information

  • Designate a primary contact person responsible for coordinating the proposal and acting as the point of communication with ILTS.

Evaluation Process & Timeline

The proposals of the shortlisted cities will receive a thorough analysis and will ideally include a site visit from the Congress Secretariat. The final decision will be taken at the ILTS Winter Council Meeting(date to be confirmed).

Local Convenors are invited to attend the meeting to present their bid in a 10- minute bid presentation to Council, in alphabetical order, followed by a 5-minute Q&A, in individual closed sessions.

Each voting Council member will cast a vote, by secret ballot. A simple majority is needed for the Council decision. In the event no one wins by a simple majority in the first vote, a second ballot will be conducted to select between the two applicants gaining the most votes in the first vote.

Call for Proposals Issued: July 31, 2025 
Proposal Submission Deadline: October 31, 2025 
Shortlisted Proposals Notified: November 30, 2025 
Site Visits (if applicable): December, 2025/ January 2026 
Final Host Selection: March 10, 2026