Welcome to Liverpool, European Capital of Culture 2008, for the 4th Joint meeting of the ACE and BFS, incorporating the ACE Annual Conference and the BFS Winter Meeting.

Liverpool, famous around the world as a city with a passion for music, art, culture and sport, is used to welcoming people, with more museums and art galleries than any other UK city outside London, including the Merseyside Maritime Museum, Walker Art and Tate Galleries. Striking architectural landmarks and a cosmopolitan nightlife featuring a range of live music and entertainment you may expect from the birthplace of The Beatles, combine to give Liverpool’s emerging fashionable quarters and the world famous pier head waterfront a flavour of the city’s rich heritage.

This year’s meeting is being held in the luxurious Liverpool Crowne Plaza hotel, conveniently situated on the city centre waterfront and providing the latest hi-tech conference facilities and support services. The hotel is next to the Royal Liver Building and within easy walking distance of many local attractions and other hotels. It is also only a short walk to Liverpool’s Town Hall, one of the city’s oldest historic buildings, built in 1754 and featuring a 10-foot high gold-plated statue of Minerva, the goddess of wisdom! The Town Hall provides a suitably grand setting for the Conference Dinner.

Once again we have a unique opportunity to interact in a truly multidisciplinary manner. The plenary sessions address topical issues including single embryo transfer, NICE guidelines and the creation of lives to save lives. We will also be debating the openness of the HFEA’s clinical incident reporting scheme. Dedicated sessions for each discipline allow more specific issues to be discussed less formally and poster presentations are invited.

The now customary (legendary!) five-a-side football tournament will be held on the Sunday afternoon followed by a welcome reception for all at the Pan-American Bar in the Albert Dock.

We look forward to welcoming you to Liverpool in January.

Dr Stephen Troup
Local Organising Chair