It was a pleasure to bring attendees from 58 countries to Birmingham and the wider region for an international scientific conference that had not been in the UK for 40 years. With the ICC as host venue, all possible conference requirements are catered for (including the catering itself!). The city of Birmingham provides a modern mixture of history, architecture, culture and social opportunities, the extent of which may surprise many visitors but are not surprising to those of us who live and work within Birmingham and the West Midlands and have seen the city develop and go from strength to strength.