1) What were your initial objectives?
My initial objectives were to organise the 26th European Peptide Symposium, over one week, with around 1200-1400 conference members taking part. We needed a venue for a range of conferences and exhibitions that could accommodate that number of participants, both for the conferences and in terms of catering capacity at lunchtime. We were also organising a few parallel sessions, which meant that we needed to have a number of rooms available that would accommodate a minimum of 500 people and one room that could hold the 1200-1400 participants, as well as a "poster" area where 700-800 posters could be displayed. In addition, the sales exhibition (around 50-60 stands) needed a huge area close to the conference rooms. Another important point was the logistic support that could be supplied by the conference venue.

2) Why did you choose Montpellier and the Conference Centre?
Le Corum, because it met all the specifications that we had set, and because the previous conferences (which were certainly smaller, around 350 people) that we had organised there had given us complete satisfaction. Montpellier, because it's a young, attractive university town, and has a strong scientific reputation.

3) What were your logistics requirements, and how did you get on in your contacts with the Conference Centre staff?
We needed several conference rooms, including one with a capacity of over 1000 people, all fitted with audiovisual projection equipment. We also needed a few meeting rooms and a computer room (like a Cyber café). We also had to have an area for displaying 500-600 scientific posters and conference members who wanted to talk about them, and an equipment exhibition area for some fifty stands. Lunchtime catering accommodation for conference members was also important. Lastly, we wanted the Corum logistics team to be an attentive, reactive partner as far as participant reception, accommodation, the financial aspect and reception of exhibitors was concerned,... in other words, the whole organisation aspect, apart from the scientific side, which we wanted to manage ourselves without distractions and under the best possible conditions.

Our dealings with all the staff of Le Corum were absolutely excellent and we owe them a great deal as regards the success of our event. We inevitably had a few little problems, but these were sorted out very quickly with the support of the Corum staff, who were always available and ready to help.

4) Were the objectives for your event achieved?
Yes, beyond our expectations. We had the number of participants that we were hoping for. We can safely say that, according to our colleagues, the event that we organised in Montpellier left us with some very good memories from the scientific point of view and from the point of view of Le Corum's logistical and financial management.