The Congress took place at the northernmost academic center in the world, in the state-of-the art Tromso University Hospital. There were over 500 participants, mainly from Scandinavian countries, with approximately 50 invited participants from non-Scandinavian countries, primarily from Europe and the USA. The meeting was managed and organized by a local committee, chaired by the University of Tromso Professor of Anaesthesiology Dr Lars Bjertneas. Approximately 300 oral and poster presentations highlighted the latest progress in diverse areas of anaesthesiol-ogy and intensive care medicine from Scandinavia. Invited speakers held state-of-the art lectures in selected areas of pathophysiology and therapy. The meeting benefited from the support of various industry sponsors, and the abstracts of the meeting were published in a supplement ofActa Anesthesiologica Scandinavica.