Boston—August 14, 2018—After 10 years, the IHRSA European Congress is returning to Lisbon, Portugal. The event will be held 15-18 October at the EPIC SANA Lisboa Hotel.

“The 2018 IHRSA European Congress is a unique opportunity to build a strong connection with European club operators and advance our knowledge of the health club market in Europe,” said Florian Cartoux, IHRSA Europe director. “We are very excited to be back in Lisbon!”

“With so many valuable features and more than 550 attendees from over 25 countries, this year’s Congress is sure to provide practical insight, applicable to any aspect of today’s global fitness industry,” added Alison O’Kane Giannaras, IHRSA's associate vice president of international development.

Keynote presentations will include:

  • “Leading in a Disrupted World," sponsored by Technogym. Presenter Lucy Adams is the CEO of Disruptive HR and former HR director of the BBC. She’ll discuss how we need to learn differently in order to keep up with macro trends affecting the way we work, whether they are changes in the workforce or outside influences such as the change in the digital landscape. Lucy will provide insight on how to lead your team and business differently while staying resilient.
  • “Change Management: Improving Performance Every Day,” sponsored by Technogym. Presenter Chris Roebuck is a British economist and Visiting Professor of Transformational Leadership at the Cass Business School in the U.K. Chris will take you on an inspirational journey showing that change is an opportunity more than a challenge and how to ensure that people are at the center of change, inspired to give their best every day and deliver success.
  • “The 3 Secrets for Personal and Team Excellence,” sponsored by Keiser Corporation. Presenter Pedro Vieira is Master Trainer at LIFE Training in Portugal. Based on his observations of more than 500 different teams, Pedro will share three secrets to achieving personal and team excellence.

The programme will feature nine additional presentations by leaders in the health and fitness industry. All presentations, including the keynote sessions, will be simultaneously interpreted in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

“The biggest change in the programme this year is a greater investment in high-level business speakers,” reports Marc Gagnon, IHRSA’s senior meetings manager. “In the past, we primarily offered concurrent sessions of industry presenters. This year, we’re doing all general sessions that will be an equal mix of industry leaders and non-industry experts.”

The event will feature several networking opportunities, including:

  • A sponsor showcase providing attendees with the opportunity to talk one-to-one with leading suppliers in a relaxed environment;
  • Opening and closing receptions;
  • Roundtable discussion;
  • Tours of some of Lisbon's best health clubs.

European Congress sponsors include: American Council on Exercise, Core Health and Fitness, Fabiano Designs, GANTNER Technologies, Gympass, Intenza Fitness, Italian Exhibition Group, Johnson Health Tech. Co., Ltd./Matrix Fitness, Keiser Corporation, Les Mills Shared Services Ltd., Life Fitness, Myzone, Ojmar, Perfect Gym Solutions S.A., Precor, QualiCert - Qualitop International, SELVAS Healthcare Inc., STRONG by Zumba, Technogym S.p.A., TrainAway, and Virtuagym.

For full programme details and registration information, visit the website for the 18th Annual IHRSA European Congress.

About IHRSA

IHRSA, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association is a not-for-profit trade association representing health and fitness facilities, gyms, spas, sports clubs, and suppliers worldwide. IHRSA and its members are dedicated to making the world healthier through regular exercise and activity promotion. IHRSA's events provide a vast array of speakers on business and corporate culture, instructional sessions on all aspects of succeeding in the health club industry, social events to mix and mingle with peers, and the most spectacular trade shows in the industry.