The European Society of Intensive Care Medicine is organizing its 22nd Annual Congress in Vienna, Austria from Sunday 11 until Wednesday 14 October 2009. The motto: Patient Safety and Quality of Care in Intensive Care Medicine.This congress will be one of the major intensive care meetings taking place in 2009. It will feature 10 parallel sessions including over 500 lectures, presentations, debates, round table discussions, tutorials and interactive educational sessions. Invited speakers are all well-known international experts in their field, and we anticipate having a faculty of over 200 that will participate with us. Presentation of original research is one of the priorities of this series of congresses and we anticipate that there will be almost 1000 oral and poster presentations of unpublished research. This combination of thematic presentations, education and discussion and debate of new data is an intoxicating mixture that will make the congress an event which should not be missed.We look forward to you attending our 22nd Annual Congress in Vienna where we will offer both an enjoyable and exciting scientific programme together with an entertaining social and cultural spectacle.