Report: Music and sand at the EAU22 Opening Ceremony
With the first day of EAU22 coming to a close, the official Opening Ceremony offered an occasion for the EAU to honour this year’s Award Winners and to formally open the 37th Annual EAU Congress. This was an extra special occasion, also marking the start of the EAU’s 50th Anniversary celebrations: the anniversary will be observed in various forms until EAU23 in Milan.
In addition, with a return to Amsterdam, this is also an occasion for the EAU to look back to the last time it held its annual congress in the Dutch capital: the memorable 1990 Congress that was presided over by Prof. Frans Debruyne (NL), who became Secretary General soon after. Under Prof. Debruyne the EAU made tremendous strides in its professionalisation and its size. For his contributions to the EAU, Prof. Debruyne was honoured with a bust, to be placed in the EAU’s Central Office in Arnhem.
As world-renowned Dutch pianist Wibi Soerjadi played, the evening’s entertainment was completed by a performance by the Sand Magician, drawing impressive and dynamic shapes with sand and light. The tone was set for an evening of awards and a lot of rejoicing as colleagues met at an Annual Congress for the first time since 2019.
Awards
Prof. Chris Chapple (GB) hailed the “masterful opening to the opening ceremony” and invited the audience to acknowledge the contributions of everyone who makes the Annual Congress possible. “Over the coming days, we will truly be seeing the best of European urology.”
First, the EAU welcomed three new honorary members: Prof. John Denstedt (London, CA), Prof. Rien Nijman (Groningen, NL) and long-serving treasurer of the EAU Prof. Manfred Wirth (Dresden, DE). The EAU Willy Gregoir Medal was awarded to Prof. Karl-Erik Andersson (Lund, SE), the EAU Frans Debruyne Life Time Achievement Award went to Prof. Joan Palou (Barcelona, ES), and the EAU Crystal Matula Award was awarded to Dr. Veeru Kasivisvanathan (London, GB).
Find a complete overview of this year’s award winners here.
Special attention to the anniversary
EAU History Office Chairman Prof. Van Kerrebroeck gave a potted history of the EAU’s foundation and the reason for Amsterdam’s significance. He introduced the president of the major 1990 EAU Annual Congress, who would go on to become the EAU’s third Secretary General two years later: Prof. Debruyne. Together with Prof. Chapple, a bronze bust was unveiled.
Prof. Debruyne was emotional and delighted with the honour: “Can you imagine what I’m thinking? The only person I want to thank is my wife, Hilde, who had to put up with the downsides of our successes. What I say to everyone else: ‘Please continue to work to let the EAU grow, not only in quantity, but also in quality!’ It has contributed tremendously to urology across Europe and beyond. My greatest wish is to experience for many more years what you will achieve!”
Prof. Chapple’s closing words honoured Debruyne (“things don’t just happen, they have to be made to happen”), but also the efforts of the EAU Central Office to bring together another Annual Congress in challenging times, with postponements and format changes over the past three years.
We have three more days at EAU22, we hope you have a productive and pleasant meeting!