Please click on the boxes below to expand the information to read more:
The Congress venue is the International Conference Centre Hiroshima. It is in the Hiroshima Peace Park, with tram stops a short walk away. The city is relatively small and has a good public transport network. In previous years, we have provided a public transport travel pass. This year, we will only have a small number of travel passes, which will be available on request. We will, however, provide coach transport from the Congress venue to the group activity and Congress dinner venues.
Yes, there will be a dedicated quiet space called the quiet room (it will be signposted in the venue) where you can take some time to re-ground before returning to the Congress activities. No devices, talking, eating, or food will be allowed so the space is truly welcoming and calming for all.
Absolutely. Networking is important at our Congresses. If you need introductions, please email us in advance or speak to the team at the registration desk onsite. Alternatively, our Congress app features a directory of all attendees, and you can message speakers and other delegates using the chat function.
Your booking confirmation email includes a list of everything you have booked. Your joining instructions email, which we'll send you in the days leading up to the Congress, will also include this information. If you still need help, please contact our Registration Manager.
We don’t have any universal requirements, but encourage you to bring your own masks and hand sanitiser. You can also choose our social distancing lanyard when you arrive at the Congress, which will remind other delegates to keep their distance.
You can find general information about Industry symposia and our sponsors and exhibitors in the Congress guide. The Congress programme includes information about industry symposia session times and exhibition opening times and the industry symposia page of the website includes summaries of each of the symposia sessions.
There are many reasons for different organisations to get involved in this very important event. If you are looking to attract new partners and collaborators, generate exposure and raise the profile of your organisation then the WMS Congress is for you.
WMS Congresses attract neuromuscular stakeholders from around the world. They will come together online to share, collaborate, learn and inspire. If your organisation is in any way involved in the development of drugs, equipment, research or therapeutic interventions in neuromuscular disorders or interested in the commercialisation of research products then this Congress is key.
Please visit the sponsorship and exhibitions page of our website or email: [email protected] for more information or to discuss your requirements and objectives in more detail.
Please note that exhibition bookings for WMS 2026 are now full.
Changes might include adding a presenter, changing a detail or withdrawing your abstract entirely.
Up until the submission deadline, you can make changes and resubmit your poster.
After the submission deadline, or if you have any questions, please email our Abstract Manager at [email protected].
Posters are categorised based on topic and each topic has a set poster session one to four. We are therefore unable to move your poster to a different poster session.
The WMS does not have a strict policy around encore/previously presented abstracts. In general, presentations will be judged according to novelty and interest for the members of the Society. The Journal does not transfer copyright for standalone abstracts (not a part of the article). They have a non-exclusive license to publish those abstracts. So, the author may present/submit their abstract at other conferences. Please contact the presenting author directly if you wish to use any content from their presentation in any way.
We have detailed guidance on what to include and how to submit your presentations on the abstracts pages of the Congress website.
Yes, in fact we encourage it. The QR code should take viewers to information hosted by you. We recommend also including a clickable link in your e-poster.
Please check the programme for your presentation/s details.
It is no longer necessary to include your poster number on the front of your poster. This change supports the reusability of your poster at future events and aligns with our commitment to a more sustainable Congress. Please write your poster number on the back of your poster. This is for identification purposes only, in case multiple posters are removed or become separated from their boards. We will not be able to store or return posters after the Congress.
If you don't catch the poster presenter you want to speak to during the poster sessions, registered attendees can chat with the presenter at any time during the Congress week via the Congress app and virtual platform.
Yes. A digital abstract journal will be available to all registered Congress delegates, both virtual and in-person, from a week before the Congress opens. It is the author’s responsibility to submit a correct abstract. If accepted, any errors in spelling, grammar, or scientific fact may be reproduced as typed by the author.
The Programme Committee reserves the right to shorten the abstract title to allow its publication in the Congress programme and Neuromuscular Disorders Journal and edit the content to remove acknowledgements and misspellings identified by the Programme Committee. The abstracts will also be available for WMS members and subscribers to the journal, via the journal, after the Congress.
The full programme with accepted abstract titles will be available on the Congress website in June.
The late-breaking abstracts will be added to the programme in late September.
E-Posters will be available to view on the virtual platform and Congress app from the Congress opening day.
Press embargoes stand until 12:00am Japan Standard Time (GMT +9) on the day of the presentation for that abstract. For late breaking abstracts, this will be the last day of the Congress.
NMD Journal, as the partner journal of the WMS and the WMS Congress, has exclusive rights to publish the presentations in advance of the embargo and the Congress issue of NMD will be available, including full abstracts, seven days before the Congress opens.
Interviews with presenters, speakers or other people attending as part of the Congress agenda should be arranged through the communications lead, Catherine Ross. Vox pop style interviews with attendees are permitted. Embargoes should be respected at all times.
Because this is a hybrid meeting, the content may be available prior to the session being broadcast at the scheduled time in the programme. In this instance, the media embargo remains as stated above.
The author affiliation for abstracts submitted for WMS 2026 should be for the organisation at which the work was carried out. If, in your new role, you are still providing intellectual input, it may be appropriate to include affiliations to both your previous and current institutions.
No. Your submitted work should be your own. You are welcome to use AI tools, such as Grammarly to check the spelling and proofread your work, but we strongly discourage using AI to generate the text itself. We also recognise there is value in using AI translation tools for people who don't have English as their first language. Please take care to ensure any translation is accurate as AI tools can be unreliable.
The WMS audience is global, encompassing all time zones. To meet the needs of our worldwide audience, we make the Congress content as flexible as possible.
All in-person delegates have access to the full virtual platform, so they can catch up on sessions they may have missed.
All virtual delegates can join the sessions live or on-demand.
We aim to add on-demand sessions to the virtual platform four to 24 hours after the live stream. You can access this from the programme menu in the virtual platform.
Virtual delegates can also engage with presenters and exhibitors using the chat functions, but please be aware the person you are contacting might not be available to respond immediately. Most of the scientific content and exhibition information will remain available on the virtual platform for three months after the Congress.
Most Congress sessions include a live Q&A. This is built into the timings for each session.
In person attendees can put their hands up to ask questions in the room or ask questions via the app. Virtual attendees can submit questions through the virtual platform. Moderators will select a combination of in person and virtual attendee questions.
Through the Congress app, you can also interact with other Congress delegates. The app features a directory of everyone who is registered to attend, and you can use it to make contact, exchange contact details and arrange to meet.
Our Congresses are all about networking! We deliberately schedule long lunch breaks and multiple networking events throughout the Congress to encourage you to make connections.
Due to the packed programme, we discourage Congress sponsors or other organisations from running any kind of meetings in parallel. Any meeting or event organised to run before or after the Congress must not be badged in any way as a pre/post WMS event for example, nor any connection be made to attendees being able to attend as part of their WMS itinerary.
We will launch the Congress virtual platform as the Congress goes live on Tuesday 29 September. We will send everyone who has registered to attend an email with access credentials in the run up to the Congress opening.
The late breaking news presentation title and author information will be added to the programme in mid-September and the abstracts will be available in the app, platform and journal at the beginning of the Congress.
We will host four poster sessions where in-person attendees can interact with poster presenters. The posters are available to view throughout the Congress week. Virtual attendees can view the posters as ePosters in the virtual platform and can submit questions to the authors.
The timetabled poster sessions are:
Wednesday 14:30-15:30 and 17:15-18:15
Friday 14:15-15:15 and 15:45-16:45
We will be displaying more than 200 ePosters this year due to space constraints and the high quantity of quality abstract submissions. ePosters will have moderated sessions during the poster sessions. If you are interested in a particular ePoster, please make your way to the related ePoster screen during the session.
EPosters will be available to view on the platform and app from the Congress opening on Tuesday 29 September 2026.
The poster presenters will have uploaded their ePosters. Poster presenters attending in person will be available during the official poster sessions throughout the week, but messages to the presenter and other delegates can be sent at any time during the Congress week via the App.
The only sessions that will not be live-streamed to the App and Platform are the Tuesday of the Pre-Congress Teaching Course due to patient confidentiality, the poster sessions, and the social events.
All the content which the presenters and speakers have consented to will remain on the platform for three months post-Congress for registered delegates to view on demand. The abstracts as a whole will be available for WMS members and subscribers to the journal only, via the journal, after the Congress.
Embargoes stand until 12:00am Japan Standard Time (JST) GMT +9 on the day of the presentation for that abstract. For late breaking abstracts, this will be the last day of the Congress.
NMD Journal, as the partner journal of the WMS and the WMS Congress has exclusive rights to publish the presentations in advance of the embargo.
Interviews with presenters, speakers or other people attending as part of the Congress agenda should be arranged through the communications lead, Catherine Ross. Vox pop style interviews with attendees are permitted. Embargoes should be respected at all times.
Because this is a hybrid meeting, the content may be available prior to the session being broadcast at the scheduled time in the programme. In this instance, the media embargo remains as stated above.
We take online registrations only and you can book your place here.
We do not offer a group registration. Each individual attending needs to be registered separately. However, agencies can assist by completing and submitting registrations on behalf of attendees.
During registration, you can indicate if you're registering on behalf of someone else and provide your agency's name. The process remains simple and familiar. You can still pay for the person you're registering.
If your agency cannot cover costs for networking dinners, receptions, or group activities, you can indicate this during registration and we will then share a link via the confirmation email for individuals to select and pay for these costs themselves.
Virtual tickets issued to delegates in the UK or the EU will have VAT added at the appropriate rate for the country of the delegate's residence. Virtual tickets issued to delegates in the rest of the world will be considered outside the scope of VAT and none will be charged.
In-person tickets this year are considered to be outside the scope of VAT, and none will be charged.
In-person tickets this year are considered to be outside the scope of VAT, and none will be charged. Virtual tickets issued to delegates in the UK or the EU will have VAT added at the appropriate rate for the country of the delegate's residence. Virtual tickets issued to delegates in the rest of the world will be considered outside the scope of VAT and none will be charged.
The presenting author must be registered for the congress in order to be able to submit an abstract. Only the presenting author can be the submitter of an abstract.
An abstract submitted by someone who is not the presenter will be refused.
For the full list of guidelines, please visit the Abstracts page of our website. If your submitted abstract has been selected for an oral/poster presentation you are not entitled to complimentary registration.
If you have recently applied for or renewed your WMS Membership but the start date is next month, you can still register for the Congress. All you need is your membership number which is mentioned on your payment receipt and your membership expiry date. All that matters is that you have an application/renewal in progress at the time of registration and that it will be current at the time of the Congress.
Please visit our Membership FAQ page for additional useful membership information.
The WMS provides grants of up to £1,500 to assist WMS member attending the Congress in person who have costs associated with their own care or the care of their dependent(s) during the Congress.
You can find more information, including how to apply, here.
Yes, you are welcome to attend the Pre-Congress Teaching Course without attending the full Congress, but we would strongly encourage you to attend the Congress too.
If you have financial barriers to attending the Congress, please look at the fellowships page of our website and see whether financial support might be available to you.
We have published full details of our fees on the Registration page of our website.
Please be aware that we offer early bird prices for people who book before 5 June 2026.
Unfortunately, we can't let you in unless you have pre-registered for the Congress and/or the Pre-Congress Teaching Course. This year, we are expecting registration to be full before the Congress opens, meaning there will be no space available for on-the-day registrations.
It is possible to register for virtual attendance during the Congress, but it may take up to 12 hours for us to send you your virtual platform access credentials.
If you have registered for the Pre-Congress Teaching Course then morning and afternoon refreshment breaks on both days and lunch on Monday are included in your ticket. If you have registered for the course dinner on Monday then that is also included.
For the Congress, morning (on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday) and afternoon (on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday) refreshment breaks and lunch (on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday) are included in your ticket. If you have registered separately for the Networking Reception, Group Activity Reception and Networking Dinner then food is also included in those tickets.
If we have to cancel or reschedule the Congress, we will issue refunds in line with our terms and conditions. These are available to view on the registration page of our website.
If you would like to change your attendance type from in-person to virtual (or virtual to in-person), you can make that request in writing by emailing [email protected] before 4 September 2026.
Registrations for the Pre-Congress Teaching Course are capped at 100. This is to make sure all delegates are able to get the most out of the sessions and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. There is no cap on virtual registrations.
The Congress venue has a capacity of 1,500 people, so we will need to close Congress registrations for in-person attendance when we reach that threshold. Virtual registrations for the Congress will remain available throughout the event.
It is worth noting that our networking activities fill up quickly, so if you want to book these as part of your registration, we recommend registering early to avoid disappointment.
If you're registering for a virtual ticket in the 48 hours ahead of the meeting or during the meeting, please expect a minimum 12-hour delay in receiving your access credentials. This means you might miss some of the live-streamed sessions.
The registration desk will be open as follows (local time):
Monday: Pre-Congress Teaching Course 07:30-19:00
Tuesday: Pre-Congress Teaching Course 07:15-11:00, Congress 14:30-18:00
Wednesday: 06:30 – 19:30
Thursday: 07:00 – 15:00
Friday: 06:45 – 17:15
Saturday: 08:30 – 14:00
Yes please. All attendees must wear their name badge for all Congress sessions including social events.
This is so that we know you are part of the event, but your name badge also contains important information for the organisers such as dietary requirements, membership status and social events booked.
If you lose your badge, please visit the registration desk where we can help you print a new one.
We are working with the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME®) to obtain accreditation for the Pre-Congress Teaching Course and the Congress. More information will be available on the Certificate of Attendance page of our website.
Once the Congress closes, we will send you a link to the Congress evaluation survey. Your certificate of attendance will be available once you have completed the evaluation. If you need a personalised CME points certificate, let us know and we can provide one.
EPosters will be available to view on the platform and app from the Congress opening on Tuesday, 29 September 2026.
The poster presenters will have uploaded their ePosters. Poster presenters attending in person will be available during the official poster sessions throughout the week, but messages to the presenter and other delegates can be sent at any time during the Congress week via the App.
The only sessions that will not be live-streamed to the App and Platform are the Tuesday of the Pre-Congress Teaching Course due to patient confidentiality, the poster sessions, and the social events.
All the content which the presenters and speakers have consented to will remain on the platform for three months post-Congress for registered delegates to view on demand. The abstracts as a whole will be available for WMS members and subscribers to the journal only, via the journal, after the Congress.
To attend the Pre-Congress Teaching Course and/or the Congress virtually, you need a good, stable internet connection, your computer/laptop and a headset/headphones as well as a valid Congress registration. We will send you your login information by email at least 48 hours before the Congress opens.
Through the virtual platform, you will be able to access live and on-demand content, visit the sponsor information and take part in live Q&A sessions ahead of the Congress. Please keep your virtual platform access credentials safe as you may need these details to enter the virtual platform during the programme days and post-Congress.
These access credentials are different from the profile log-in account you set up to register for the event (you will not be required to use the registration log in details after you have submitted your registration and have received your confirmation email).
No, unfortunately the slides from the session presentations are not available for download. However, you do have access to the virtual platform until January 2027 in case you want to review any of the sessions.
We recommend using Chrome or an up-to-date modern browser for the best experience when viewing the live sessions in the virtual platform. If you are using Safari, please enable the popup blocker: www.lifewire.com/manage-pop-up-blocker-in-safari-4136249.
During the Congress week there will be live technical support available through the virtual platform and our team will be available onsite to assist you.
If you have any other questions, please contact the organisers or visit us at the registration desk. A member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
There are lots of ways to connect and engage with WMS 2026 attendees. You can follow the #WMS2026 hashtag on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to see what we're sharing throughout the Congress.
Yes. We will launch the Congress app at least 48 hours before the Congress opens. It will be available to all delegates, whether you're joining in person or virtually. Through the app, you will be able to view the programme schedule, digital posters and audio/video files, sponsor information, participate in session Q&A and polling and connect with other delegates.
We have a comprehensive section on travel in our Congress guide. There you can find information on the public transport system, including how to get to the Congress venue and the travel passes that will be available on request to delegates attending in person who need them.
For more information about accommodation in Hiroshima, please visit the accommodation page of our website.
You can find comprehensive information about our fellowships programme on the fellowships page of our website. To qualify for a fellowship, you must have registered to attend the Congress and have submitted an abstract.
We are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all our guests. The International Conference Center Hiroshima is an accessible venue with lift access between the floors.
We have more information about accessibility in Hiroshima in the 2026 Congress guide.
Absolutely. We are working closely with the catering teams to provide a healthy, balanced meal for all delegates. We know how frustrating it is if you have dietary requirements and there isn't a proper meal provided at events.
If you have any queries, please contact [email protected] or visit the Congress guide for more information.
Residents of many countries don't need a visa to travel to Japan. You can find more information about whether you need a visa and how to apply if you do on this website.
If you need an invitation letter, and didn't request one during the registration process, please contact the Registration Manager by email at [email protected].
