The Mirabell Palace and Garden is a 5 minute walk from our Conference hotel. In the middle distance is the Salzburg Cathedral, 1.5 km away across the river. Overlooking the city is the Hohensalzburg Fortress, whose current appearance dates from the 1500s.
The 2026 ILDA Conference will be in Salzburg, Austria, birthplace of Mozart and home to one of the best-preserved city centers north of the Alps. The dates are:
• Monday 2 November, arrival day, optional LSO courses, evening Welcome Reception
• Tuesday 3 November, annual meeting, seminars, workshops, evening Lase-Off
• Wednesday 4 November, additional seminars, evening Awards Banquet and Presentation
• Thursday 5 November, cultural tours.
Our hosts are Helmut Gruber and Markus Voggenberger of VisuTek e.U., who have won 21 ILDA Awards since they first entered in 2013. Since this is the 40th year of ILDA's founding, Helmut and Markus have promised an extra-special anniversary Conference!
Conference registration is free for any ILDA Founding Member who attended the first organizational meeting in August 1986. A list of these 36 persons is here.
Conference hotel
Our Conference hotel is the Sheraton Grand Salzburg. This 5-star city hotel is next to the Salzburg Congress convention center (where the Lase-Off and Awards will be held) and the Mirabell Palace and Garden. There are two restaurants — Austrian and Italian — and a piano bar in the lobby.
Conference event center
ILDA meetings, seminars and meals will take place in our Conference hotel. The Lase-Off and the Awards Presentation will take place next door, in the Salzburg Congress Europa Hall (shown above).
Calendar
Click for full-size calendar. Events subject to change.
Our host company
Registration and room reservations
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Full Conference (all events)
Full Conference and Spouse/Guest registration
For ILDA Members, and interested non-members
• Full Conference registration includes all ILDA meals, Opening Reception & Welcome Dinner, Lase-Off, Awards, business meetings, seminars, and workshops.
• Spouse/Guest registration includes all ILDA meals including the Opening Reception & Welcome Dinner, Lase-Off, Awards. It does NOT include any business meetings, seminars or workshops. (A Spouse/Guest is defined as a person related to a Full Conference registrant. The relationship must be that the spouse/guest is married, is a significant other, is a family member, or is a personal friend who is not employed in a lasershow-related business.)
COURSES AND TOUR ARE SEPARATE: Full Conference and Spouse/Guest registrations do NOT include the paid laser safety courses, or the Thursday Cultural Day visit. These are separate events.
HOTEL IS SEPARATE: Full Conference and Spouse/Guest registrations do NOT include hotel room reservations. Make these separately with the Sheraton Grand Salzburg (click the wide blue button farther down on this page that says "Make a hotel room reservation").
Register for the Full Conference
Click the blue button to register:
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How ILDA is holding the line on Conference rates
We have tried to keep Conference registration costs as low as possible. But hotel room rates and many other costs are significantly higher than five or ten years ago. Just like groceries, automobiles, electronic parts and so many other things have gone up in price — so have the hotel, food, beverage, awards production, etc. that go into a Conference.
Please be assured that our Early Registration rates are just above our actual costs, e.g., what we are charged for food and meeting rooms plus our other Conference-related expenses. Early Registration spouse/guest rates are just above only our food costs.
For example, the cumulative rate of inflation in the U.S. is 27% from 2019 to May 2025. Based on that increase, the USD $565 Early Registration at our 2019 Conference in Orlando would be $717 today. Our 2026 Early Registration rate of $545 is actually $20 less than in 2019.
We are trying to make the Conference as affordable as possible. Our Regular Registration rate of $745 is $23 less than the Regular Registration rate at the past four in-person Conferences (2019 and 2022-2025).
Finally, the laser safety class rates have not changed for many years. They are not as affected by the hotel and other expenses.
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How ILDA is holding the line on Conference rates
We have tried to keep Conference registration costs as low as possible. But hotel room rates and many other costs are significantly higher than five or ten years ago. Just like groceries, automobiles, electronic parts and so many other things have gone up in price — so have the hotel, food, beverage, awards production, etc. that go into a Conference.
Please be assured that our Early Registration rates are just above our actual costs, e.g., what we are charged for food and meeting rooms plus our other Conference-related expenses. Early Registration spouse/guest rates are just above only our food costs.
For example, the cumulative rate of inflation in the U.S. is 27% from 2019 to May 2025. Based on that increase, the USD $565 Early Registration at our 2019 Conference in Orlando would be $717 today. Our 2026 Early Registration rate of $545 is actually $20 less than in 2019.
We are trying to make the Conference as affordable as possible. Our Regular Registration rate of $745 is $23 less than the Regular Registration rate at the past four in-person Conferences (2019 and 2022-2025).
Finally, the laser safety class rates have not changed for many years. They are not as affected by the hotel and other expenses.
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Only selected Conference events
Some persons may not be able to attend the full ILDA Conference. We do have some Conference events which are available individually. This is also good for guests, for example, if you want guests at the Awards Banquet.
ILDA General Business Meeting
Free, for Members not attending the Full Conference
If you are an ILDA Member who is NOT registering for the Full Conference, you still can attend the General Business Meeting for free. This event is where votes are taken for ILDA Board Members and for ILDA President, and where association business is discussed and voted on.
To attend, you must register in advance for the General Business Meeting; click the blue button below. Registration for this event will be visible only to current ILDA Members (it will not appear for non-members).
Individual conference event tickets
For anyone not attending the Full Conference
We have tickets available for persons who want to attend selected events, and who don’t have a Full Conference or Spouse/Guest registration.
• Lase-Off/Laser Jockey dinner and event only, Tuesday, November 3, USD $150. To register for this event only, click the blue button:
Alex Hennig (l) will be the Master of Ceremonies at the 2026 ILDA Awards Presentation. He is shown here at the 2024 Conference with Horacio Pugliese (r) of LaserNet.
• Awards Banquet and Presentation only, Wednesday, November 4, USD $195. Registration includes the formal banquet beforehand, plus the Awards presentations. Time will be approximately 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Dress is business formal (suit or sport coat with tie for men, suit or formal dress for women).
To register for this event only, click the blue button:
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Laser safety courses
Optional laser safety courses
ILDA is offering three other laser safety courses, which are not included in the Full Conference. These are separate registration events:
Optional Laser Safety Course (LSO), Monday, November 2, 9 am to 6:30 pm, with lunch included.
Optional Lasershow Operator (first half of the LSO course, Nov. 2, 9 am to 1 pm, no lunch)
Optional Audience Scanning Safety, Thursday, November 5, 2 pm - 6 pm. How to do safe, legal and effective audience scanning at laser lightshows. For both operators and show designers. Prior laser safety experience or courses are recommended.
Anyone may pay for and attend these optional laser safety courses. You do not have to be an ILDA Member, and you do not have to register for the Full Conference.
More info on the courses' content is at the laser safety course page.
Click a button to register:
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Cultural Day visit, Thu. Nov. 5
On Thursday, Nov. 5 we will have an outing in Salzburg to see tourist sights. The actual tour has not yet been determined. Please come back to sign up once we have determined exactly where we are going.
The photo above shows Getreidegasse, the street where Mozart was born. A museum is in the house at 9 Getreidegasse. It is about a 15 minute walk from our hotel.-
Make a hotel room reservation
Our Conference hotel is the Sheraton Grand Salzburg. We are currently working on hotel rates, which are expected to be in the range of €200/single and €250/double. When reservations are ready, there will be a section below with instructions on how to reserve your room.
Register for the ILDA Conference
OR
Register for optional courses
Reserve your room
Helpful information
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Salzburg - centrally located in Europe
Click on map to enlarge it
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Getting to Salzburg
By air
Salzburg Airport (SZG) has numerous direct flights from cities in Europe, including Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, London (4 airports), Amsterdam, Stockholm, Barcelona, Istanbul, and Dubai. Travelers from outside Europe will find favorable connections in Frankfurt (then by plane to Salzburg) and Munich (then by train to Salzburg) as shown above.
The airport is about 6 km from our hotel, the Sheraton Grand Salzburg. It takes about 20 minutes to travel there by car. Our host, VisuTek, can provide a free transfer between the airport and our hotel.By train
The main railway station, Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, is 1 km from our hotel. It is a 12 minute walk or a 5 minute drive.
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See what a Conference is like
The videos below give you a quick overview of an ILDA Conference. The first one, from Christopher Short, shows lasers during the 2018 Lase-Off in Montréal, hosted by LaserTech Canada.
The second video shows meetings and seminars in the day, and the Lase-Off and the ILDA Awards in the evenings. Thanks to KVANT, host of the 2017 ILDA Conference, for producing the video.
For more information, visit our other ILDA websites:
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