Dear Joachim, generally, I prefer August dates to July or September dates. I suspect that custom, and the existence of other conferences in other months, means we could on average lose more than we gain from a significant move of the usual ESUG dates. I researched ESUG attendance in relation to date when preparing the 2011 conference: it seemed that the traditional dates were usually better than later ones. (I note you are asking about much earlier ones, for which I had no significant data.) As Stephane says, the choice of venue and local organiser influences the dates. For example, the earliest ESUG I recall before this one was in Brussels in 2005 in mid-August, because hotels in Brussels were _much_ cheaper mid-August than after the eurocrats began to return from their holidays. In Edinburgh, I took a calculated gamble to overlap the conference with the festival, which made it more popular and memorable (I think) but meant I had to book the accommodation at the start of the year and guarantee it all myself; most local organisers are understandably not up for that kind of thing. I know the first full week in September is not popular with US attendees because of the Labour Day holiday (Monday of that week). The last Monday of August (i.e. the Monday immediately before Labour Day in most years) is a holiday in the UK. Having ESUG in that week never bothers me. It can make UK sites easier to get (but we've had two ESUG's in the UK in the last 5 years so that's not an immediate issue). I do not recall hearing another UK smalltalker name loss of the August Bank Holiday specifically as an obstacle; maybe the fact we get more annual vacation than in the US makes it less of an issue for us. Of course, August is school holiday time (only the first-half of August in Scotland but all of August in England), so having ESUG in August suits some but not others in the UK for that reason, just as in other countries. IIUC, the week straddling August-September or the week before - the last full week in August - are the typical ESUG dates when local issues do not supervene. I found the mid-August ESUG in Brussels fine, so, like David, I'd not object to earlier-in-August dates. I much enjoyed Brescia (but could have done with less heat). Whatever happens, you'll not please everyone. Predictability is worth preserving unless there's a strongish case for expecting more attendees at another time. My 0.02p Niall Ross