The European Stroke Conference was founded in 1990 by M.G. Hennerici (Germany) and J. Bogousslavsky (Switzerland). 
The first meeting was held in Düsseldorf and was attended by about 500 people – and proved to be a great success.  At that time only the North American conference existed for clinical researchers and basic scientists to present data from stroke research.  
The prospect to establish another European stroke meeting was highly challenging. 
After biannual meetings, 1992 in Lausanne and 1994 in Stockholm and increasing attendance, however, the ESC became an annual, international, well-received and continuously growing stroke conference.