The European Multidisciplinary Colorectal Cancer Congress (EMCCC) is the European conference that truly provides a platform for in-depth multidisciplinary interaction among the various research areas involved. The Dutch Colorectal Cancer Group (DCCG) has taken the initiative for the EMCCC since 2001. The conference in 2019 builds upon eight previous successful multidisciplinary conferences on colorectal cancer which were held in the Netherlands, Germany and France. The EMCCC offers an intimate scientific/educational environment for more than 700 participants. Colorectal cancer is one of the most common types of malignancies and much progress has been made in recent years in understanding the biology and treatment of this disease. These developments encompass almost the full research area including genetics, biology, pathology/prognostic markers, surgery, screening, systemic treatment, radiotherapy, and imaging. This implies that both pre-clinical and clinical research is becoming much more multidisciplinary oriented.