50 Years of OTWorld: Tan Çağlar, Lara Wilkin and Hari Budha Magar at the opening ceremony in Leipzig
More than 2.5 billion people worldwide rely on medical aids such as prostheses, orthoses or wheelchairs – yet in many places, not even one in two people receives the necessary support. Against this backdrop, OTWorld takes on particular significance: for 50 years, it has been the world’s most important meeting place for experts in modern orthopaedic treatment and care. At the opening of OTWorld 2026 on 19 May in Leipzig, the event will focus on Tan Çağlar, Lara Wilkin and Hari Budha Magar – precisely the people for whom this care makes all the difference – thereby highlighting the social relevance of an often underestimated treatment area.
Demand is high in Germany too: around a quarter of those with statutory health insurance require orthopaedic medical aids. In 2024, statutory health insurance funds spent just under 10 billion euros on this. Over 48,000 specialists in around 4,500 orthopaedic practices and medical supply stores ensure this provision – they enable mobility, independence and social participation, and help to make treatments successful and avoid hospital stays.
Personal stories highlight the significance
The opening ceremony takes up the anniversary motto “You make the difference” and uses personal life stories to demonstrate what modern orthopaedic treatment and care can achieve.
The evening will be hosted by actor, comedian and presenter Tan Çağlar. The wheelchair user is one of the most prominent advocates for inclusion in Germany and will share his perspective on participation and social visibility.
Lara Wilkin, a speaker at the World Congress, will take to the stage; following a forearm amputation, she actively contributes her own experience to research and practice. She founded an international network for those affected and has since dedicated herself to the further development of arm prosthetics. At the opening ceremony, she will present a drawing created with her prosthetic hand that illustrates her perspective on 50 years of OTWorld.
International guest Hari Budha Magar MBE demonstrates the possibilities that arise when individual determination and modern orthopaedic treatment and care come together. The mountaineer, who has undergone bilateral above-knee amputations, became the first double above-knee amputee (DAK) to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents – including the first DAK to summit Mount Everest – having completed the 7 summits in January 2026 summiting Mount Vinson in Antarctica.
Care is created through collaboration
Their stories are representative of the many people worldwide and highlight how closely technical innovation, skilled trades and personal experience work together.
“The experiences of people who live with medical aids are indispensable for their further development. They show what matters in everyday life and which solutions really work,” Alf Reuter, President of the German Association of Orthopaedic Technology (BIV-OT). The BIV-OT is the professional partner of OTWorld. Its subsidiary, Confairmed GmbH, is the organiser of the world congress. “Orthopaedic treatment and care is a central component of modern healthcare systems – and at the same time an area that often receives too little public attention,” explains the President.
For 50 years, OTWorld has been the central meeting place for the professional community – prosthetists and orthotists, orthopaedic footwear professionals, doctors and physiotherapists – to further develop orthopaedic treatment and care for people who rely on it worldwide. OTWorld has been held at the Leipzig Exhibition Centre since 2000. Leipziger Messe has been the organiser of this international trade fair since 2002.
“The future of orthopaedic treatment and care is shaped at OTWorld – this is where innovation meets practical experience and is developed into concrete solutions,” says Martin Buhl-Wagner, Managing Director of Leipziger Messe. “Leipzig has thus become an international hub for a sector that is of great importance to millions of people worldwide.”
International exchange as the driving force behind care
OTWorld is the only event worldwide to combine a global scientific world congress with an international trade show, bringing together experts from prosthetics and orthotics, medicine, therapy, science and industry for interdisciplinary exchange. The aim is to develop new solutions and improve care worldwide. For the 2024 edition, more than 20,000 trade visitors from 96 countries came to Leipzig. In 2026, around 570 companies from 40 countries will present their innovations, whilst over 300 speakers from more than 30 countries will discuss current developments during over 100 hours of sessions at the World Congress. OTWorld is supported by around 50 international professional societies and associations.
The opening ceremony on 19 May at 4.45 pm is aimed at trade visitors, speakers and exhibitors and marks the start of four days of international exchange on the future of orthopaedic treatment and care.
