Up to 1,500 people are expected at a major diabetes event in Cork this weekend.

The Diabetes Health and Wellbeing Exhibition is an annual event held by the charity, Diabetes Ireland. It is aimed at people with diabetes and anyone else with an interest, such as family members.

On the day, people can avail of free diabetes health checks, such as blood pressure and HbA1c testing. They can also attend patient information forums, which will give them the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in diabetes care from the experts providing this care.

Speakers on the day include Dr Stephen O'Riordan, a consultant paediatric endocrinologist at Cork University Hospital, Jo Rolfe, a clinical psychologist with the HSE and Danielle Linehan, a podiatrist with Diabetes Ireland.

Some of the topics due to be discussed include coping with the teenage years and diabetes, exercise and type 1 diabetes management, and reversal of type 2 diabetes.

Over 20 companies will also be exhibiting all the latest medical technologies currently available.

"This is the first time since 2011 that the exhibition will be in Cork. Normally, we see 1,500 attendees at this flagship event. Those in attendance include people living with diabetes and their families and those at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. With so much diabetes expertise under one roof, it's an event not to be missed," commented Pauline Lynch of Diabetes Ireland.

The event will also include a medal awards ceremony for people who have been living with diabetes for 50 years. Diabetes Ireland chairperson, Prof Hilary Hoey, who has worked in this area for 50 years, will be presenting the medals.

"This is a day to celebrate life with diabetes and to see just how far technology has come in terms of improving its management. Prior to the discovery of insulin, people who developed diabetes had no future, but today with new technologies, medications and more knowledge of the condition, people with diabetes can live a full life and this is what we are celebrating," she said.

The exhibition is taking place in Rochestown Park Hotel in Douglas, Cork, from 12pm to 5pm on Sunday, November 11. It is free of charge and no registration is necessary. For more information, click here

It takes place ahead of World Diabetes Day on November 14. To mark this day, RTE 1 will broadcast the award winning documentary, Bittersweet - The Rise of Diabetes - at 11.10pm that night.

This half-hour documentary captures the Irish health system's fight to treat the rising number of patients with diabetes. It follows the personal stories of young people who are living with diabetes and their daily struggle to manage it.

It also highlights ground-breaking diabetes research and developments in pharmacology and biomedical science at NUI Galway and other universities, and gives an insight into the treatment and management of diabetes at Galway University Hospital, where cutting edge technology is used to care for young people with diabetes.