CTA
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) took place just before the success of the coronavirus in early 2020, but that will not be the case in 2021. Today, the show’s organizer, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), announced that CES 2021 in Las Vegas it is canceled. The show will become an online-only event.
CES 2021 was slated for early January, but with the dire pandemic response in the US, CTA does not believe the country is ready to host international events for next year. CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro sent an email with the now very familiar COVID cancellation language. “Amid the pandemic and growing global health concerns about the spread of COVID-19,” Shapiro wrote, “it simply is not possible to safely summon tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas in early January 2021 to get together and do business in person. “
Shapiro said CES 2021 is “shifting to a fully digital platform by 2021” and offering “a unique experience that helps our exhibitors connect with existing and new audiences.” On its website, the CTA states that it will offer a rough online equivalent of the three main pillars of CES: “Keynotes and Conferences”, “Product Shows” and “Meetings and Networks”.
CES started in 1967, at a time prior to the Internet communication revolution, and today regularly draws more than 150,000 attendees from around the world. As a source of tech news, CES has been on the decline in recent years, and many of the leading vendors have realized that they can hold their own events and not share the spotlight with anyone. While the big announcements that were planned can be easily handled over the Internet, what will be much more difficult to replace digitally are the hundreds of trade deals that occur at CES among the thousands of companies that attend. A single CES location may have row upon row of booths of hundreds of smaller, unfamiliar companies hoarding their products and hoping to strike a major deal with a larger company. Replicating that online would be difficult.
In 2020, the pandemic has canceled almost all events and trade shows in person, often replacing it with some online equivalent. Mobile World Congress, Google I / O, WWDC, the Geneva International Motor Show, E3, F8, PAX East, the Game Developer’s Conference and many other conventions have been closed due to security issues.
CTA promises to return to Las Vegas in 2022, saying CES will combine “the best elements of a physical and digital show.”
