BREAKING NEWS – Event Shortened Jan. 5-8, 7
Strata-gee readers reached out to me on late Friday as word circulated that the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) was taking the unusual step of cutting the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) short by one day “…as an additional safety measure.” That is essentially all that an announcement from the association says about this decision, which on the face of it seems to call into question the safety of attending the event at all.
See more on CES being shortened by one day
Just five days before the opening of CES, the producer of that show, CTA, announced that they will shorten the event by one day. Originally scheduled to run from January 5-8, 2022, the show will now close at the end of the day at 6:00PM on January 7th.
From the announcement: “The step was taken as an additional safety measure to the current health protocols that have been put in place for CES.”
CTA Has Steadfastly Maintained CES is Safe to Attend; Move Seems to Contradict that Assertion
The move is a surprise, as up until now the organization has been steadfastly maintaining the event would go on as planned. They extolled the many safety provisions put into place to render the event safe for all attendees. COVID protocols for CES include a requirement that all exhibitors and attendees must be able to prove they are fully vaccinated and must wear a mask at all times in the exhibit halls. CTA is also making COVID instant test kits available to all attendees where they pick up their badges and are encouraging them to test both before they head into Las Vegas, and within 24-hours of hitting the show floors.
However, this announcement seems to suggest that the new safety protocols now must include shortening the event by a day. But if it is safe to attend the event for three days, isn’t it also safe to attend it for four days? This new announcement seems to be contrary to the organization’s previous assertions of safety.
As the world’s most influential technology event, CES is steadfast in its pledge to be the gathering place to showcasae products and discuss ideas that will ultimately make our lives better. We are shortening the show to three days and have put in place comprehensive health measures for the safety of all attendees and participants.”
Gary Shapiro, CTA president and CEO
The rest of the announcement reviewed the current COVID protocols as can be found on the CES website.
CTA Confirms ‘Over 2200 Exhibitors’ at the Live Event
The only other interesting news in the announcement is that CES is now confirming the following:
Over 2200 exhibitors are confirmed to exhibit in person at CES 2022. In the last two weeks, 143 additional companies have signed up to exhibit in person. Construction of exhibitors’ show floor space is well underway and soon attendees will be able to see and experience the latest tech innovation.”
CTA statement on the shortening of CES
It is not possible to provide you with any analysis of the transformation of the show floor that has taken place over the last week or so. We know that huge booths, such as General Motors, T-Mobile, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta (Facebook), Mercedes-Benz, and others have pulled out. Some of these booths take up a lot of floor space.
Are you Attending CES? Call Your Airline
While the organization says it has signed up another 143 exhibitors in just the last two weeks – an impressive feat – we have no idea of just who these new exhibitors are, or how big their exhibits are likely to be. It is unlikely they have signed up exhibitors the size of GM or Intel just days prior to the event – but this all remains to be seen.
In any event, if you are attending CES, you may want to contact your airline and see if they can get you on a day-earlier flight.
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