The 2022 CES show in Las Vegas has been cut short.
I am already on the ground in the US and this year’s show is tipped to be a shadow of former CES shows.
Organisers have told ChannelNews that the last day of the show, scheduled for the 7th of January – the 8th in Australia – has been cancelled due to COVID concerns.
The Consumer Technology Association announced claims that the shorter schedule is “an additional safety measure” in the face of a surge of COVID-19 diagnoses.
Over the past two weeks, a number of large companies — including Harman, BMW, Intel, AMD, GM, Google, T-Mobile, Amazon, Microsoft — have quit the show, with indications from hotels such as the MGM Grand that thousands of attendees have cancelled their trip to Las Vegas.
The CTA have said that 2200 exhibitors are confirmed-in person for CES as of the 1st of January 2022.
ChannelNews has been told that hundreds of exhibitors have curtailed their trips to Las Vegas. Despite this, smaller Companies who usually cannot afford to attend CES have now signed up to attend.
CTA’s president and CEO, Gary Shapiro has said the show “will and must go on.” In today’s announcement, the CTA said that 143 companies have signed up for in-person exhibits in the past two weeks. Attendees will have to show proof of vaccination to get their badges.
The CTA has also requested they test for COVID-19 less than 24 hours before entering the conference, and will be giving away free rapid tests to help with that.
Masks will be required for the show, and international travellers will get a free PCR test after the show ends.