Organisers of the 2022 CES show in Las Vegas are being urged to cancel the event by some of the worlds’ leading media Companies with Microsoft now walking away from the event.
Last week Lenovo, AT&T Google and Facebook (Meta) walked away from the event.
Global tech media groups such as TechRadar say “we won’t be covering CES 2022 in person, out of concern for the health and wellbeing of our journalists.” CES public relations attendee Molly Mulloy @prmolly who represents several leading technology clients put it on Twitter, “So @CNETNews, @TechCrunch, @verge, @techradar, @tomsguide, @MKBHD, @IGN all virtual for #ces2022. How long will it take @CTATech to call it?”
ChannelNews will be in Las Vegas, but we won’t be walking show floors we will be working with brands to deliver information with many tech brands moving to video briefings.
We have set up one on one meetings in private suites to meet senior technology executives who already have in place strict COVID protocols.
South Korean technology giants’ plan to attend CES 2022 remains unperturbed so far, despite a series of announcements by US firms that they are suspending in-person events due to concerns about the spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19.
Among notable exhibitors based in Korea — Samsung, LG, Hyundai Motor, SK and Doosan — none of them has yet to announce a withdrawal of an earlier plan to attend the world’s biggest consumer electronics show.
There was also no talk yet about scaling back on-site presence at the show scheduled to be held in the first week of January in Las Vegas, the first to be held onsite in two years.
A Samsung spokesperson said that it “does not have a change of schedule in sight,” meaning Samsung Electronics vice chairman and CEO Han Jong-hee, who leads a division dedicated to consumer electronics goods and mobile devices, would stick to a schedule to deliver a keynote speech at the event on Jan. 4. Exhibitions to roll out its newest technologies, including its quantum-dot organic light emitting diode display panels, would also be held as planned.
LG Group has sought to take a hybrid approach with a minimal physical presence at the CES 2022 exhibition hall, making use of QR codes and augmented reality technology. LG’s booth is expected to feature its latest television lineups, including LG Objet and StanbyME, as well as flexible OLED display concepts.
Organizers of CES, which had 180,000 attendees in 2019, have offered health assurances and the ultimate trade show giveaway—free COVID tests with attendees forced to get a COVID Test every day before they enter any CES locations.
Due to the spread of Omicron COVID-19 variant, exhibitors and attendees cancelling plans to travel to Las Vegas. Overnight Microsoft pulled out of the event.
Microsoft announced its decision not to attend the annual conference overnight.
“After reviewing the latest data on the rapidly evolving COVID environment,” a company spokesperson told The Verge, “Microsoft has decided not to participate in-person at CES 2022.”
It’s a game of we need the revenue, and the stakes are high for CES organisers and hotels.
Millions of dollars in exhibitor fees, salaries, hotel and airline bookings, restaurants, gambling revenues and much more are on the line.
Previous CES shows have dumped over $280 million into Las Vegas coffers.
“We are moving forward with the in-person show,” a media spokesperson for the Consumer Technology Association, which puts on CES, said. “We have tens of thousands of attendees registered and over 2200 companies confirmed to participate in person at CES 2022 in Las Vegas. CTA is working closely with health experts in Nevada who have encouraged us to move forward with the event.”
CES supplied a comment by one of those experts, Tony Slonim, MD, DrPH, FACHE, President & CEO of Renown Health in Reno, NV. “We are now more prepared than ever to keep people safe, which is the top priority for CES. I am impressed that the Consumer Technology Association, our hotels, the LAS VEGAS conference venues and the City of Las Vegas have worked diligently to put every contemporary safety practice in place to ensure a healthy and successful in-person meeting this year..”
A big question claims US Media is If CES continues as planned and delegates become ill, is there sufficient hospital space in Las Vegas for them without displacing residents?
Is there a chance that the show becomes a super-spreader event?
What is the cost of the reputational damage to the show, the tech industry and to Las Vegas if it is the cause of a wave of infections?