News
CES 2021 in Las
Vegas cancelled
as organisers
plan digital
experience
he Consumer Technology Association
(CTA)® announced, 28 July, the
cancellation of its CES® 2021 show in
Las Vegas. The event, which attracts
around 170,000 visitors annually, had been
scheduled for 6-9 January, 2021.
Now organisers say they are planning an alldigital
experience instead, to keep exhibitors and
customers connected.
“It’s just not possible to safely convene tens of
thousands of people in Las Vegas in early January
2021 to meet and do business in person,” said Gary
Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. “By shifting to
an all-digital platform for 2021, we can deliver
a unique experience that helps our exhibitors
connect with existing and new audiences.”
For 50 years, CES has provided a global stage for
innovation and organisers say they plan to return
to Las Vegas for CES 2022, combining the best
elements of a physical and digital show.
SISO postpones
Summer
Conference in
Dallas
The US-based Society of Independent Show
Organisers (SISO) has postponed its annual
Summer Conference due to the recent spikes in
Covid-19 infections across the USA.
Due to be held in Dallas in August, the
event’s proposed venue, the Kay Bailey
Hutchison Convention Center Dallas, is
limiting gatherings to groups of less than 10
individuals.
HKTDC’s 9 become 1
The Hong Kong Trade Development
Council (HKTDC) has migrated
nine physical exhibitions originally
scheduled to be held by the end of
July onto an online platform as part of
a new strategy to deal with the effects
of the coronavirus crisis.
The HKTDC-organised Summer
Sourcing Weeks | Go ONLINE
opened 27 July and runs until 7
August. This 9-in-1 virtual tradefair
attracted 1,300 exhibitors.
Benjamin Chau, HKTDC deputy
executive director, said: “The
HKTDC has initiated various online
promotions, including the Spring
Virtual Expo in April and the Summer
Virtual Expo in late June and July, to
EN Awards set
to rally industry
with reaffirming
‘first’ event, 9
October
ash Media, publisher of
Exhibition World and
sister UK publication
Exhibition News (EN),
has announced that the annual EN
Awards will now be held on 9 October
2020 at Evolution London, from 18.30.
The new date, confirmed shortly
after the UK government gave the go
ahead for events to take place from 1
assist SMEs and international buyers
overcome the challenges during this
difficult period. Now we are launching
Summer Sourcing Weeks | Go
ONLINE, an advanced online virtual
exhibition that runs for 12 days and
features the AI-enabled Click2Match
business matching platform.”
The one-month Summer Virtual Expo,
which drew to a close on 24 July, helped
22,000 suppliers connect with buyers
from around the world. From April to
July, the number of buyers browsing the
hktdc.com Sourcing online marketplace
increased by nearly 20% to 4.2m
compared to the same period in 2019.
The HKTDC is providing a special
subsidy of HK$5,000 for each
exhibitor taking part in Summer
Sourcing Weeks | Go ONLINE.
Benjamin Chau,
HKTDC deputy
executive director
October, will mean the EN Awards is
set to be the first major industry event
since UK lockdown began in March.
Duncan Siegle, EN publishing
director said: “Being one of the first
events back, and certainly the first for
the events industry, allows us to put
on a fantastic night.”
Siegle continued: “We also have
a huge responsibility to make sure
the event is run in a safe manner
and respects the guidance. We are
working very closely with Smart
Venues to ensure this will be the
case. We’ll be announcing some extra
categories very soon that will add a
little more fun to the event, as well as
our plan for the evening.”
Tickets are on sale at
www.exhibitionnewsawards.co.uk
www.exhibitionworld.co.uk Issue 4 2020 7