Technology fair in Las Vegas: CES – just a ghost fair this time?

Because of the rapidly expanding Omikron variant, the world’s largest technology fair threatens to become a ghost event. Large US corporations have already canceled. German companies, on the other hand, are still involved.

In view of the ever increasing number of Covid-19 infections, the largest technology trade fair in the world, the CES, could be canceled this year. Companies are canceling their participation in the event, which is to take place in Las Vegas from January 5th to 8th, almost every hour.

Most recently, the largest US automobile manufacturer GM announced that it would not send any employees or executives to the desert city in the US state of Nevada. The car manufacturer actually had big plans. GM boss Mary Barra wanted to introduce the company’s first electric pickup, the “Chevrolet Silverado”, at the show. According to a spokesman, Barra will now present the new vehicle virtually via live video streaming.

No keynote from the T-Mobile CEO

The main sponsor of the CES is the US subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile USA. Its CEO Mike Sievert announced that he wanted to forego his keynote on site. A streamed speech is not planned. The Seattle-based company will reduce employee participation to a minimum. The largest telecommunications provider in the United States, AT&T, has also canceled its participation.

Without Google, Amazon and Meta

The Californian search engine company Google had mostly very extravagant appearances at the CES with its own pavilion directly in front of the exhibition halls in Las Vegas. Both Google and its subsidiary Waymo, which produces technology for self-driving cars, will not be there.

“We have followed the development of the Omikron variant closely and decided that this is the best choice for the health and safety of our teams,” said Google spokeswoman Ivy Hunt. They will look for ways to present individual innovations virtually.

Amazon, Pinterest and the social media group renamed Meta by Facebook have also withdrawn. Also not on site are companies like Nvidia, which only wants to give a virtual keynote.

Many other companies, on the other hand, have announced that they will be arriving with significantly fewer employees and that some events will only be held virtually. These include chip manufacturers Intel and AMD as well as Asian entertainment giants Sony, LG and Samsung. The latter, however, want to hold onto their exhibition stands, which have been large in recent years.

No rejection from major German companies yet

So far, large German companies such as Daimler, BMW or Bosch also seem to want to hold on to their trade fair appearances. The companies had often used the fair to present new products. In recent years, the CES has become more important for car manufacturers and suppliers in particular because they were able to showcase new technologies in self-driving electric cars.

In view of the increasing corona numbers, the companies could reconsider their participation and reassess the situation after the holidays.

So far 42 cancellations

The trade fair organizer CES announced that 42 cancellations have been received so far. That corresponds to less than seven percent of the exhibition space. At the same time it was possible to gain more than 60 new exhibitors. CES Exhibition Director Gary Shapiro is expecting around 85,000 visitors this year, half as many as in 2020 when the CES last took place.

The organizer emphasized that those who take part in the fair must be vaccinated, wear a mask and do a Covid-19 test on site. In connection with the expected lower number of visitors, one is confident that a good event can be organized.

Experts anticipate an increased increase in the rapidly expanding Omikron variant due to the Christmas holidays. More than 73 percent of all new infections in the USA can now be traced back to this variant.