The future seen live. The 2021 edition of CES in Las Vegas it could be staged as a physical event. This was announced by the Consumer Technology Association, organizer of the largest annual event dedicated to innovation, which every year in the city of Nevada attracts companies, startups, technology enthusiasts and journalists from all over the world to touch the latest technological developments. At the beginning of the year, a few weeks before the outbreak of the pandemic, the CES 2020 had been one of the last events held regularly (the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was instead one of the first to be canceled). But since the lockdown has also shown the potential of smart events, the organization of CES 2021 - the website writes The Verge - has already guaranteed exhibitors that they will have the opportunity to present their products both live in Las Vegas and digitally.
The CES in Las Vegas has already set the days on the calendar: from 6 to 9 January next year. But it is certainly not an absolute guarantee on the actual performance of the Consumer Electronics Show live. The coronavirus emergency has not come back and the numbers of infections and deaths in the United States remain alarming. The country will face one of the most important elections in history in a few months, with the presidential elections in early November. And again there is talk of a possible postponed vote (the BBC explains well how it could happen), an event that in itself should keep the organizers on edge until the very end. In this scenario the CES of Las Vegas still goes in bucking compared to other events that have not yet defined plans to reopen pavilions and fairs to the public.
A mega yard to avoid gatherings
The Consumer Technology Association already plans to enlarge the spaces of the Las Vegas Convention Center, the headquarters of the CES, opening a monstrous construction site (980 million dollars) to be closed by the end of the year, in time for the 2021 edition. That 2020 ended with over 175 thousand participants. If it were really possible to open the gates to the public, the show will still be different: the touch points will be reduced to a minimum, the areas will be sanitized and it may be mandatory to wear a mask.
The CES in Las Vegas is also an important appointment for the Italian innovation ecosystem. This was confirmed by the presence of the Minister of Innovation, Paola Pisano, during the last edition in Nevada when the government representative met the many startups present with their products. Sustainability and automotive, home automation and foodtech are many the excellences exhibited in these sectors by Italian innovators.
To differentiate the hypothetical live edition of the CES 2021 in Las Vegas will also be the numbers of the admitted participants. Health security conditions would appear immediately advise against gatherings and the crowds of a few months ago. In this case, the policy chosen by the IFA must be observed, which in May announced that it was already working for a physical event in September with a maximum of 5,000 participants. In Berlin, one of the most important technology fairs in the world, there will be a strict control on the entrances (at most one thousand for each section) and the program will be reduced.
Alessandro Di Stefano
