9 COVID DIDN’T KILL CES

Do huge trade shows such as CES still hold a place in our calendar? We asked Jon Honeyball for his thoughts.

I decided against going to CES 2022 because of Covid. The trouble was, I needed to have a negative test to fly.

I know what you’re thinking, but the reason I cancelled wasn’t due to some thin strip of red on my pre-flight Covid test: it was the requirement to have a negative test to fly back to the UK, to board the plane in Las Vegas. The fear of getting stuck in Vegas for a fortnight was too much for me, so I stayed home and watched from afar instead.

Things had changed by April, when I went to Las Vegas for NAB, a hardware and software tech-fest for pro audio, video, cinema and TV. This time I needed to have a clear test to fly out, but no need to prove myself negative to come back. It was a risk worth taking.

This year’s CES? No test required to fly or to return. No test required to enter the enormous halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center

(LVCC), or any of the hotels. Indeed, you could be forgiven for thinking that Covid was all over, just a terrible memory.

Walk around the Strip, go into hotels and restaurants, and it was pretty much like old times. Some attendees wore masks, both at LVCC and at hotels, but most didn’t. The same for the flight.

It would be fascinating to know what the outcome will be in terms of infections. The

USA did lock down on entries from China, demanding a negative test before travel, but this didn’t come into force until most attendees had already arrived in Vegas. Rumours of half of Chinese arrivals into European airports being positive doesn’t bode well.

I’m sure it helped that attendance numbers were down from pre-pandemic levels. Halls weren’t as packed as usual, if you avoided the obvious hot spots such as the Samsung and LG stands on the opening days. Saturday and Sunday were much more civilised: fairly empty walkways with quieter transportation.

Numbers overall are substantially down, but CES hasn’t been knocked out by Covid. After all, CES has never been a bug-free zone: long before Covid, the dreaded “CES flu” was a common complaint from attendees after the event. I always seemed to get a sore throat, and this time is no different. Although so far, having been back a week, I’ve tested negative for Covid itself.

Just as we are living with Covid in the UK, the trade shows are living with the virus, too. And yes, I’ll be back in Vegas in April for NAB 2023.