CES – the (once) leading electronics fair in the American city of Las Vegas, will be held entirely online this year without a ‘live’ audience.
In the 1990s, the editorial boards of the major computer and electronics magazines were already buzzing months in advance. Because January was CES time. Who was allowed to go to the electronics expo in party city Las Vegas at the expense of the boss? Of course, most of the time the editor in chief went himself. And the editor in chief. Plus a few ‘regular’ editors higher up in the pecking order. CES was where it all happened, after all, and you had to be there.
The rise of the internet changed that. CES went from being a trendsetter to being ‘interesting’ to ‘oh, yes, that’s still there’. That makes sense, because you could consume all the hot news online, often even before the fair itself had started. In the US, the CES is still fairly large, but significantly less so in other countries.
This year – because of Covid – it will take place entirely online.
Experience it from the comfort of your home
Exactly that shift to online-only makes CES suddenly interesting again. Because it has never been so easy, cheap and safe to be there. Online livestreams ensure that you can catch up on any hot news in real time. And let’s be honest: it’s also good for the environment. Because all this back-and-forth flying for these kinds of events, is it really necessary in 2021…?
In short: from 11 January to 14 January, the whole world will be able to enjoy a digital CES live. Even the thousand participating manufacturers won’t travel halfway around the world to Vegas, they just set up a studio in house.
There will also be an exclusive performance by Billie Eilish, which also covers the musical note. Unfortunately’ CES has already announced that next year the CES should continue as a real-life event.