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CES Announces Plans for January 2021 “In-Person” Conference

CTA shares details on how it will protect against COVID-19 for 2021 conference

CES 2021 has every intention to take place under the neon lights of Las Vegas once again, according to an announcement from the Consumer Technology Association.

While CTA plans to hold its annual tech event again in-person at the Las Vegas Convention Center, it acknowledges the considerations that all involved will make as to whether to attend because of the coronavirus pandemic. As such, CTA has detailed a number of show plans both for programming and general operations:

CES 2021 is expected to have a wider digital reach, including more live-streamed content, as well as other digital and virtual opportunities, per CTA: “For CES 2021, we will continue to expand the show’s digital reach. You can expect to see a wider selection of live-streamed CES content, along with many other engaging digital and virtual opportunities … We will showcase our exhibitors’ products, technology breakthroughs and ideas to the world, both physically in Las Vegas and digitally.”

With respect to the the safety of exhibitors and attendees, CTA said on its site that it is “working with the Las Vegas community, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitation Authority and hotel venues as they develop and implement their reopening plans.” CTA says it is also collaborating with event industry associations to develop best practices, as well as following the recommendations of public health experts and standards set by the federal, state and local governments.

A list of safety initiatives were included in CTA’s announcement. The event plans to:

  • Regularly clean and sanitize spaces across the show venues and provide sanitization stations throughout;
  • Better enable social distancing, including widening aisles in many exhibit areas and providing more space between seats in conference programs and other areas where attendees congregate;
  • Issue best practices for attendees, such as wearing masks and avoiding shaking hands, and for exhibitors on product demonstrations;
  • Limit touch points throughout the facilities including through cashless systems for purchases and transactions;
  • Evaluate solutions for contactless thermal scans at key venue entry points;
  • Provide enhanced on-site access to health service and medical aid.

“These measures are just a sampling of what we plan for CES 2021,” the announcement reads. “The meetings world is developing and implementing best practices, and we will assess and evaluate the latest solutions in the coming months. We will continue to work with our venues in Las Vegas, update our plans and share them with you.”

Industry conferences scheduled for 2020 have already had to alter their plans because of COVID-1: The NAB Show in Las Vegas was cancelled and instead went virtual; IBC 2020 also cancelled its physical show in Amsterdam and plans to go virtual; and The Radio Show recently announced that it too was cancelling.

Portions of this article originally appeared on our sister site TVTechnology.com

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