DETROIT – The big Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas slated for January 2021 is being cancelled and moving to a virtual event.
It’s a huge financial blow to the city of Las Vegas, but could it be a big win for next year’s Detroit auto show? CES is known as the big one, the worlds largest consumer electronics show. It takes place every January in Las Vegas.
The strip gets taken over by tech and gadget gurus looking to show off their new technology. For many in the auto industry it has become the show where the big technology reveals are done, not Detroit. Detroit reveals the cars, Vegas reveals the technology.
Because of coronavirus, the CES show will be held virtually only. Explaining and revealing technology over a live stream doesn’t have the impact it may have in person.
This year, more than 170,000 industry insiders attended the CES show. More than 4,400 companies represented. The show takes over more than 2.9 million square feet of space, and brings millions to the local economy.
During the media preview last year at the Detroit show, 4,568 journalists came out for reveals. They came from more than 60 different countries and 44 vehicles were revealed.
Detroit is already expecting bigger numbers by moving the auto show to June and the possibility of adding more technology reveals would change the face of the auto show.
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