(Washington) The high mass of electronics and technology in Las Vegas, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), was to make its face-to-face return in 2022. But several large companies and bosses have decided to limit or cancel their presence due to the Omicron variant.
The most famous annual consumer electronics show is currently being held from January 5 to 8. It must always be preceded by two days reserved for the media.
But on Tuesday, companies such as Facebook’s parent company Meta, Amazon, T-Mobile and Twitter withdrew from the event. The main specialized media, in particular CNET, The Verge and TechCrunch also decided not to send reporters, raising doubts on the effective holding of the event.
“After careful consideration and discussion, T-Mobile made the difficult decision to significantly limit our in-person attendance at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show,” the group said in a statement, adding that CEO Mike Sievert, will ultimately not make any speeches either in person or virtually.
“While we are confident that CES organizers are taking comprehensive measures to protect attendees in person and that we have also implemented many preventative practices, we put the safety of our team and other attendees first,” he stressed.
Asked by AFP, a Google spokesperson said that for the moment, the group still plans to participate in person. But “we are monitoring the situation closely,” he said.
A spokesperson for automaker General Motors also told AFP that “at this stage” there was no change.
CEO Mary Barra is due to travel to Vegas to unveil the electric Chevrolet Silverado on Jan. 5, an opportunity to divulge more information about the automaker’s upcoming electric and autonomous vehicle strategy.
On the CES site, the organizers recall the conditions for participating in the show: “You MUST be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to collect a badge and access the CES in person in Las Vegas”.
“CES recommends that you test yourself before you leave for Las Vegas and within 24 hours of entering a CES venue,” it says.
Another major conference, the World Economic Forum (WEF), which was to meet from January 17 to 21 in Davos, Switzerland, has been “postponed” because of the Omicron variant, organizers announced on Monday.
The meeting – which marries the world of business, politics and diplomacy – must now be held “at the beginning of the summer”, they had specified.
In January 2021, CES and WEF were held in completely virtual mode.