Vegas technology show CES to go completely digital in 2021

 Attendees interact with a facial recognition demonstration during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in 2019(Joe Buglewicz/The New York Times)

The Consumer Electronics Show will go all-digital in 2021, the Consumer Technology Association said on Tuesday.

“Amid the pandemic and growing global health concerns about the spread of Covid-19, it’s just not possible to safely convene tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas in early January 2021 to meet and do business in person,” CTA Chief Executive Officer Gary Shapiro said in a statement on the company’s website.

The show is usually a key fixture in the technology calender, with major manufacturers showing off their latest innovations to a heaving Las Vegas crowd.

The organization said it will return to Las Vegas in 2022, combining the best elements of both formats.