CES 2018: How the gigantic show is put together each year
Las Vegas has played host to CES for more than 40 years (Photo: Getty)
Rhiannon Williams 2 years Monday January 8th 2018
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The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the world's biggest technology show, and while you may not have heard of it before, you'll certainly become familiar with the products and trends it reveals to the world each January, from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Allison Fried is the director of global event communications for the Consumer Technology Association, the standards and trade organisation which governs the US' consumer electronics industry, and organises CES each year. She's in charge of drumming up the press coverage for CES and coordinating how each showcase will run, and has been with the company since 2006.
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This year's show will feature 3,900 exhibitors from around the globe over more than 250,000 net square metres of exhibit space across hotels and conference centres in the heart of Las Vegas, and is the product of extensive year-round planning – from show logistics, exhibitor liaisons, security measures and press facilities to onsite transportation and conference programming, Fried explains.
Allison Fried is one of CES' key annual organisers (Photo: CTA supplied)
"While CES 2018 is set to kick off on 9 January, we're already busy planning ahead for CES 2019. The dates for each show are set years in advance, and we are able to strategise and grow the show accordingly," she says. "Part of the wonder and amazement of CES is the incredible innovation that launches at the show, from companies both large and small."
Now in its 51st year, CES has played host to every major tech product, including the VCR, DVD, HDTV, 4K UHDTV, tablets and 3D printers. Smartphones are notably the preserve of Mobile World Congress, the annual mobile symposium held in Barcelona every spring, but the vast majority of the largest electronics giants – Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic, Google etc – are in attendance, alongside more than 900 burgeoning start-ups hungry for press attending.
2018 also marks the 40th year the show has been held in Las Vegas, which, given the obvious technology kudos of Silicon Valley, makes it an unlikely showboat for the world's cutting-edge innovation. The area's abundance of hotel rooms (some 150,000 along the strip and into the city outskirts) makes it the best location to hold an event the size and scope of CES, Fried says, given 185,000 people passed through its doors last year.
Workers prepare exhibits outside the Las Vegas Convention Center for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 7, 2018, before the opening (Photo: Getty)
Despite the digital age we're living in, Fried is adamant there is still real value in journalists, traders and exhibitors physically attending a show, instead of just following its unfolding online. "Even given today's 24-hour news cycle that allows people to read about product launches from the show, nothing can replace experiencing these innovations first-hand. For example, you can read about the latest AI technology, but seeing it incorporated into thousands of products all under one roof, makes it a reality," she says.
"Above all else, CES is where business gets done. The show draws more than 170,000 global attendees, including some 68,000 senior-level executives. Deals are made; partnerships are forged and jobs are created as a direct result of the show."
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The biggest challenge when it comes to planning and executing each CES is keeping it fresh and relevant . "We spend a lot of time on logistics — the bus routes, the app and onsite signage. Safety and security has always been a priority for us."
The event has stepped up its security this year in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting in October last year, when gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival from his Mandalay Bay hotel room, killing 58 people and injuring 546.
Mandalay Bay hotel is a key part of CES history (Photo: Getty)
A popular hotel for CES appointments and press conferences in the past, Mandalay Bay will resume its hosting role throughout the week. "We now require all registrants, including exhibitor personnel and media, to provide a unique email address that can be verified," Fried adds. "We monitor global events as they unfold and continue to adjust our security plans accordingly."
As technology continues to become an ever-greater part of our lives, shows like CES will continue to set the bar for tech trade shows, bringing together the giants and plucky start-ups on an equal footing in a global symposium.
"One thing remains clear and will ring true for decades to come – technology is constantly evolving and reinventing itself. As we look ahead to 2018 and beyond, we will continue to see a revolution of new products and services powered by 5G that will reshape the way consumers live, work and play," Fried says, referencing one 2018's hottest tech topics – the next generation of connectivity.
"Connectivity and mobility impact nearly every technology category and will fuel advancements in drones, augmented and virtual reality, AI and robotics. I have no doubt in 50 years' time, we'll see new product categories and markets that we never dreamed possible."
Rhiannon Williams is reporting from CES in Las Vegas