COVID-19 concerns force cancellation of NAB Show for second year
The annual NAB expo in Las Vegas has been cancelled for a second consecutive year amid further concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. The move follows announcements by various high profile exhibitors that they were pulling out of the show.
The show was due to take place from 9 October to 13 October at the Las Vegas Convention Centre.
In a statement, Chris Brown, executive vice president and managing director of Global Connections and Events at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) said:
“For more than a year we have worked tirelessly to bring our industry together safely in Las Vegas at NAB Show. Unfortunately, the pandemic and surge of the Delta variant has presented unexpected and insurmountable challenges for our global community.
“As we have always kept the best interest and safety of the industry as our priority, it has become apparent in the face of these challenges that we can no longer effectively host NAB Show or our co-located events, the Radio Show and Sales and Management Television Exchange, in person.
“NAB Show is the premier destination for the media and entertainment industry and we will not move forward with a show that delivers anything less than the excellence our community has come to expect and deserves from us.
“While we are disappointed that we will not be together again in person next month, we look forward to converging at the 2022 NAB Show, April 23-27, 2022, to reignite our passion for our business and focus on a bright future ahead.”
In the past few days, big exhibitors including Sony, Panasonic, Ross Video and Canon have all said that they will not be taking stand space in 2021.
Some 2021 NAB Show content will be made available virtually through NAB Amplify.