Even though big names had already pulled out of a physical presence at this year’s CES 2022 which is expected to commence as soon as Jan. 5th, the event will now be a day shorter than usual.

According to a recent report, the event is expected to come to a close by Jan. 7th in order to observe COVID-19 safety protocols.

The organizers announced the changes via a statement made by the CTA President and CRO Gary Shapiro – “We are shortening the show to three days and have put in place comprehensive health measures for the safety of all attendees and participants.”

Even though big companies like Microsoft have pulled out of physical presence at the annual tech event, the organizer, CTA made it known that about 2,200 exhibitors have already confirmed their presence at the event physically.

The event will kickoff in-person at Las Vegas by Jan. 5th and will end by Jan. 7th. However, preshow events are expected to commence a couple of days earlier – Jan. 3rd and Jan 4th.

In order to be eligible for participation, attendees must present their proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

In fact, CTA further added that attendees are also required to take the COVID test within 24 hours before entering into the CES venue with a complimentary Abbott BinaxNow COVID-19 self-testing kit being provided with badges.

The usage of facial coverings such as masks is obligatory for attendees while complimentary PCR testing will also be made available for international attendees who require a test in order to travel back at the end of the show.

Mercedes announced it was dropping out from an in-person presence back on Dec. 29th making it among one of the biggest names that were supposed to be at the event.

“As the health and safety of our customers, partners, employees, and guests are our highest priority. In view of the current situation in connection with the COVID-19 virus, we’ve therefore decided to cancel Mercedes-Benz AG’s participation in CES 2022, after intensive consultations,” a spokesperson for the carmaker shared via email on Dec. 29. 

Despite the withdrawal of some major firms at the physical venue of CES 2022, the organizer of the event made it known that the show floor will become accessible to small and mid-sized firms.

The organization further emphasized that the in-person part of the event will continue after it made a tweet about this back on Dec. 23rd via a Tweet.

Over 2200 companies are confirmed to participate in person at CES 2022 in Las Vegas. Our focus remains on convening the tech industry and giving those who cannot attend in person the ability to experience the magic of CES digitally.— CES (@CES) December 24, 2021

“CES will and must go on,” Shapiro wrote in a Dec. 24 LinkedIn post. “It will have many more small companies than large ones. It may have big gaps on the show floor. Certainly, it will be different from previous years. It may be messy. But innovation is messy. It is risky and uncomfortable.”

However, the main reason for the drop-out of major tech firms can be attributed to the unending spread of the current Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

As of Dec. 28th, the United States has surpassed about 431,000 new daily cases which are even higher than the previous winter’s pandemic peak back on Jan. 8th, 2021 – a time reported cases in the US crossed 294,000 new daily cases, according to the CDC.

Here is the growing list of companies that have changed their minds about attending CES, starting with the most recent announcements:

1. GFK North America
2. Mercedes-Benz
3. Panasonic
4. Magna
5. AMD
6. OnePlus
7. Twitter
8. Meta
9. Microsoft
10. Google
11. Brunswick
12. GM
13. Intel
14. TikTok
15. At&T
16. NVIDIA
17. Pinterest
18. Amazon
19. T-Mobile

The horrifying fatal cases of the pandemic in the United States recently reached a milestone of 800,000 according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. 

That said, a sizeable number of companies are expected to host press conferences a day before the show commences.

Among those are tech firms that announced their withdrawal from being physically present at the event venue.

CES 2022 press day, Jan. 4 (all times are Pacific)

1. 7 a.m.: AMD and TCL
2. 8 a.m. LG Electronics and Nvidia
3. 9 a.m.: Hisense
4. 10 a.m.: Intel and Panasonic
5. 11 a.m.: Qualcomm
6. 12 p.m.: John Deere
7. 1 p.m.: Canon
8. 2 p.m.: Ottonomy
9. 3 p.m.: Hyundai
10. 4 p.m.: Indy Autonomous Challenge
11. 5 p.m.: Sony
12. 6:30 p.m.: Samsung