What Is CES? All You Need To Know

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the one of the world’s most prestigious tech events. Imagine yourself standing in one of the largest exhibition venues in the world, crammed full of revolutionary technological inventions and advancements. Brand-new cars sit on the show floor and capture your eye with their exotic looks. Nearby, you hear the soft and subtle drone of the world’s most efficient 3D printer. Over to your right, you notice an exhibitor demonstrating an immersive Augmented Reality (AR) video game set in the Metaverse.

It can only happen at CES. But what is CES really like?

CES is no ordinary tech show; it’s the main beacon that market leaders and decision-makers flock to when navigating the complex tech industry. It is a nexus where the world’s most innovative companies gather and showcase various groundbreaking technological innovations that can transform our daily lives.

So whether you are a CEO, marketing manager, event planner, or tech reporter, the CES offers relevant and unparalleled exposure to the tech industry’s latest advancements. Let’s explore what makes this event so special.

When And Where Is CES?

With only one exception during the COVID-19 pandemic, the CES has held its modern annual show in Nevada at the Las Vegas Convention Center since 1998. It is a multi-day event typically held at the beginning of the year, and the 2026 edition will take place from 6 January to 9 January.

As a B2B-focused event, the CES is not open to the public, and all attendees need to register online beforehand. Following the registration process, attendees will receive an entry badge to access the show.

Located in Clark County Nevada, the famous Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) is a perfect choice to host the CES trade show. With over 2,000,000 square feet of exhibition space, the LVCC has the second-largest convention center in the United States by gross exhibition hall square footage. There are many CES hotel options nearby.

The LVCC has a rich and colorful history too, having hosted famous events like:

• A concert by The Beatles in 1964
• A boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Floyd Patterson in 1965
• The 1994 FIFA World Cup draw.

Attendees can access the exhibition easily via the LVCC’s Loop, an innovative underground shuttle transit system inaugurated 2021. It uses the Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle as shuttles; the whole line consists of five stations and spans just under two miles altogether. In the future, these shuttles will likely become fully autonomous, self-driving units.

What Is CES All About?

To state that the CES originated from humble beginnings would be an understatement. Here’s how it became the popular trade show it is today:

• The first ever CES was held in June 1967 in New York as a spinoff of the Chicago Music Show.
• Less than 18,000 people attended the first edition.
• With interest increasing, CES was held twice a year from 1978 until 1994.
• There used to be a summer event edition in Chicago and a winter event edition in Las Vegas.
• Fewer and fewer people began attending, so the summer event was discontinued in 1994
• Today, the focus is entirely on the show at the Las Vegas Convention Center run by the the Consumer Technology Association.
• Visitor counts frequently top the 100,000 figure.
• The largest-ever attendance was recorded in 2019 with 182,000 attendees.
• In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Consumer Technology Association to run the CES as a digital-only event.
• At CES 2024, similar attendance levels compared to pre-pandemic annual CES trade shows were reported.

What Can You Expect From The Consumer Electronics Show?

Other than the CES, few exhibitions offer so much innovation crammed inside a single space. To get an idea of what awaits you at CES 2026, previous shows are an excellent blueprint.

In 2024, the CES again set the standard for international technology exhibitions. With over 135,000 attendees and a show floor packed with the world’s biggest brands, having the right Las Vegas trade show booth builders behind your exhibit is crucial to standing out.!

On stage, visitors enjoyed presentations from distinguished speakers like Robert Downey Jr., will.i.am, and Mark Cuban. Meanwhile, thousands of potential customers engaged with an exceptional variety of products from many exhibiting companies in the tech industry, including artificial intelligence, augmented reality, vehicle technology, robotics, cloud computing, and gaming.

As if all of this weren’t so impressive on its own, the CES 2024 event impressed even further with its overall theme of sustainability in technological innovation.

At CES 2026, there will be a continued emphasis on sustainable practices within the tech industry fostered through a dedicated Sustainability and ESG zone. Here, CES visitors will learn how sustainable innovations are changing the technology we use daily with a cleaner planet in mind.

CES 2026 is also expected to feature the Consumer Technology Association’s partnership with the Human Security for All (HS4A) campaign. The HS4A descends from the United Nations’ human security concept of 1994, which identifies several security pillars tied to an individual’s well-being in life. At CES 2024, technology and tech industry leaders were recognized for the first time as part of the process to address mankind’s most serious threats. Around the same time, the Consumer Technology Association also announced technology as a new human security pillar of the HS4A strategy.

More specific information on what CES 2026 will have to offer will be communicated two days before the event during the CES Unveiled Las Vegas media previews. As the exhibition’s official press conference program, CES Unveiled Las Vegas is an exceptional opportunity to access the extensive pre-registered CES media list. If you plan on documenting some of the latest consumer product innovations for the first time, then it is absolutely the place to be. 

Products

With its function as a nexus for technology across many fields, the 2026 CES show floor will feature swaths of cutting-edge products from several major companies. Most of the products on display are designed with life in our post-COVID world in mind, with exhibitors at the 2024 event including familiar brand names like Google, Sony, Samsung Electronics, Bosch, Canon, Walmart, Apple, and L’Oréal.

That same year, Walmart made headlines with the exhibition of its new Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning-based inventory systems. Meanwhile, Beyond Meat received acclaim in 2019 after winning the CES 2019 Top Tech Award for its new range of vegan meat alternatives. Then there was the 2001 show, where Microsoft unveiled its Xbox gaming console for the very first time. In short, it is difficult to truly comprehend the sheer importance of this event and the variety of groundbreaking innovations revealed by the exhibiting companies.

There will be a big spotlight on the automotive sector too, with car companies like Hyundai, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen having showcased the automotive industry’s recently developed technologies previously at CES 2024. Together, these brands demonstrated new vehicle technological innovations like haptic midair displays, Chat GPT AI infotainment integration, and teleoperated parking systems. There were also plenty of new and concept vehicle models to see for the first time, including Kia’s PBV urban utility electric vehicles, VinFast’s VF3 mini SUV, and Honda’s 0 Series concept electric saloon.

If all these trends are anything to go by, the 2026 edition of this remarkable exhibition of all things tech will have something everyone can enjoy.

Events

Like any modern major exhibition event, the CES does not rely on just the exciting exhibitions alone to captivate visitors. Attendees to any CES annual show can expect extra featured events that contribute to making the CES such an immersive experience for the world’s innovators. Attractive feature events present at the 2024 CES trade show in Las Vegas include the Annual International Reception, the Keynotes presentation series, and the Diversity and Inclusion talk sessions.

Keynotes

Once again, industry professionals and business leaders will take center stage at the 2026 CES exhibition for its famous Keynotes presentation series. With a focus on all things tech, this engaging event is a chance to stay ahead of new industry trends by listening to presentations from leading tech giants.

The 2026 Keynotes session will hope to build on previous discussions in Las Vegas, which featured the likes of Siemens, Walmart, L’Oréal and more. Tech giants Hyundai were also present at the CES 2024 Keynotes with their shipbuilding subsidiary HD Hyundai, which gave a talk on providing solutions to sustainability challenges.

CES 2024 also included a few discussion presentations, where multiple participants from different company backgrounds raised awareness of the latest advances and challenges in the tech industry. One particularly captivating talk involved Intel Corporation CEO Pat Gelsinger, CNBC’s Kristina Partsinevelos, and Elevance Health’s CEO Gail Boudreaux; it focused on the role of software in making AI technology more accessible and the role of technology in improving healthcare.

Annual International Reception

As a feature event crafted with the CES’s foreign audience in mind, the Annual International Reception is held on the first night of the exhibition by the Consumer Technology Association to welcome all foreign attendees. In addition to the provision of refreshments, the reception is also a sensational networking opportunity.

To go the extra mile in welcoming foreign attendees, the CES has also set up the International Business Center (IBC) as an exclusive hub with resources and facilities for international CES attendees.

Located at the LVCC and the Venetian Expo, it comprises private meeting rooms, a lounge area with refreshments, preset laptops with internet access, and multilingual translator services.

Roughly 40% of CES 2024’s attendees were from outside the United States.

Both the feature event and the IBC resonate with the CES’ participation in the United States Department of Commerce’s Trade Event Partnership Program (TEPP), which assists pre-screened foreign buyer delegations in visiting trade shows in the United States.

Diversity And Inclusion Talk Sessions

What would the technology industry be if not for the diverse range of people who help drive it forward? This is the main theme of the Diversity and inclusion sessions, which give a platform to those innovators who haven’t had the opportunity to make their voices heard. Several discussion events usually happen here, with the 2014 edition of the CES having hosted previous discussions on female entrepreneurship, the role of the chief diversity officer in a company, and inclusive design principles that consider consumers with disabilities.

Final Thoughts

So, what is CES? For all things tech and beyond, the Consumer Electronics Show has got it covered. From relationship-building with industry professionals to stimulating presentations and endless innovative tech products, this annual show provides many unique opportunities like no other. All this and more shows why the Consumer Technology Association bills the CES as “the most powerful tech event”.

Thinking about running an exhibit at CES? We at Booth Exhibits™ would love to get in touch. With many years worth of experience in designing and building trade show stands at some of the world’s premier exhibitions like CES, we have what it takes to elevate your business to the next level. New technology? No problem; we know exactly how to integrate innovative technology directly into your trade show booth design, culminating in a polished display that is as attractive as it is practical.