Tech Conventions Approach Pre-Covid Attendance Levels

Technology enthusiasts from across the globe will set their sights on Las Vegas this week, where the tech industry presents the latest advancements in consumer electronics to the public at CES 2025. With more than 4,000 exhibitors and an expected attendance of around 140,000 visitors, CES is one of the biggest events of its kind, a self-described "gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies".

Fitting with this year's overarching theme, which will undoubtedly be AI and its potential in consumer technology, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang gave the opening keynote on Monday night, introducing a flurry of updates on his company's upcoming products, including a desktop-sized AI supercomputer call Project Digits, which will bring new AI capabilities to the masses at a starting price of $3,000. “Placing an AI supercomputer on the desks of every data scientist, AI researcher and student empowers them to engage and shape the age of AI," Huang said in a press release.

Taking place at the Las Vegas Convention Center, CES, owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association, attracted 139,000 visitors including 56,000 international guests from 161 countries last year. After an entirely virtual event in 2021 and one severely impacted by the Omicron Covid variant in 2022, attendance levels are now gradually approaching pre-Covid levels, when attendance peaked around 185,000 in 2017. The following chart provides an overview of some of the biggest events in the tech calendar.