MWC, WISPA, NAB, IWCE still plan in-person events, but others cancel

As the dust settles on last week’s in-person CES trade show in Las Vegas, some event coordinators have either canceled their own upcoming trade shows or plan to switch to a virtual format. Others, however, are forging ahead with plans to hold in-person gatherings in the coming weeks and months.

“We expect over 1,500 exhibitors in February, with attendees registered from 150 countries,” GSMA CEO John Hoffman wrote in an open letter of the upcoming MWC trade show, scheduled to start February 28 in Barcelona, Spain. “A lot has changed in the past two years but our resolve to reconvene the industry is unwavering, and I encourage every member of this community to support one another. My personal thanks to all the business leaders who are right now planning their attendance.”

Other trade show organizers issued similar reassurances. “IWCE 2022 will happen this year – in March and in Las Vegas. Bank on it,” wrote Paul Caplan, the show’s general manager, in an email Monday morning. Informa, Light Reading’s parent company, runs the IWCE show, which is scheduled to run March 21-24.

And officials with the Wireless Internet Service Provider Association (WISPA) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) said their respective shows (Wispamerica March 14-17 in New Orleans and NAB Show April 23 – 27 in Las Vegas) remain on schedule and in person. According to VentureBeat, Informa’s Game Developers Conference is also scheduled to be an in-person event March 21-25 in San Francisco.

But other upcoming in-person events have been canceled or virtualized. NATPE Miami, from the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE), canceled its show in Miami that was scheduled to start January 18.

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