SAN JOSE, Calif. – The venerable Comdex convention, which for nearly 25 years showcased the latest and greatest in high tech in Las Vegas every November, is canceling this year’s show.
Show organizer MediaLive International Inc. described the cancelation as a “postponement” and said Wednesday that it had formed an advisory board to reshape the troubled event.
MediaLive indicated in a statement that the next Las Vegas show would take place in November 2005.
“We are anxious to work with the industry to build the best event,” said Eric Faurot, Comdex’s general manager.
During the tech boom, Comdex lured more than 200,000 people and filled more than 1.2 million square feet.
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates has been a speaker since the earliest days, and it’s also attracted the CEOs of Sun Microsystems Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., among others.
But several companies including Dell Inc., International Business Machines Corp. and Intel Corp. stopped leasing exhibit space, depriving Comdex organizers of revenue. Instead, many rented suites at nearby hotels and hosted gatherings there.
Companies also focused more attention to the massive Consumer Electronics Show, which takes place in Las Vegas each January.
When the tech bubble burst, Comdex attendance and exhibitors plunged, forcing the organizer – then known as Key3Media – into bankruptcy. The 2003 show was refocused to appeal to corporate buyers and sellers, not consumers and general gadgetry.
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