After three huge tech companies dropped out of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show, scheduled to take place next month, there was buzz that the show wouldn’t happen at all. Now, it’s been officially confirmed: NAB 2021 show has been cancelled following Sony, Canon and Panasonic’s decision to pull out due to safety concerns from the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases related to the Delta variant. The annual trade show had been scheduled to run October 9-13 in Las Vegas.

This is the second year in a row that NAB is not taking place in person. The event’s organizers made the public announcement earlier today on the NAB website (read an excerpted statement below):

For more than a year we have worked tirelessly to bring our industry together safely in Las Vegas at NAB Show. Unfortunately, the pandemic and surge of the Delta variant has presented unexpected and insurmountable challenges for our global community.

As we have always kept the best interest and safety of the industry as our priority, it has become apparent in the face of these challenges that we can no longer effectively host NAB Show or our co-located events, the Radio Show and Sales and Management Television Exchange, in person.

While we are disappointed that we will not be together again in person next month, we look forward to converging in Las Vegas at the 2022 NAB Show, April 23-27, 2022, to reignite our passion for our business and focus on a bright future ahead. Stay tuned for details regarding virtual options for accessing select 2021 NAB Show content through NAB Amplify.

As the Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to surge and vaccination numbers in certain states remain low, major industry trade shows have had to rethink their show plans in a hurry. PHOTOPLUS, which takes place every fall at the Javits Center in New York City, announced in a press release on September 8 that the 2021 New York event, scheduled for September 30-October 2, would not take place as planned, due to growing concerns related to the pandemic’s COVID-19 virus and its variants as well as travel restrictions imposed by the company. These restrictions would have prevented attendees and exhibitors alike from gathering at the Javits to experience PHOTOPLUS, which has historically hosted people from over 70 countries around the world.

[Read: PHOTOPLUS Launches Learning Lens, a Free Content Channel for Photographers]

In the last year, the PHOTOPLUS team has responded to the developments of the pandemic and its damaging effects on the industry by providing a free digital education platform for photographers year-round. Relaunched as PHOTOPLUS Learning Lens last month, the content channel hosts a veritable array of photography classes and has recently rolled out a series of live sessions.

And as show organizers across the industry continue to rethink larger shows, smaller events are still staging, like The Portrait Masters Shootout, which is slated to take place in Phoenix, Arizona, on October 6 and 7. While the larger Portrait Masters conference won’t take place this year due to the Delta variant, the smaller but equally impactful Shootout will include 25 shooting bays and models, as well as world-class mentors and instructors.

In August, a successful, albeit smaller WPPI took place in Las Vegas, and registration just opened for the 2022 event, scheduled for February 27-March 3, 2022 at the Mirage hotel. Normally held in February, WPPI moved this year due to concerns about the pandemic, and when the show kicked off, it was the first time the WPPI community had come together in person since February 2020. “The education was still industry-leading and the show floor had tons of amazing products to test out and demo,” said WPPI speaker Jason Vinson. “It was a great week and a great sneak peek into what this amazing show will have to offer more of in February 2022!” 

[Read: Amid Their 2020 Cancellation, NAB Unveils a Smart New Digital Plan]

Now that NAB is cancelled, industry attention is focused on the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), scheduled to take place January 5-8 in Las Vegas. While the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) went with an all-digital show for 2021, the plan is for a hybrid digital and in-person event in 2022. Only time will tell if more conference and show cancellations are on the horizon.