Sony has announced that it will not exhibit at the 2021 IBC Show, slated for Dec. 3-6 at the RAI in Amsterdam. In a statement from a representative of Sony Europe, the company cited the ongoing pandemic as well as logistics, adding that it will have representatives at the show.
"Due to the current uncertainty around the worldwide pandemic and the lead time needed for design, Sony will not be having a physical booth at the upcoming IBC trade show," the company said. "We will use the opportunity to meet customers and partners in Amsterdam. We will be constantly monitoring the situation in the coming months and will adjust our plans accordingly, but are keen to participate, when safe and appropriate, in industry trade shows."
Sony would not confirm if it had any plans for a "virtual" presence at the show.
In a statement clarifying the company’s participation at the show, Steve Connolly, director at IBC, explained, “Sony continues to be a great supporter of IBC and, although they weren’t planning on exhibiting this year, it is great to see Sony confirm they want to be at IBC2021.
“With 700 exhibitors confirmed, visitors will see demos and hear industry insights from a huge array of major players including Amazon Web Services, Blackmagic Design, EVS, Grass Valley, Nagra, and Synamedia,” he continued. “We’ve seen a sharp increase in visitor registrations since the Dutch government announced the relaxation of Covid travel rules and are seeing strong support across major content owners, broadcasters and service providers planning on coming to the show.
"We are also putting more content than ever online this year, so the 250,000 strong IBC community will be able to see and enjoy more content than ever online through IBC Digital.”
Last week, IBC organizers told the media that while they were confident about their ability to put on a safe and successful show, they were not complacent about realities in light of worldwide business conditions and concerns about health and safety.
This article has been updated with the added comment from IBC.
