[ti:CES Technology Event Will Take Place Online] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]CES, one of the world's biggest technology conferences, [00:06.04]will be an online event this coming January due to the coronavirus health crisis. [00:14.68]The decision marks a change for event organizers, [00:20.20]who said in May it would take place as a smaller, [00:25.36]in-person gathering in Las Vegas, Nevada. [00:29.76]The decision also creates additional problems for Las Vegas. [00:36.24]Like other popular vacation destinations in the United States, [00:41.76]the city is suffering economically. [00:44.96]More than 170,000 people attended the four-day show this past January, [00:53.48]shortly before COVID-19 began to spread across the country. [00:59.56]In Nevada over the past two weeks, [01:03.36]the average number of daily new coronavirus cases has increased 27 percent. [01:11.80]The state is now listed sixth in the country [01:15.72]for new cases of COVID-19 per capita. [01:20.08]The crisis has affected major technology events around the world. [01:26.04]Europe's biggest consumer electronics trade event, [01:31.44]Germany's IFA, usually runs for six days. [01:37.44]Last year, nearly 25,000 people attended the event. [01:42.72]This year, it will run half as long and there will be no public access to the event, [01:51.00]which will take place in September. [01:54.16]Web Summit, an event in Portugal that includes well-known heads [02:00.56]of technology companies and famous people, will be online this time. [02:07.52]Organizers aim to still hold a physical conference in Lisbon in December. [02:15.64]But no final decision will be made until early October. [02:21.04]Trade shows are a place where people meet members of the industry, [02:27.12]try new devices or make sales. [02:31.24]The Events Industry Council reports that they represent $2.5 trillion in worldwide spending. [02:41.12]Much of that is likely to be lost if events go online. [02:47.40]The Consumer Technology Association organizes CES. [02:53.44]It had said in May that it planned to hold some events in Las Vegas next year. [03:01.48]But Gary Shapiro, the group's CEO, said the group's thinking changed [03:08.64]as COVID-19 cases rose sharply around the world. [03:14.20]That makes it impossible to hold an indoor event in January 2021. [03:22.28]It is also unknown whether employees of big technology companies [03:28.40]will be permitted to travel by next January. [03:32.96]For example, Google said this week that its employees [03:37.96]should work from home until at least July 2021. [03:43.44]The four-day online form of the CES show begins January 6. [03:51.16]I'm Pete Musto. [03:53.08]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM