New Show Location and Dates Reflect a Strategic Decision by the Show Organizers to Find Most Suitable Location Given Current COVID-19 Restrictions
Alexandria, VA – January, 29, 2021 –The Vision Council and Reed Exhibitions, organizers of Vision Expo, today announced that Vision Expo East 2021, originally scheduled to take place at the Javits Center in New York City from May 25-28, 2021, will now take place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida from June 2-5, 2021. The Show’s educational program, together with OptiCon®@Vision Expo, will open Wednesday, June 2 and exhibits will open Thursday, June 3. The decision was based on the current restrictions on large gatherings in New York State and the successful track record of previous events held at the Orange County Convention Center.
“It is our mission and responsibility to the vision care community to provide a platform to effectively show products and conduct business,” said Mitch Barkley, Vice President of Trade Shows and Meetings at The Vision Council. “With strict limitations on large gatherings still in place in New York, we wanted to find a suitable location that would allow us to provide the exceptional Vision Expo experience that the community needs and deserves. Given its track record of successfully hosting more than 50 in-person events between March 2020 and December 2020, we are confident the right decision is to move the show to the Orange County Convention Center as the new 2021 host site in order to give our customers every opportunity to network and share their new products. We are committed to getting back to business and growing our industry.”
The Vision Council and Reed Exhibitions selected the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) as the new host site with the safety and wellbeing of all Vision Expo attendees in mind. The OCCC has strict health and safety precautions in place, as well as upholding all nationally recommended precautions, including mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing. Additionally, the OCCC is part of a first of its kind collaboration between Orlando Health and Visit Orlando, which provides convention groups with personalized medical planning and support. The OCCC was one of the first convention centers in the nation to receive the Global Biorisk Advisory Council’s GBAC STAR™ accreditation, which is designed to help facilities establish a comprehensive system of cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention, and is widely recognized as the gold standard of safe and prepared venues. The Orlando International Airport holds the same accreditation.
“The decision to adjust the show dates and location is a positive solution in the midst of a challenging time for everyone,” said Fran Pennella, Event Vice President, Vision Expo, at Reed Exhibitions. “As we continue our planning efforts, the health, wellbeing and safety of everyone in attendance at the Show continues to be our top priority, and we will be working closely with the Orange County Convention Center to ensure all health and safety guidelines and procedures are maintained.
“In the spirit of coming together as an industry to emerge from the challenges of the pandemic stronger than ever, The Vision Council and Reed Exhibitions invite other industry organizations in the midst of planning events to consider joining us in Orlando in June,” said Mitch Barkley. “We are committed to getting back to business and growing our industry, and we are stronger together.”
Additional information on Vision Expo East 2021 will be announced soon, along with registration details. Organizations interested in co-locating their event with Vision Expo East should contact Mitch Barkley at [email protected] or Fran Pennella at [email protected]
About Vision Expo:
Vision Expo East and West are trade-only conferences and exhibitions for eyecare and eyewear presented by co-owners Reed Exhibitions and The Vision Council. Vision Expo is the complete event for ophthalmic professionals, where eyecare meets eyewear, and education, fashion and innovation mingle. In the Vision Expo Exhibit Hall, eyecare providers can discover trends, interact with new technologies and access innovative products and services. The Vision Expo education program is driven by the profession, offering content of the highest quality and relevance to enhance overall patient care. For more information, visit VisionExpo.com and follow Vision Expo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
About The Vision Council
As the vision care leader in enabling better vision for better lives, The Vision Council positions its members for success by promoting growth in the vision care industry through education, advocacy, research, consumer outreach, strategic relationship building and industry forums. Furthermore, through a partnership with Think About Your Eyes, The Vision Council supports consumer education around eyewear and eyecare.
About Reed Exhibitions Reed Exhibitions is a leading global events business. It combines face-to-face with data and digital tools to help customers learn about markets, source products and complete transactions at over 500 events in almost 30 countries across 43 industry sectors, attracting more than 7 million participants.
Our events, organised by 35 global offices, leverage industry expertise, large data sets and technology to enable our customers to generate billions of dollars of revenues for the economic development of local markets and national economies around the world. Reed Exhibitions is part of RELX, a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. www.reedexhibitions.com