Jan. 29, 2021 — The Vision Council (TVC) 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, FL, from June 2–5.

The show’s educational program, together with OptiConVision Expo, will open Wednesday, June 2 and exhibits will open Thursday, June 3. 

The organizations have shared that the decision was based on the current restrictions on large gatherings in New York 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,” says Mitch Barkley, VP of trade Shows and meetings at TVC. “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.”

According to TVC and Reed Exhibitions, they selected the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) as the new host site with the safety and wellbeing of all Vision Expo attendees in mind. Additionally, they’ve shared that 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. Furthermore, 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,” says Fran Pennella, event VP, 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,” says Barkley. “We are committed to getting back to business and growing our industry, and we are stronger together.” 

More info 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 mbarkley@thevisioncouncil.org or Fran Pennella at fpennella@reedexpo.com.