Among the impressive list of well known celebrities and executives who appeared at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, two of the biggest names came as a big surprise, yet at the world's largest consumer electronics trade show, it shouldn't have been. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made a surprise appearance in front of a packed audience at the Qualcomm Preshow Keynote Monday evening, as did Bill Clinton at Samsung’s keynote address on Wednesday.
While these two high powered individuals were among the event’s highlights, the Consumer Electronics Show had celebrities galore. Just yesterday, rapper-actor Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, MTV actress Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, actor Danny DeVito and Dr. Sanjay Gupta were all on hand for guest presentations, with pop singer Ke$sha performing live at a CES sponsored show at the Haze Night Club in the Aria Hotel and Casino. Today, Tim Tebrow drew a considerable crowd at the Soul Electronics suite, and so did popular television host Dr. Oz, as a panelist on the Breakfast of Healthy Champions session. Rapper Lil Twist, who recently made controversial news with teen pop mega-idol Justin Beiber also appeared today at the CES. This evening features another popular rapper turned actor, Chris”Ludcaris” Bridges hosting a party at the Venetian’s Tao nightclub and director Brian Singer was scheduled to appear at an invitation only event in the Cilli Restaurant at the Bali Hai Golf Club.
Other stars who appeared earlier in the week included yet another rapper-actor and star of the CBS television show “NCIS Los Angeles” - LL Cool J, who appeared at the CNET Stage on Tuesday, award winning recording artist will.i.am, Rev Run from the the hip hop group Run-D.M.C., actress Kelly LeBrock, the hugely popular band Maroon 5 at the Preshow Keynote and Ariana Huffington who presided over a panel of health experts, which included Dr. Deepak Chopra.
Of course, high ranking management also had their day to shine. Aside from CEO Steve Ballmer who appeared with Qualcomm CEO Dr. Paul Jacobs, there were many prominent CEOs and Presidents who gave presentations, such as Panasonic CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga, Samsung’s president Boo-Keun Yoon and executive Dr. Stephen Woo, Netgear CEO Patrick Lo, Sony President Phil Molyneux and Sharp Electronics Chairman and CEO Toshi Osawa.
Now heading towards the conclusion of this year’s event, the estimated 150,000 people in attendance had plenty of to see, hear and enjoy at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show and for the vast majority, plenty of exercise simply from walking from one venue to another.This year’s event set records for exhibitor and booth space, with 20,000 new products unveiled from more than 3,250 exhibitors, on nearly 2 million square feet of exhibitor space encompassing several venues, including the Las Vegas Convention Center, Mandalay Bay, the Venetian and Palazzo.
As the Consumer Electronics Show winds down to the final day, the most popular celebrities have already made their appearances and there are only just a few presentations left for tomorrow. But for weary attendees and exhibitors who have been walking several miles over the course of a long week, the last day might just be a time to finally relax and enjoy a flight home or anything else Las Vegas has to offer.
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