LightFair 2022, which wrapped up Thursday, June 23, after five days of bustling energy, brisk business and networking across its trade show and conference, welcomed more than 10,000 attendees to the industry’s largest annual lighting event, June 19-23 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
“LightFair has proven yet again how important it is for the lighting industry to connect under one roof: this event is where emerging technologies are discovered, lighting trends are communicated and industry news is unveiled,” said Dan Darby, show director. “LightFair is the pinnacle of lighting’s newest technology, education and industry direction, and the 2022 edition was a strong success.”
For its Las Vegas 2022 edition, LightFair’s more than 10,000 attendees traveled in from all 50 states as well as Washington D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico and 62 international countries to visit 331 exhibitors in the trade show and take part in 41 conference sessions.
Trade Show
The LightFair Trade Show was flooded with attendees as soon as doors opened on Tuesday, with many conversations beginning just seconds after entering. Exhibitors, specifiers and designers reported quality business happening shortly into day one that continued through day three.
Susie Minton, director of marketing at HK Lighting, said, “LightFair is a time for us in the industry to be able to get together and to collaborate, whether that's training our agents and letting them get a chance to talk with us, to see our new products, to touch and feel and become top of mind again, or whether it's working with a designer who has a specific project that they might be looking for advice on.”
Jeff Croskey, CEO of ALW Lighting, added, “This year, LightFair exceeded our expectations. The crowd was amazing and many of our specifiers, lighting designers and architects did come out.”
Along with finding new products and learning from industry professionals, LightFair serves as a central meeting point where lighting industry partners make major company announcements. Current, formerly GE Current, a Daintree Company, announced its acquisition of Hubbell Lighting at the 2021 LightFair, and this year unveiled the new branding at the 2022 edition.
“In 2021, we announced our company’s acquisition at LightFair with much success, so it was an obvious decision to choose LightFair 2022 as the venue to unveil our new branding as Current,” said Jim Benson, vice president, enterprise marketing and communications at Current. “We knew working with the LightFair team would ensure our news would once again get the widespread industry recognition and coverage it deserves.”
Exhibit floor education, which expanded for 2022 following a successful debut in October, recorded some 30+ highly-attended sessions held in the Designery, LightFair Live, Tek Talks and the Outdoor Exchange.
LightFair co-owners, Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), were also pleased with the 2022 edition of LightFair.
“LightFair is an important place to come to reconnect with colleagues, meet new people, see products and see what's happening in the market,” said Chris Knowlton, director at large of IALD. “Lighting designers are really good at design, and LightFair gives them access to the tools to do it properly.”
IES Executive Director Colleen Harper added, “My first experience with LightFair was impressive. I enjoyed meeting so many IES members and getting to know the greater lighting community. We were thrilled with the level of traffic on the show floor, and the feedback we received about the rest of the event was extremely positive. The IES is already very excited about the plans in the works for next year.”
Conference
Engaged lighting professionals learned the newest advancements from LightFair’s 41 conference sessions, where over 4,000 seats were filled with most courses exceeding 100 attendees, and some even attracting 250+.
“The sessions have been great,” said attendee Cristalle Lamoure, Segment Manager at HP. “I’ve heard about everything from sustainability to the behind-the-scenes experiences of lighting designers. It’s really helping me to assess how we can be a part of the lighting industry.”
Attendees took to social media to share their positive experiences with LightFair’s lighting education.
“LightFair 2022 in Las Vegas was full of networking, learning and innovative experiences. Trade Shows are always a great place to see what’s new, but the Conference and learning portion of LightFair truly sets it apart,” electrical company, Aetna Corp. posted to Twitter.
LightFair 2023
For its 2023 edition, LightFair returns to the East Coast, May 21 – 25 (Conference May 21 – 23, Trade Show May 23 – 25) at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. LightFair 2023 will take place during NYCxDESIGN Week and debuting its co-location with the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF).
LightFair exhibitor information, registration updates and conference news for 2023 can be found at https://www.lightfair.com/new-york-2023.
About LightFair
LightFair, the world’s largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference, is owned by the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES). The event is produced and managed by International Market Centers. For more information, visit LightFair.com. Follow LightFair on Facebook, Twitter @lightfair, Instagram @lightfair_international, LinkedIn and YouTube. To stay up-to-date on lighting-industry news leading up to LightFair, visit the LightFair Blog at https://www.lightfairblog.com/