Vision Expo East: Show 2021 in Orlando concluded

Vision Expo East 2021 concluded on Saturday, June 5. The four-day event, which took place for the first time in Orlando, Florida, from June 2–5 at the Orange County Convention Center, marked the first large-scale, in-person trade show for the vision care community since 2019 and brought together thousands of members of the industry.

Vision Expo East 2021 featured more than 200 exhibiting companies across several distinct neighborhoods and offered cutting-edge continuing education and engaging programming. Presented under the banner of VisionEd, Vision Expo’s education program included 120 sessions and more than 160 hours of custom-designed clinical content, as well as a robust offering of courses led by renowned experts in business, fashion and marketing.

Returning to the Show, OptiCon®@Vision Expo offered an unmatched education program and exhibit hall experience for opticians, contact lens practitioners and ophthalmic allied professionals.
New to the Show, The Seen served as a main stage destination and a hub for collaborative learning as the host venue for the EYE2EYE Series panels and the Career Zone.

Additionally, to accommodate members of the vision care community from around the globe, the Show organizers offered Vision Expo+, a free digital extension of the Vision Expo East experience that was available from June 3–5 through ShopVISION, a new global sourcing platform.
From June 3–5, nearly 1,000 members of the community took advantage of a number of virtual experiences, including online showrooms from Vision Expo East’s more than 200 exhibitors and livestreamed Vision Expo East content.
All events taking place at The Seen were simulcast live on the ShopVISION platform. Additionally, the recorded sessions are now available to view on ShopVISION.

“Following an incredible Vision Expo East in Orlando, we are more excited than ever to bring the vision care community together again in Las Vegas this September,” said Mitch Barkley, Vice President of Trade Shows and Events at The Vision Council, co-owner of Vision Expo. “With Las Vegas fully reopened as of June 1, we are looking forward to an exciting Show and even more opportunities to connect with the community through special events, programming and education.”

Vision Expo West will take place September 22–25 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. With the city of Las Vegas fully reopened and returned to pre-pandemic guidelines as of June 1, the Show organizers are planning a robust line-up of events and programming. Registration for Vision Expo West will open in mid-July.

Exhibitor and Attendee Testimonials

“We were very pleased with Vision Expo East 2021, especially considering that we are still in the re-opening phase from COVID-19. We had many excellent discussions with customers from both North and Latin America and were able to generate leads and opportunities. It was great to be at a live show again and we are already looking forward to Vision Expo West in Las Vegas,” said Rich Hughes, President Satisloh North America.

“The entire Etnia Barcelona team was excited to return to the show floor and create a buzz as one of the most visited frame line booths all three days!” said Vicky Perez, Marketing Director North America. “Needless to say, it was a grand success and we are excited to do it all over again at Expo West.”

“Having a virtual opportunity to attend Vision Expo East was the connection to the industry I have been missing over the past 15 months,” said Sheena Taff, Licensed Optician and Optical Blogger. “Vision Expo+ made me feel like I was in the front row of the EYE2EYE Series discussions on The Seen, and allowed me to be tempted by new eyewear through the ShopVISION platform, just as if I was walking the show floor.”