The Home Entertainment Show Another Audiophile Casualty of Coronavirus Emergency

The Home Entertainment Show 2020 became the latest casualty from the COVID-19 pandemic, saying Wednesday the December expo, tentatively rescheduled from June, was canceled. Organizers emailed exhibitors, showgoers and the media with “what we believe to be a final update.” They were in the final stages of announcing an intention to “simply move the dates” of the event to be at the Hilton Long Beach in southern California from June 12-14 to December but didn't receive “solid answers” from the hotel after asking for clarification on health and safety policies: “We wanted to ensure everyone was going to be safe.” Questions to the hotel were referred to Hilton’s corporate office Thursday. A spokesperson said Hilton was looking into the questions but the Long Beach hotel is independently owned and operated. After hearing Gov. Gavin Newsom (D)’s four-stage Resilience Roadmap for reopening the state, T.H.E. organizers contacted the hotel again, “this time to request information on a full cancellation,” saying the hotel wouldn’t be able to guarantee the event even if it were to be in December.