Photonics West moves to San Francisco

24 Jan 2008

Photonics West will be held in San Francisco from 2010.

This morning the editorial team reporting from Photonics West learned from Eugene Arthurs, SPIE's executive director, that the event will be held in San Francisco's Moscone Center in 2010. The reason is clear: the San Jose Convention Center is no longer able to cater for the growing number of exhibitors and delegates who visit the show every year.

Indeed, for the first time this year the show organizers could not accommodate all the exhibitors in the Main Hall and the South Hall, itself a semi-permanent extension to the main convention center. An extra tent has had to be added onto one end of the South Hall, which is reported to leak when it rains.

Arthurs says that plans had been in the pipeline to extend the McEnery Convention Center, but the city had been unable to afford the work in the wake of the telecoms downturn. As a result, SPIE has taken the decision to host the event in the larger facility in San Francisco.

But, he says, don't make the mistake of booking your tickets to San Francisco next year. Photonics West 2009 will be back at the San Jose Convention Center just one more time. The plan is to hold Photonics West 2010 in January in San Francisco.

What's your opinion of this news? Will it make it easier for you to attend Photonics West? How do exhibitiors feel about this move?

Let us know by using the "Comment on this article" link below.