CHICAGO — Unlike other shows in the past, this year’s Chicago Auto Show is expanding with an outdoor street festival vibe featuring food trucks, local breweries and music, all while showcasing the industry’s latest vehicles. The gathering marks one of the first live, in-person events at McCormick Place since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the city in mid-March 2020. The iconic show is also the first large-scale show to take place in Illinois.
In addition to the street festival, there will be indoor test tracks, outdoor activations and consumers will be able to test drive brand new vehicles on select city streets.
“This special edition show marks the first major McCormick Place convention to take place in Illinois since the start of the pandemic, hopefully setting the stage for the months ahead,” said David Sloan, president of the Chicago Automobile Trade Association and general manager of the Chicago Auto Show.
The Chicago Auto Show was one of the last gatherings held at the convention center before the shutdown and is now one of the first to reopen. “We’re different from traditional trade shows where you have a larger number of smaller exhibitors. We have a smaller number of larger exhibitors, with most of our attendees being local.” Interestingly, during the auto show, the Advertising Specialty Institute’s Chicago ASI show will be held in the North Building.
“This is like a world first for McCormick Place. We’ve been waiting months for live events to come back, and here we are,” said David Causton, General Manager of McCormick Place. “The auto show is the beginning of our reactivation plan. The hotels and restaurants in and around McCormick Place have reopened, and it feels so good.”
The auto show kicks off 122 major shows that are returning to the calendar at McCormick Place, representing 1.9 million visitors and $2.3 billion in economic impact, Causton said.
McCormick Place holds GBAC STAR accreditation, the industry’s gold standard for health and safety. In January, Choose Chicago and McCormick Place launched Healthy Meetings Chicago, an interactive digital platform designed to illustrate the attendee experience, with a focus on health and safety measures, when arriving at a convention center event in 2021. McCormick Place also participates in ASM Global’s VenueShield health and safety protocols.
Related. McCormick Achieves GBAC STAR Accreditation
“McCormick Place is an important economic engine for our city and state, and we take very seriously the responsibility that comes with helping to get it going again,” Sloan said.
Although permission to hold this year’s rally was given in March, the announcement was not made until May. “That news was a big splash across the country that day,” Sloan said.
In 2022, the show will return to its February cycle. Organizers are aware that this July gathering will be smaller than in previous years because attendees are used to buying tickets on site, but this year, all ticket sales are online.
“Without onsite ticketing, we’re going to have to wait until the end. However, attendees will be able to purchase tickets onsite on their phones,” Sloan said. “Not only will this year’s show be smaller and shorter, it will also be different than any other. The pandemic has given us the opportunity to try something unique. We’re the first to get approved and we’re kicking off 122 shows.”
Contact David Sloan at dsloan@drivechicago.com or (630) 424-6055 and David Causton at (312) 791-6155 or dcauston@mccormickplace.com