LightFair 2022 united thousands of lighting industry professionals in-person last month for a conference and trade show that was a resounding success. The industry’s largest annual lighting event took place June 19-23 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, drawing more than 10,000 attendees for five days of brisk business, valuable networking and bustling energy.

“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.”

Attendees of LightFair 2022 traveled from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico and 62 international countries to visit 331 exhibitors in the trade show and take part in 41 conference sessions.

Positivity on the Show Floor

The LightFair trade show was flooded with attendees as soon as doors opened, with many business conversations beginning just seconds after entering. Exhibitors, specifiers and designers reported quality business happening shortly into day one on the show floor, which continued through day three.
 
The show is an important annual platform for industry collaboration, according to Susie Minton, director of marketing at HK Lighting.

“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,” Minton said.
 
Jeff Croskey, CEO of ALW Lighting, said LightFair 2022 exceeded the company’s expectations.

“The crowd was amazing, and many of our specifiers, lighting designers and architects did come out,” Croskey said.
 
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 LightFair 2021 and 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-plus 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.”
 
Colleen Harper, executive director of IES, said her first experience at LightFair was impressive.

“I enjoyed meeting so many IES members and getting to know the greater lighting community,” Harper said. “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. IES is already very excited about the plans in the works for next year.”

Top-Notch Conference Content

Engaged lighting professionals learned about the newest advancements and strategies from LightFair’s 41 conference sessions, where more than 4,000 seats were filled, with most courses exceeding 100 attendees and some attracting more than 250.
 
Attendee Cristalle Lamoure, segment manager at HP, applauded the conference courses.

“The sessions have been great,” Lamoure said. “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.

Electrical company Aetna Corp. posted to the following to Twitter:

“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.”

LightFair 2023 will take place May 21-25 at New York’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The 2023 edition will take place during NYCxDESIGN Week and debut its co-location with the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF).

LightFair, the world’s largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference, is owned by IALD and IES and produced and managed by International Market Centers.

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