There’s something that’s been bugging me since I started paying closer attention to CES. Every January, I watch the coverage roll in from Las Vegas. The massive booths, the jaw-dropping product reveals, the startups pitching their hearts out in Eureka Park. And every year, I find myself squinting at the exhibition floor maps, looking for the Union Jack. Sometimes I spot a handful of British companies dotted around the halls. Other times, I wonder if we even showed up. For a country that genuinely punches above its weight in technology, from AI research to healthtech to creative industries, that feels like a missed opportunity.
It hit home properly when I started reading about how other countries approach CES. France rocks up with nearly 150 companies, most of them gathered under an enormous, government-funded national pavilion. Latvia has a pavilion. Lithuania has a pavilion. Malta, a country with roughly the population of Bristol, has a government-backed pavilion. And the UK? We leave our startups and SMEs to fend for themselves, pay their own way, and hope someone notices them among 4,500 exhibitors. As a dad who’s spent plenty of time teaching his kids that showing up matters, this one stings a bit.
So let’s talk about where the UK actually stands at CES, why it matters, and what needs to change before CES 2027.
The UK at CES: Where We Are Right Now
Let’s start with the numbers, because they tell an uncomfortable story. At CES 2025, around 41 UK companies had a presence at the show. That included some genuinely impressive names like Elvie, the female healthtech firm, what3words, the precise location company, and ETC, the incubation arm of BT Group. These are world-class businesses doing brilliant work. But 41 companies from the UK, set against 142,465 total participants and 4,500 exhibitors? It’s not exactly a thundering statement of intent.
Provisional figures for CES 2026 suggest that number may have actually dropped to around 29 UK exhibitors. Meanwhile, France fielded 64 companies, Germany brought 38, and even the Netherlands managed 27. Those CES 2026 numbers are still provisional, so I’d treat them with a pinch of caution, but the direction of travel is concerning.
Gary Shapiro, the CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (the organisation behind CES), didn’t mince his words about it either. Speaking in January 2026, he said CES “does not have the same support from the UK government as other countries provide.” He called UK participation “spotty” and said it “doesn’t make sense” given the clear potential in the British tech sector. That’s the boss of CES publicly saying we’re underperforming. When the person running the biggest consumer tech event on the planet singles out your country for dropping the ball, you sit up and take notice.
The Pavilion Problem: Why Showing Up Matters
Here’s the thing most people outside the trade show world don’t realise. It’s not just about individual companies booking a booth. At CES, many countries organise what are called Global Pavilions. These are dedicated exhibition areas where multiple companies from the same nation showcase their products and services together. They’re organised and funded by the government of the participating country, or by a national trade association. The companies inside still keep their own identity, but they benefit enormously from the collective visibility, the shared branding, and the foot traffic that a large, well-designed national pavilion attracts.
Mark Birchall, Managing Director of Tradefair, put it perfectly: “I’ve had pavilion envy for years. You go to major tech events and see countries like Latvia, Lithuania and Malta turning up with impressive government-funded stands, while British firms are left to fend for themselves.” That’s a British trade show expert admitting he’s jealous of Malta’s CES setup. Let that sink in for a moment.
The UK used to have a programme that helped with this. The Tradeshow Access Programme, known as TAP, offered grants of up to £2,500 to small and medium-sized enterprises to help cover the cost of participating in overseas trade fairs. It cost an estimated £8 to £10 million a year. The government scrapped it in 2021, and despite repeated lobbying from the tech sector, it has not been reinstated.
A government spokesperson responded to the criticism by pointing to the Industrial Strategy and the Small Business Plan as measures intended to help firms scale and expand internationally. Which is a bit like telling someone who needs a lift to the airport that you’ve invested in better road infrastructure. Technically relevant, practically useless in the moment.
What France Gets Right (and We Should Learn From)
If you want to understand what a properly supported CES presence looks like, just look across the Channel. France is the benchmark, and the gap is embarrassing.
At CES 2026, nearly 150 French companies attended. Around 100 of those were startups, and they were nearly all gathered together on a large France Pavilion at Eureka Park, CES’s dedicated startup zone. This isn’t a happy accident. It’s the result of deliberate, funded, strategic government support through a dedicated agency called Business France. Their Deputy Managing Director, Didier Boulogne, has described their sector-focused pavilion layout as a deliberate strategy for better identification of companies. They’re not just turning up. They’re engineering visibility.
France also runs the French Tech 2030 programme, an 80-company cohort that generated nearly 3,200 jobs in France, with workforce growth expected to surge 45% in 2025. Almost 40% of those companies are based outside the Paris region. They raised €1.1 billion in funding and generated €188 million in revenue in 2024. That’s what happens when a government decides that supporting its tech ecosystem on the global stage is worth the investment.
Paolo Pescatore, analyst at PP Foresight, summed it up neatly: “France stands out time and again for how it backs its start-ups and SMEs. The proof is in the pudding. In the UK, the private sector is being asked to carry the cost alone.”
| Factor | UK (CES 2025/2026) | France (CES 2025/2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Approximate exhibitors (CES 2026, provisional) | ~29 | ~64 (plus ~100 startups) |
| Government-funded national pavilion | No | Yes, organised by Business France |
| Dedicated government trade show grants for SMEs | No (TAP scrapped 2021) | Yes, through Business France |
| Startup programme with CES presence | No formal equivalent | French Tech 2030 (80-company cohort) |
| Senior political figures attending | Inconsistent | Regular government representation |
That table doesn’t make for comfortable reading if you’re a British tech company with global ambitions.
What the UK Delegation Could Be (and How to Get Involved)
Here’s where I want to shift from frustration to something more constructive, because CES 2027 genuinely represents an opportunity.
CES 2027 will take place in Las Vegas in January 2027 (exact dates to be confirmed via ces.tech). CES 2025 drew 142,465 participants, with 57,401 of them international. Over 305 Fortune Global 500 companies were represented. AI remains the dominant interest area, robotics is surging, digital health attendance grew 13%, and entertainment and advertising grew 11%. This is not a niche event. It is, in the words of CTA President Kinsey Fabrizio, “the largest audited annual business event” on the planet.
For UK companies, particularly startups and SMEs, CES offers something you simply cannot replicate from a desk in Shoreditch or a co-working space in Manchester. It puts you in front of global buyers, investors, distribution partners, and media. Eureka Park alone had 1,400 startup exhibitors at CES 2025. If your product is ready and your pitch is sharp, the exposure is extraordinary.
If you’re a British startup or SME looking at CES 2027, here’s what I’d suggest. First, register your interest early at ces.tech. Eureka Park spaces go fast. Second, look for private-sector UK delegations. Companies like Tradefair and various tech accelerators have been stepping into the gap left by the government, organising group trips and shared exhibition spaces. Third, lobby. Write to your MP. Write to the Department for Business and Trade. The more noise the tech community makes about reinstating trade show support, the harder it becomes to ignore. And fourth, connect with other UK exhibitors. Even without a formal pavilion, there’s strength in numbers. Coordinate your messaging, share your location on the floor, and cross-promote.
CES 2027 is a particularly good year to push for this because the global conversation around AI, healthtech, and clean energy aligns perfectly with where British innovation is strongest. We have the companies. We have the talent. What we need is the infrastructure to showcase it properly.
Hype Cycle Check
LIKELY TO LAST: CES itself. With audited attendance growing year on year and more than 4,500 exhibitors, this event isn’t going anywhere. The shift towards AI, robotics, and digital health as dominant categories is accelerating, not fading. British companies working in these areas have a genuine window.
WATCH CLOSELY: Private-sector UK delegations filling the government gap. Companies like Tradefair are doing admirable work, but they can’t match the scale or visibility of a government-backed pavilion. Whether this grassroots approach can sustain and grow without public funding remains to be seen.
VAPOURWARE RISK: Any suggestion that the UK government is about to reinstate meaningful trade show support. The Industrial Strategy and Small Business Plan are broad policy documents. Until there’s a specific, funded programme that puts British companies on the CES floor with the same backing France provides, I’d file government promises under “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
The CES 2027 Angle
CES 2027 could be a turning point. The criticism from Gary Shapiro made headlines. The comparison with France is now public and well-documented. There is genuine political pressure building, and CES 2027 arrives at a moment when the UK government is under scrutiny to deliver on its growth agenda. If there was ever a year to announce a proper UK pavilion, a reinstated trade show access programme, or even a formal UK tech delegation with government backing, this is it.
For individual companies, the message is simpler. Don’t wait for the government. Start planning now. CES 2027 registration details will appear on ces.tech later this year. If you’re a startup with a product that’s ready, Eureka Park is where you want to be.
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What to Watch
Government response to the Shapiro criticism. The CTA CEO publicly called out the UK’s lack of support. Watch for whether the Department for Business and Trade responds with anything concrete before CES 2027 planning deadlines.
Private-sector delegation announcements. Keep an eye on Tradefair, Tech Nation successors, and UK trade bodies for organised group trips or shared exhibition spaces at CES 2027.
UK exhibitor numbers at CES 2027. The provisional drop from 41 to 29 exhibitors between CES 2025 and 2026 is a trend that needs reversing. The 2027 numbers will tell us whether the criticism has had any effect.
French Tech 2030 expansion. France’s programme continues to set the benchmark. If they announce even more support ahead of CES 2027, it will make the UK’s absence even more glaring.
If you’re a UK tech founder, a startup enthusiast, or just someone who thinks Britain should be doing better on the global stage, this is a conversation worth following. I’ll be covering the road to CES 2027 in detail over the coming months, including delegation opportunities, exhibitor tips, and the tech trends that matter most for British companies.
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