The 2022 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) will kick off 2022 in messy fashion, but it will be chock full of innovation and full of entrepreneurs and businesses, said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), organizer of the CES.

The world's premier tech show is scheduled from Jan. 5 to 7 in Las Vegas, drawing more than 2,200 exhibitors and hundreds of thought leaders.

"We are mindful of concerns that CES could be an event where the Omicron variant can spread," said Shapiro in a signed article published in Las Vegas Review-Journal ahead of the show.

He said the CTA had a tough choice to host CES 2022 amid the surge of the pandemic. "If we cancel the show, we will hurt thousands of smaller companies, entrepreneurs and innovators who have made investments in building their exhibits and are counting on CES for their business, inspiration and future. If we do not cancel, we face the drumbeat of press and other critics who tell the story only through their lens of drama and big name companies."

CES 2022 will lead the way in requiring masks and vaccines, recommending testing and offering free tests, he said.

Many big companies have canceled their physical presence at CES 2022 to protect their employees and reduce the risk of having to quarantine in Las Vegas. Shapiro said this year's show will have many more small companies than large ones, adding there will be big gaps on the show floor.

CES will and must go on, Shapiro said. "Certainly, it will be different from previous years. It may be messy. But innovation is messy."

Attendees and media representatives from 159 countries have registered their participation at CES 2022, according to the CTA.

Digital health is expected to be a hot topic at this year's show as COVID-19 still poses severe threat to the world.

The show will also feature a plethora of exhibitors advancing two of the most compelling technology megatrends of the future, intelligent automation and the evolution of the metaverse, according to the CTA.