CEDIA Expo 2026 Denver: Dates, Registration, and What's New This Year

CEDIA Expo returns to the Colorado Convention Center in Denver from September 1–4, 2026. It is the largest annual trade show for the residential and commercial technology integration industry in North America — the people who design and install smart home, home theater, lighting, security, and networking systems in high-end homes and businesses.

Here is the schedule breakdown, since the show runs on two overlapping tracks:

If you are only coming for the show floor, you do not need to arrive until Wednesday, September 2. Education sessions start a day earlier, on Tuesday.

CEDIA shifted its 2026 dates specifically to sit before Labor Day weekend (which falls on September 7 this year), so attendees can fly home Friday night or Saturday and still get a long weekend. That is a change from past years and worth noting if you are booking flights — Denver hotel rates and flight availability around a holiday weekend can move faster than usual, so booking early is more than boilerplate advice this time.

CEDIA's official announcement put expected attendance at more than 14,000 professionals, with 300+ exhibiting brands on the floor, including at least 25 companies exhibiting at CEDIA Expo for the first time. That is a meaningful jump in new exhibitors, and it signals the show floor will have more product variety than a typical repeat-heavy trade show lineup.

The audience is squarely trade, not consumer: custom integrators, systems designers, architects, electrical contractors, AV consultants, and manufacturer reps. If you install or specify home technology for a living — rather than just buy it — this is the show built for you.

A few additions separate this year's show from previous ones:

• Skills Challenge — A new live competition where integrators do hands-on work (rack building, troubleshooting) in front of the crowd, with daily prizes. It is a genuinely new format for CEDIA, not a renamed version of something that already existed.
• Launchpad — A dedicated area for early-stage smart home startups to demo products before they are broadly available, aimed at attendees who want to see what's coming rather than what's already shipping.
• Smart Stage programming — Expanded show-floor talks focused on AI-driven integration, energy management, and new business/revenue models for integration firms — a direct response to how fast those categories are moving in the industry right now.
• 20 Sound Rooms — Purpose-built listening environments for hands-on audio demos, plus in-depth manufacturer product training sessions running throughout the show.
• Technology Designer's Day of Discovery — A track built specifically to get architects, builders, and integrators talking to each other earlier in a project's lifecycle, including curated show-floor tours and a dedicated luncheon.

Jason McGraw, Group VP and Show Director for CEDIA Expo/CIX, framed the 2026 lineup around industry growth, noting the expanded programming reflects how central the show has become for people trying to keep up with where the market is heading.

Registration opened April 8, 2026. CEDIA ran a discounted “Super Saver” rate through June 5, 2026 — that window has closed by the time most people are researching this in the summer, so expect standard pricing now. A few things worth knowing regardless of when you register:

• CEDIA members get a free Expo-only pass.
• Exhibitor booth staff register through a separate portal — your company's booth contract contact receives the access link, not individual staff.
• Manufacturer reps register through the main attendee link and select “Manufacturer's Rep” as their business type.

Register directly through the official CEDIA Expo site at cediaexpo.com — third-party event directories sometimes list outdated dates or unofficial registration links for this show, so double-check you are on CEDIA's own site before entering payment details.

Book Denver lodging now, not later. Because the show falls right before Labor Day weekend, hotel inventory near the Colorado Convention Center competes with holiday travelers, not just other attendees.

Plan your days around the split schedule. If your goal is education sessions and certifications, you need to be there starting September 1. If you are purely there for the exhibit floor and networking, September 2–4 covers it, and skipping the first day saves a hotel night.

The show floor is big enough to need a plan. With 300+ brands across lighting, security, audio, video, and smart home categories, walking it cold burns half a day. CEDIA's session/exhibitor list goes live on their site ahead of the show — worth reviewing before you land so you are not choosing between two things happening in the same slot.