google, amazon, microsoft and many more have withdrawn, citing safety worries. that's what mark gooday wanted to do. founder of british headphone company meters, he would've preferred to have pulled out, but says he'd already paid $50,000 and with no prospect of a refund, decided to stay. this is a massive investment. we were shocked to see people building booths behind us and literally, overnight, they have obviously pulled out. shows are about people, you know? meeting people, communication and talking through a product, pressing the flesh, saying hello to people, washing your hands a lot — they're all drying up, but that's life — you can't beat it. so, should this have been cancelled? should it have been a in—person event, do you think? oh, i think it should've been cancelled. it should be vibrant and buzzing. it's not. that's the downside. that said, we're still seeing people and we're still doing business. not all the major companies stayed away.