Mobile World Congress Staying Put in Barcelona in Spain After Coronavirus Cancellation

THE Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecoms industry’s biggest annual meeting will continue in Barcelona until 2024.

It’s good news for Spain and the Catalan capital, after this year’s event was scrapped in February as major exhibitors pulled out over the growing early concerns over the coronavirus.

The GSMA association that hosts the congress said that the contract with Barcelona had been extended for a further year.

“By extending through 2024, we are demonstrating our commitment to our ecosystem as well as what the host city is doing,” GSMA’s CEO John Hoffman said in a statement.

“We are pleased to report that we have had tremendous support and an early commitment with many exhibitors for future years,” he added.

The MWC attracts over 100,000 people to Barcelona every winter, and the one-year extension is related to the 2020 cancellation.

It is not linked to talks over a new contract for the MWC to be held in the city beyond 2024.

After the cancellation, the Catalan finance minister, Pere Aragones, called for a stronger alliance between the GSMA and the region, adding that a way to do it would be for the organisers to extend the MWC presence in Barcelona beyond 2023, when the contract ended.