This year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) will not be about breaking records, as underlined by GSMA CEO John Hoffman in his presentation. Its main milestone will be to mark the beginning of the city's economic recovery, after the cancellation of the 2020 edition unconsciously anticipated everything that was to come. Whatever figures it obtains in terms of attendees or economic impact from its celebration will already be a success.
Although it will not be a congress like those of before, there will be no shortage of novelties. One of them will be its opening to the local industry, significantly lowering the price of tickets. Up to 30,000 Spanish professionals from industries such as cloud services, the Internet of Things (IoT) or e-commerce will be able to attend the Mobile for just 21 euros. To this figure must be added the 15 euros it will cost to get an antigen test to access the fairgrounds, which all attendees will pay.
The GSMA thus offers a unique opportunity for companies and entrepreneurs from all over the country who would never have considered it to participate ---in a normal edition, the cheapest tickets cost between 700 and 800 euros--. Likewise, attendees who join this modality this year will have a 50% discount in the next three editions.
But this is not all. With the income obtained from these tickets, the MWC organizers will donate a maximum of 300,000 euros to the city for its post-coronavirus recovery. This initiative is part of the GSMA's desire to leave a legacy in the place where the Mobile is held, beyond the four days the congress lasts and extending it to all Barcelona residents.
The most massive event to be held in Barcelona
This year's Mobile, which will be held from June 28 to July 1 at Fira de Barcelona's Gran Via venue, will discuss 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), connected industry, the society of the future, creative technology, and innovation through emerging companies. In fact, startups will have a special prominence this time because the Four Years From Now (4YFN) will coexist in the same space as its older brother, the MWC, given the lower expectations of attendees. In total, the exhibition will occupy 100,000 square meters of Fira Gran Via.
The forecast for attendees at this point is around 35,000, well below the 110,000 that was aimed for at MWC 2020, but which will make it the most massive event to take place in Barcelona this year. It will be complemented by virtual participants, who will be able to access all programming through their screens. A total of 600 speakers will participate, 70% of whom will do so in person.
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