This Friday marked exactly one year since the alarm signal that anticipated the COVID crisis: the cancellation of the Mobile World Congress (MWC). After days of a constant trickle of exhibitors canceling their participation in the congress, the GSMA announced on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, that the MWC edition of that year would not be held, just weeks before its start and with preparations at Fira de Barcelona venues halfway done.
"The GSMA has canceled MWC Barcelona 2020 because the global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak makes it impossible to hold it," justified its CEO, John Hoffman, in a late-night statement that Wednesday, a day of comings and goings that ended with the fateful cancellation.
The morning of the following day, Hoffman appeared to explain the decision at a press conference where tension was palpable in every silence. Visibly emotional, so much so that the mayor of L'Hospitalet, Nuria Marín, ended up hugging him, Hoffman tried to lift the spirits of a city too sensitive about its relationship with this international event. "We long to be able to host all our partners from around the world here, in Barcelona, in 2021," he asserted. "We know the sun will shine. This is about the future, about our future together," he added.
Now, a year later, Hoffman addresses the people of Barcelona again, reminding them, as he already said, that Mobile is back. "As you read this, at GSMA we are working tirelessly," states its CEO in an opinion piece sent to the media. In it, he defends that the cancellation of the 2020 edition was the correct decision and allowed to reduce the spread of the virus in the city. Hand in hand with Fira de Barcelona, the Barcelona City Council, the Generalitat, the Government, and Turisme de Barcelona, the MWC organizers want to have everything ready for the 2021 edition, from June 28 to July 1, dates different from before, when the last week of February was marked on the agenda of thousands of congress attendees who traveled to the Catalan capital.
"I assure you that we are not naive. Things will not be as before. This year will be a different event from previous editions. Naturally, there are some things that are out of our control, such as continuous travel restrictions, which will mean fewer visitors than in the past. However, with the benefit of a year of accumulated knowledge and additional time to plan, we can mitigate many risks to maintain a safe and controlled environment," Hoffman defends.
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In this regard, the CEO of GSMA points out that the first test will be MWC Shanghai, which will be held in a few weeks. It will be a hybrid fair, mixing the virtual with the physical experience, reserved for locals. "The experience we have gained in Shanghai is helping us prepare for our return to Barcelona, ensuring that we are rigorous in our health and safety processes, and that we do not take unnecessary risks," he remarks.
After a tough year, Hoffman's commitment to the city he has fallen in love with remains firm. "Planning in a pandemic means managing a great deal of uncertainty but it is not insurmountable. The only thing that is certain is that we will face many more challenges in the coming months. I am sure that our unity, pragmatism, cooperation, and collective determination will mean that I will see you in person in Barcelona during MWC 21," the column concludes.
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The audiovisual fair ISE will debut this year in Barcelona
The Mobile will not be the only major event expected this 2021 in Barcelona. The most important audiovisual fair in the world, Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), will debut in the Catalan capital this summer, a little earlier than MWC, from June 1 to 4. ISE left its previous location in Amsterdam because it had become too small and decided to move to the Fira de Barcelona facilities, with more capacity. Paradoxically, it now seems difficult for congress attendance figures to be massive again in the short term, until the pandemic is fully controlled.
Like the mobile congress, ISE is also conceived as a hybrid fair, combining in-person activities at the Fira Gran Via venue with a virtual program. While Hoffman addressed the people of Barcelona, ISE opened registration for visitors this week and assured that it will be a healthy and safe event, with the support of the protocol for fairs jointly developed by Fira de Barcelona and Hospital Clínic. "ISE 2021 will be somewhat different from previous editions but all opportunities will still be there. We are eager to reconnect with all of you," its organizers stated in a press release.