The most limited edition that the Mobile World Congress (MWC) organized last summer served to learn how to manage a fair in times of pandemic, testing new security protocols to prevent covid. Eight months later, the exhibition returns with the lesson learned and the intention of being able to test it with more public. In the presentation of the MWC 2022 program, the CEO of GSMA, John Hoffman, stated that they expect between 40,000 and 60,000 attendees, above the 20,000 who participated in the summer edition of 2020 and still far from the 109,000 attendees it gathered in 2019, without masks or safety distance.
Pending to see how the attendance forecast for this Mobile evolves, after it went down in the previous one as the congress approached, Hoffman has also revealed some details of this new edition, which will be held from Monday, February 28 to Thursday, March 3 at the Gran Via exhibition center. The congress will occupy seven pavilions, only one less than the entire available capacity, which was what used to be filled before the pandemic. This Thursday, preparations for the congress had already begun at Fira to host the more than 1,500 confirmed stands, with companies from 150 countries, as well as the 37 states that will come.
In fact, of all the space available for this year, 85% is already full, Hoffman remarked. Accustomed to the constant cancellations of the two previous editions, this time the trickle has not occurred, beyond a few companies that have communicated that they would not attend, when they had not done so for years. According to the CEO of GSMA, Mats Granryd, the main companies in the telecommunications ecosystem will be present, such as Orange, Vodafone, Telefónica, LG or Cisco. Some like Nokia and Ericsson already have their logo displayed at Fira.
Accustomed to the constant cancellations of the two previous editions, this time the trickle has not occurred, beyond a few companies that have communicated that they would not attend, when they had not done so for yearsThe congress is expected to have an economic impact of 240 million and create some 6,700 temporary jobs ---figures that represent less than half compared to a normal edition---."This is our legacy," Hoffman stressed, recalling that these figures amount to 5.3 billion euros and 141,000 jobs since the congress was installed in Barcelona in 2005.
Likewise, Hoffman highlighted the collaborations that GSMA has forged over all these years with local institutions, such as those it has consolidated with the L'Hospitalet City Council, whose impulse to the program to reduce the digital divide L'H 6.0 he applauded. He also did not forget to invite everyone to try the tapas at Meet & Eat, a gastronomic fair organized every year by the L'Hospitalet council at the exit of the congress. Its mayor, Núria Marín, was one of the authorities present at the presentation, accompanied by the first deputy mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, whom the CEO of GSMA thanked for promoting a new space at MWC this year, where Barcelona's innovation and culture will be showcased; the general director of Tourism of Barcelona, Marian Muro; the CEO and president of Fira de Barcelona, Constantí Serrallonga and Pau Relat, and the general director of the Gremi d'Hotels, Manel Casals.
The presentation also revealed some of the 300 speakers who will star in MWC 2022, which will serve to debate the boom being experienced in the world of connectivity, with a focus on 5G, advanced artificial intelligence, and fintech. This year there will be no stars like businessman and magnate Elon Musk, who participated in the summer Mobile. Although he did so telematically, with his cat sneaking onto the screen, he was one of the highlights of the program. Granryd highlighted this year's participation of the CEO of the auction company Sotheby's, Charles Stewart; the CEO of the digital effects company Weta Digital, Prem Akkaraju; the head of Metaverse at Futures Intelligence Group, Cathy Hackl, and the president and CEO of Telefónica, Jose María Alvarez-Pallete, recently appointed as the new president of GSMA. Among the speakers, the most well-known face will undoubtedly be that of the current president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta. Parity is still far from being achieved among MWC speakers, with the percentage of women representing only 35%.
At this Mobile, discounts for local professionals will also be repeated, and startups will remain at the Gran Via exhibition center, sharing space with larger companies. The 4 Years From Now (4YFN) will host about 500 emerging companies in one pavilion. According to the GSMA, an investment potential of 4,000 million euros is expected.
With vaccination more widespread among the local public and as a necessary requirement to travel to Barcelona, this year a pavilion will not be dedicated to mass antigen testing for all congress attendees. Only those who have not been vaccinated or do not have the certificate proving they have recently had coronavirus will have to take them, but they will not do so at the venue itself. What will be maintained are hydroalcoholic gel, masks, which must be FFP2, and social distancing. And the accreditations that once hung around the necks of thousands of congress attendees, who will only need their mobile phones to pass controls, will still be missed.