The MWC 2018 afterparties complete the event's frantic program

[dropcap letter="E"]

he Mobile World Congress -MWC 2018-, one of the global meccas of mobile communications, cannot ignore the importance of face-to-face communications, those that require no more technology than our own senses. The possibility of shaking a hand and looking the interlocutor in the eye proves crucial even in an event that lives by and for technology, but in which networking has a weight as fundamental as the overused concept of disruption.

Analogous to what happens with other major events hosted by Barcelona (a good example would be the Sónar music festival and the myriad of activities held around it, known as off Sónar), the MWC generates, during the days it is held, a very tight schedule of parallel social meetings more or less linked to its official program. From institutional events attended by strict invitation and where security is extreme (such as the inaugural dinner for authorities attended by the King, which has been much talked about these days), to parties of large multinationals where the who is who of the industry's high levels gather. Some are sponsored by the major brands attending the fair and others organized by independent promoters, who take advantage of the concentration in the city of the most influential people in the industry globally to generate contacts face-to-face and in a more relaxed and informal environment than that of the fair itself.

Most of the city's most coveted and best-equipped spaces are reserved for one of the multiple events that, as night falls, extend the feverish daytime activity and allow the formality of the congress to dilute among drinks, music, and relaxed conversations that allow attendees a more relaxed and human interaction

A good part of the economic impact generated by the 108,000 MWC attendees (471 million euros and 13,000 temporary jobs according to the organization) has to do with these parallel activities. Thus, the Catalan Federation of Restaurant and Musical Activities Associations (Fecasarm) foresees a collection of 121 million euros from restaurants and nightlife venues, 4.5% more than in the previous edition.

Most of the city's most coveted and best-equipped spaces are reserved for one of the multiple events that, as night falls, extend the feverish daytime activity and allow the formality of the congress to dissolve among drinks, music, and relaxed conversations that allow attendees a more relaxed and human interaction. Social gatherings where the lack of parity among members of the technological community is even more evident, with an overwhelming majority of male presence. The community is plural, however, and also accommodates events as specific as the cocktail that took place last Monday to present the application of blockchain technology for the benefit of the LTGB community, or meetings dedicated to the still small community of creative directors, such as the one that will take place this afternoon [for Thursday, March 1] under the motto Ladies, Wine & Design.

The booming weight of the Four Years From Now (4YFN) platform, which brings together the startup ecosystem, has its own circuit of events, dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs in the sector with investors and companies interested in supporting incipient projects. These are the so-called startup pitchers, where young startup entrepreneurs meet business angels in search of projects to finance.

Last Sunday afternoon, it gathered more than 800 journalists from 54 countries who met at the University of Barcelona to learn about the products and innovations of a group of technology companies that pay between 6,500 and 10,000 dollars to have an exhibition table at a three-hour event that provides them with visibility before the international press.

But the dimensions of the MWC mean that the event agenda is also very varied. Showstoppers, for example, is one of those collateral events that surround the WMC and parasitize it in the best sense of the word. Last Sunday afternoon, it gathered more than 800 journalists from 54 countries who met at the University of Barcelona to learn about the products and innovations of a group of technology companies that pay between 6,500 and 10,000 dollars to have an exhibition table at a three-hour event that provides them with visibility before the international press. The format consists of offering generous catering and an open bar to journalists, who, cup in hand, participate in a kind of media elevator pitch that the organizing company replicates every year at technology fairs around the world (CES, NAB, IFA…). A similar formula was proposed by MobileFocus Global, organized by the American company PepCom Media, which provides its exhibitors (who pay between 5,500 and 11,000 dollars to participate) with the presence of more than 400 accredited journalists, and which consisted of a party held at the Fairmont Rey Juan Carlos I hotel from 7 to 10 at night.

Some events have names as explicit as DrinkEntrepreneurs (more than 200 entrepreneurs who met to drink and debate on Tuesday afternoon) while others can be accessed by paying tickets. Some of them, like IoT Stars,  ranging from 35 to 75 euros, and some of the most exclusive events involve the acquisition of tickets with prices that can easily reach several hundred euros, including lavish caterings and almost unlimited drinks. These prices, in addition to financing the event itself, serve as a filter to keep away curious people, journalists or low-flying nerds, and according to their promoters, guarantee that those present truly belong to the industry's elite.

They still remember parties in the city like the one that took place in the 2014 edition, in which Mark Zuckerberg and Jan Koum, creator of Whatsapp, celebrated in style the agreement to purchase the messaging application for the stratospheric figure of 19,000 million dollars.

A separate chapter deserves the corporate parties held by the large companies in the sector, from Twitter or Facebook to Samsung, whose high costs are framed within their public relations budgets, and which serve to obtain a more effective and lasting impact on  partners and stakeholders. Events that can only be attended by strict invitation, and that often remain outside the media's focus.

Although it is not always like that. They still remember parties in the city like the one that took place in the 2014 edition, in which Mark Zuckerberg and Jan Koum, creator of Whatsapp, celebrated in style the agreement to purchase the messaging application for the stratospheric figure of 19,000 million dollars. They did it in the defunct Boujis club on Tuset street, in an exclusive party that was supposed to be secret and ended up being aired by the media, with the dissemination of videos included. And in the 2016 edition, Zuckerberg bid farewell to his visit to the city by celebrating his wife's birthday with friends at the Cotton House Hotel. Among them were Gerard Piqué and Shakira. Piqué tweeted it and Zuckerberg, logically, published it on Facebook.

But in the latest editions of the MWC, the presence of great magnates of the industry has been reduced, as they prefer to send emissaries with less prominent surnames. The scarcity of stellar names is compensated by some firms inviting media stars, as in the case of McLaren, which on Tuesday 27 invited driver Fernando Alonso to give a conference alongside the brand's executive director, Zack Brown, about the fusion of F1 with mobile technology. A conference that had an epilogue in the subsequent party that lasted until the early hours in a secret location.

Outside of the official parties, more private and very small-format meetings are taking place these days, where recently reached agreements are also celebrated or the loose ends of daytime businesses are tied up. The details of these celebrations do not usually transcend public light, and in some of them, attendees are even required, in a certainly ironic twist, to leave all their technological devices before entering the venue. The MWC is approaching its conclusion in an edition that is shaping up to be the most successful to date, and for many of its attendees, the intensity of these days will also include some hangover that, in the best of cases, can be productive.