The Mobile World Congress 2020 was among the first major global event to receive the axe last year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the outbreak just began spreading in late January and February, there was no time to host a digital-only event, resulting in the entire expo being cancelled.
A year later, and the world is still grappling with COVID-19, with many countries around the world still imposing lockdowns to prevent the spread of the virus. And while many OEMs have preferred hosting events through digital-only formats, this year’s MWC might be hosted in-person.
Mobile World Live recently reported that the CEO of the GSM Association intends to hold the annual tradeshow in-person. GSMA Limited CEO John Hoffman believes that holding these shows gives people a bit of hope.
MWC hosts one show in Barcelona, which normally takes place in February, and another in Shanghai that is usually held in summer. However, GSMA, the organisers of MWC, has announced that MWC 2021 Barcelona will be rescheduled for June or July, while MWC 2021 Shanghai will be held next week.
Hoffman says that extensive testing and vaccination efforts in China have helped it stay protected from the outbreak and has helped most of the country return to normal. MWC 2021 Shanghai expects to see 20,000 attendees instead of the 60,000 that were seen during MWC 2019 Shanghai.
In reference to MWC Barcelona, Hoffman added, “Barcelona will be a little bit different; it is the big stage. Covid requirements will decrease our capacity. We’re not going to have 110,000 people, with travel restrictions, testing capacity and one-way traffic through the exhibition; there’s no way.”
Hoffman estimates that the capacity at MWC 2021 in Barcelona will be scaled back to 40,000 to 50,000 attendees. Additionally, attendees at MWC 2021 Barcelona will require a negative COVID-19 test result (within 72 hours), and testing will be available at the venue. He also stated that the GSMA would use technology to create a “touchless environment”, from registration to all the events held within MWC.
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