The MWC will celebrate its annual edition 2022 in Barcelona at the end of February, as planned. And it will, according to the CEO of the entity organizing the event, the GSMA, John Hoffman, despite concerns about the rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicrón variant. Not only in Spain, but also in the rest of the world. Despite this, Hoffman is confident that with the precautions taken above and the efforts of health, scientific and government experts, fair attendees will be able to attend the fair safely.
The CEO of the GSMA recalls that «This new year also begins with more news related to the pandemic. The global situation continues to evolve and, as it seems, we will continue to grapple with the effects of COVID-19 for years to come. In times like these, responsible leadership is more critical than ever. This kind of leadership inspires innovation and the kind of investment that advances our industry, our society and our economy. All while keeping our community safe. With this in mind, and with the fact that circumstances have made connectivity deeply critical, the GSMA would only consider a change in our plans under the direction of the Spanish authorities.«.
It is expected that in this edition they will participate 1,500 exhibitors from 150 countries different, and in previous editions, held under normal circumstances, the event has attracted more than 100,000 attendees. If finally held in person, it will be the second major event to take place in person after CES, which had to face numerous cancellations and finally decided to end a day earlier.
So far there is no company that has announced that it is not going to the event, which last year faced numerous cancellations. Among them, those of Amazon, Google, OnePlus, Lenovo, Microsoft, Nvidia and Intel. This edition, postponed to June of last year (the MWC in Barcelona is usually held at the end of February), had numerous security measures for attendees in its face-to-face edition. But despite this, the number of attendees was significantly lower than in other editions. We will have to wait yet to see what happens this time.
