GSMA Names Barcelona the First Mobile World Capital
By Gsma, PRNEThursday, July 21, 2011
LONDON, July 22, 2011 -
- Barcelona Edges Competition to be
Named Mobile World Capital for 2012-2018
After an 18-month search, the GSMA today announced that
Barcelona has been selected as the Mobile World Capital from 2012
to 2018. As the Mobile World Capital, Barcelona will be the
home of the mobile industry’s must-attend event, the GSMA Mobile
World Congress, and will also develop a range of other programmes
and activities that will span the entire year and will benefit not
only the citizens of Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain, but also the
worldwide mobile industry.
“We are thrilled to announce that Barcelona will be the Mobile
World Capital for the next seven years,” said John Hoffman, CEO,
GSMA Ltd. ”All of the cities who competed for this title
presented extremely innovative and compelling bids, but in the end,
Barcelona truly demonstrated that it deserves the title of the
Mobile World Capital, with its combination of outstanding
exhibition and conference facilities, its transportation and
hospitality infrastructure, its commitment to expanding the reach
of mobility throughout Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain, and the
strong support of the public and private sectors. This is an
exciting time for Barcelona and for the mobile industry as a
whole.”
“Becoming the Mobile World Capital was a strategic bid for
Barcelona, and consolidates our leadership as a benchmark city for
new technologies,” said Xavier Trias, Mayor of Barcelona. “This
will give a significant boost to the image of our city brand
associated with a sector, that of mobile communications, which will
experience strong growth in the next few years. Barcelona is
reaping the rewards of the serious, professional work of different
institutions with the involvement of many of the city’s companies
and entities. Now, Barcelona will be the center of a new model of
international event linked to economic growth, industrial
development and the creation of new jobs vital to the future of our
economy.”
Bringing the Mobile World Capital
Vision to Life
The cornerstone of the Mobile World Capital is the Mobile World
Congress, a four-day event which in 2011 attracted more than 60,000
attendees from 200 countries, including 3,000 CEOs, government
delegations from 131 countries and more than 2,900 media
representatives. Starting in 2013, the Mobile World Congress
will be held at the cutting-edge venue Fira de Barcelona Gran Via.
The dates for the 2013 Mobile World Congress are 25-28
February 2013.
Beyond the Mobile World Congress, the Mobile World Capital also
features two additional elements: the Mobile World Centre and the
Mobile World Festival. The Mobile World Centre will comprise
permanent and temporary exhibitions which meld culture and
technological innovation, facilities for the development and
incubation of mobile solutions, and retail and hospitality venues.
The Mobile World Festival, which is targeted to the general public,
will incorporate a range of activities including sporting events,
music and art festivals, film awards, applications and technology
fairs and more.
According to estimates from the Barcelona Candidacy, the Mobile
World Capital would bring, in the first year alone, more than 300
million euro, along with thousands of part-time jobs. As some of
the initiatives have a mid-term reach and will grow steadily during
their implementation, the economic impact is expected to increase
progressively and, based on Barcelona’s assessments, could reach
3.5 billion euro over the seven years of the Mobile World
Capital.
“I would like commend and thank all of the finalist cities -
Barcelona, Milan, Munich and Paris - for their excellent proposals
and the huge amount of energy and creativity that was put into
them,” concluded Hoffman. ”We look forward to working in
partnership with the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and
Commerce, the Government of Catalonia, the City of Barcelona, Fira
de Barcelona and the Barcelona Tourism Bureau in bringing the
vision of the Mobile World Capital to life.”
The selection of the Mobile World Capital was based on many
criteria and took into consideration all aspects of what a city can
offer. The GSMA undertook a thorough and complex evaluation
process, starting with 30 cities, narrowing it down to six cities,
reducing it to a short list of four finalists, and then finally,
selecting Barcelona as the Mobile World Capital.
Mobile World Capital Press
Conference
The GSMA and Barcelona will hold a joint press conference at
11:30 am CET on Wednesday 27th July at the Fira de Barcelona
Montjuic.
Speakers will include:
John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA Ltd.
Artur Mas, President of Catalonia
Xavier Trias, Mayor of Barcelona
Juan Junquera, Secretary of State for ICT, Spain
Josep Lluis Bonet, President of the Fira de Barcelona
Joan Gaspart, President of the Barcelona Tourism Bureau
During the press conference, the executives will elaborate on
the shared vision of Mobile World Capital - Barcelona and provide
greater detail on the programmes and activities that Barcelona will
be undertaking in the Mobile World Capital. Media wishing to
attend and to get further details should RSVP at
For more information on the Mobile World Capital, please visit
About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide.
Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s
mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader
mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies,
equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and
entertainment organisations. The GSMA also produces
industry-leading events such as the Mobile World Congress and
Mobile Asia Congress.
For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the online
portal for the mobile communications industry, at
or the GSMA corporate website at
For the GSMA, Ben Evetts, bevetts at webershandwick.com or press at gsm.org, + 44(0)7879-614941, Sonia Martinez, Smartinez at webershandwick.com, Tel: +34-93-236-09-00, Mobile: +34-607-160-732, Evelyne Hollands, Ehollands at webershandwick.com, Tel: +34-93-236-09-00, Mobile: +34-607-348-341
Tags: England, GSMA, July 22, London, Spain
