The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona trembles. The 2022 edition seemed to be sealed given the progression of vaccination in the main countries of the world, as well as the control of new infections. However, the rise of the omicron variant is probably causing some to view the quote with skepticism. Especially considering what is happening with the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas.
Companies such as Amazon, Meta (Facebook), Twitter or Pinterest have altered their plans with respect to the well-known American fair , popular not only for its scale but also for being the first major technological event of the year – it has place in Las Vegas during the first weeks of the year, even before the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona -.
“Due to the peak of COVID cases detected throughout the country during the last week, we have decided to cancel our face-to-face participation at CES next month,” Twitter said in a statement collected by Bloomberg. A line similar to the one presented by Meta (Facebook), Amazon, Ring and Pinterest. Even T-Mobile, sponsor of CES, has decided to significantly limit its face-to-face participation at the fair. “The vast majority of our team will not travel to Las Vegas,” said the operator. Companies such as Samsung, Sony or Alphabet (Google), for the moment, have confirmed to Bloomberg their attendance at the fair, although they acknowledge carefully monitoring the evolution of the omicron variant.
¿ How does this affect the Mobile World Congress?
What is happening now at CES makes it is inevitable to question the Mobile World Congress (MWC), which will take place in Barcelona from February 28 to March 3 – although in the previous days always there are usually presentations or events. Time is in their favor. There are almost two months until the fair reopens its doors. Time in which the situation with omicron could evolve favorably. Also the administration of the booster dose of the vaccine, which is being carried out in many developed countries.
Furthermore, we must not forget the omicron context: although the cases have increased significantly in recent weeks, their severity is less . In Spain, a country with more than 80% of the population fully vaccinated –without counting the booster dose–, this trend is easily observable. The numbers of hospitalizations or deaths are much lower than those of previous waves, despite the high number of infections.
The organization of the Mobile World Congress, for the moment, has not commented on the matter. Neither will the companies that will participate in the fair. Everything is moving forward as planned. However, the evolution of the pandemic (both the omicron variant and the booster dose) will play a fundamental role in the viability of the event.
The Mobile World Congress, if we ignore the lite version that took place in the summer of 2021 -whose impact was much smaller-, has not been held since 2019 . That year it brought together more than 100,000 people at the Fira Gran Via. All of them related to the technology sector (intelligent automotive, mobile telephony, etc.). Its celebration also has an important economic benefit in the city of Barcelona, where it has been held since 2006.
