Late on 12th February 2020, the GSMA decided to cancel the 2020 Mobile World Congress (MWC) fearing the coronavirus epidemic. Prior to this decision, many tech firms have decided to announce withdrawal from the event in Barcelona, Spain.
Bloomberg’s instant news release forum on Twitter broke the news late on Wednesday. It had posted:
JUST IN: The 2020 Mobile World Congress has been canceled by GSMA because of #coronavirus fears.
In an emailed statement, John Hoffman, the CEO of GSMA, said the outbreak has made it “impossible” to hold the event #MWC2020 pic.twitter.com/PS1BqTCzU8
— QuickTake by Bloomberg (@QuickTake) February 12, 2020
MWC Barcelona powered by GSM Association has proven to be the largest mobile event in the world. Last year, 2019, it had brought together the latest innovations and leading-edge technology from more than 2,400 leading companies.
It also features a highly-rated conference programme assembling recent visionaries to explore the hottest topics influencing the industry.
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The reason behind its decision can be easily traced to the fact that many tech companies are already pulling out of the event. They all stated that they feared the coronavirus that has been reported in Spain already.
While the organisers of the event have assured prospective attendees that there are measures in place for their healthiness, it does not seem enough. One after another, tech firms have pulled out.
Every day, there is a report of one company withdrawing from the event. It had initially wanted to push ahead with the event. But after a meeting which involved major stakeholders, GSMA has decided to cancel the MWC event altogether.
The world of tech has faced a big obstacle since the outbreak of coronavirus in China. It has resulted in many factories shutting down in locations within China. Since many companies rely on these facilities, they have in turn been affected.
With this decision now, more companies will likely become more invested in finding a solution to the ravaging virus.
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