14 DAY TRIAL // The GSM Association (GSMA) has recently announced that Barcelona, Milan, Munich and Paris have been selected as the possible future “Mobile World Capital”. The four cities competing to become the center of mobile technology will move to the next stage of the selection process. The winning city will become the Mobile World Capital for the five-year period from 2013 to 2017.
Furthermore, the concept of the Mobile World Capital will not be limited to the annual Mobile World Congress event, but it will also include cultural festivals and programs, academic and business development opportunities, as well as the creation of a center for the mobile industry.
“We congratulate Barcelona, Milan, Munich and Paris as they move forward in the last phase of the evaluation process to become the Mobile World Capital,” said John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd.
“The quality of the proposals from the candidate cities to date has been outstanding, making our decision that much more difficult. The four finalists announced today each have a clear, multi-faceted vision for how they will make their city the Mobile World Capital, and we look forward to seeing these visions unfold as we move through the process,” Hoffman added.
One of the main traits of the Mobile World Capital will be the Mobile World Centre, which will be located in the heart of the city and will be the flagship element of the concept.
According to GSMA, the Mobile World Centre will include technology exhibits, museum features, a retail area, a mobile cafe, office space and more.
In addition, the concept will include the Mobile World Festival, a range of festivities that will be targeted to the general public and will take place separate from the Mobile World Congress.
The five cities were selected from a list of more than 30, which were evaluated by the GSMA since the beginning of 2010.
The list was narrowed to only six cities in August 2010, but the five finalists were decided only recently.
The GSMA expects to complete the evaluation process and announce the Mobile World Capital in mid-2011.