14 DAY TRIAL // The 2020 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain could be canceled after several major companies have already pulled out of the show due to coronavirus concerns.
According to a report from La Vanguardia, GSMA, which organizes the mobile conference, will make a decision on whether to cancel this year’s MWC on Friday, with an announcement in this regard expected just before the weekend.
Until now, however, GSMA has remained completely tight-lipped on any plans to give up on the 2020 edition of mobile event, reiterating in several press announcements that everything is moving ahead as planned.
Up to this point, several companies announced plans to withdraw from the MWC due to the risk of coronavirus, despite new safety measures put in place by GSMA. Huawei, ZTE, Nvidia, Intel, Amazon, Sony, MediaTek, Vivo, and others already confirmed they won’t be coming to this year’s MWC due to infection concerns.
Key meeting on Friday
In the latest press release last week, GSMA said it planned to move ahead with the MWC despite some large companies pulling out.
“We are grateful for the preventative measures our Chinese exhibitors have put in place, notably ZTE and Huawei. Today, the GSMA is moving ahead as planned and will host MWC Barcelona 24-27 February 2020. While the GSMA confirm some large exhibitors have decided not to come to the show this year with others still contemplating next steps, we remain more than 2,800 exhibitors strong,” GSMA said in a February 9 announcement.
GSMA is yet to confirm the Friday meeting, but given the number of companies that have already confirmed their decision to withdraw from the MWC, as well as the public concern that attending a large conference would expose more individuals to the virus, the best way to go is probably to cancel the show.
More information, including an official announcement in this regard, is likely to be released on late Friday.