MWC 2020 cancelled due to coronavirus
The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona will not be taking place. Fear of the coronavirus has led some well-known manufacturers to cancel their attendance. In the end, the danger of infection and the safety of participants led to the complete cancellation of the event.
Renowned manufacturers such as Oppo and Sony have cancelled their press conferences. Entire stands as big as gymnasiums have reportedly remained closed and volunteers are scared. That's why organiser GSMA has cancelled the MWC 2020 in Barcelona. For what reason? The fear of coronavirus. The show staff themselves, but also the stand staff were afraid for their safety.
The fight against the coronavirus
The MWC, formerly known as Mobile World Congress, is an event that has attracted 109,000 visitors in 2019. These come not only from all areas of the industry, but also from all over the world. Among them are many Chinese: the city of Shenzhen is considered the world capital of mobile communication technologies. Wuhan, the 'hot zone' for the coronavirus, is around 1100 kilomètres de Shenzhen. As Wuhan is under quarantine and those who leave are arrested, the risk of infection is very low. But Wuhan is also a transport traffic crossroads.
Although the risk of infection is low internationally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) describes it as high and as "very high" in China. As a result, the MWC issued a statement entitled "Coronavirus won't stop MWC" on 5 February 2020. In it, the GSMA outlines the hygiene measures that should have minimised the risk of infection in the exhibition halls of the Fira Gran Via. By the way, it contains some excellent tips for fighting the flu in Switzerland.
New products are presented differently
At MWC, major innovations are usually presented and trends are set for the coming smartphone season. This is now done in a decentralised way. The following manufacturers had, in advance, cancelled their participation:
- Amazon
- AT&T
- Ericsson
- HMD Global (Nokia)
- Nokia
- Intel
- LG
- Mediatek
- Nvidia
- Sony
- TCL wollte nicht an der Messe teilnehmen, aber kleinere Events im Rahmen des MWC halten
- Vivo
- ZTE
The digitec team will therefore remain in Switzerland, but will cover as many events as possible. Until then, see you soon and stay healthy.
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