Mobile World Congress 2022 is set to continue ahead as planned, despite the increase in Omicron Covid-19 cases over recent months and the cancellation of gaming show E3 2022.
MWC is known as the big mobile technology conference, and it’s where we often see new smartphones from a range of manufacturers. It was forced to cancel in 2020 due to Covid-19, while the 2021 show was moved to new dates and scaled back.
The organization behind the show, the GSMA, has told TechRadar, “Planning for MWC remains dynamic given the ever-changing global circumstances.
“We are continuously responding to the latest information available from various officials and adapt plans accordingly.
“Our teams are busy preparing for MWC Barcelona scheduled to take place at the end of February and we encourage you to check our website for all the information you need on planning a safe experience for 2022.”
Will the show go on?
MWC 2022 is set to take place between February 28 and March 3 in Barcelona, Spain. In 2019, the last year the show ran in its traditional time slot, it saw over 100,000 attendees.
On January 6, it was announced that the world’s largest gaming show, E3, would be a digital-only event for the second year running.
CES 2022 – the world’s largest consumer technology show – is currently taking place in Las Vegas, but it has seen multiple big name brands drop out over safety concerns.
Amazon, Google, OnePlus, Lenovo, Microsoft, Nvidia and Intel were among those companies that dropped out of the physical event. Over 75 different companies cancelled attendance at the show, but many continued with digital-only announcements of upcoming products.
The picture is currently unclear on what brands will be attending MWC 2022. We often see new smartphones from brands like Samsung, Oppo, Xiaomi and Sony during the big technology expo.
So far, the GSMA believes the show will be able to ahead with the precautions the company has introduced. Attendees at the physical show will have to provide certification of vaccination against Covid-19 or a negative diagnostic case before attending the event.