GSMA cancels MWC 2020 over the concerns of Coronavirus

GSMA canceled Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020 regarding Coronavirus concerns. The biggest annual conference of phones was going to be held in Spain on the 24th of February, with some of its related events lined up in preceding days. MWC has always been a hit as it attracts more than 100,000 attendees from all over the world. 

MWC has proven to be a source in boosting the economy of Barcelona, Spain. The event is reportedly called off mainly because major tech companies backed off MWC 2020 due to the widespread of the epidemic of Coronavirus. These companies include Nokia, Ericsson, Vivo, Intel, Facebook, Amazon, and Nvidia. This not caused the event to shutdown but also put major companies’ best products on hold and pushing back their launches.

About Coronavirus

Coronavirus is an outbreak of a disease that is said to be originated in Wuhan, one of the central Chinese cities. Its incubation period could be as long as 14 days, which means a person could be spreading the virus without even showing its symptoms. The widespread disease nests in China these days; therefore, it is bad news for tech enthusiasts. As you know, some of the largest brands in the tech industry, including Huawei and Oppo, are based in China, and other brands also depend on China, whether they are present in China or they exclusively depend on China for manufacturing purposes. 

In a statement the organizers of GSMA said, 

“With due regard to the safe and healthy environment in Barcelona and the host country today, the GSMA has cancelled MWC Barcelona 2020 because the global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak, travel concern and other circumstances, make it impossible for the GSMA to hold the event. The Host City Parties respect and understand this decision. The GSMA and the Host City Parties will continue to be working in unison and supporting each other for MWC Barcelona 2021 and future editions. Our sympathies at this time are with those affected in China, and all around the world.”

MWC 2020 was going to prove a big deal for major tech brands as well as for smaller companies. But now the brands have to push back their launches because of the cancellation of the show just like HMD global did.

Without the presence of these brands and their launch events, the MWC 2020 could not be quite of a show-stopper and thus will result in delays of products hitting shelves.