The umbrella organization GSM Association has moved the largest telecom fair in the world, Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, from February to the end of June. The decision must allow for a physical version of the fair.
The largest exhibitors, among others, were involved in the decision, GSMA reports. There is no reservation in the message about the numbers of participants or exhibitors; therefore it appears that it is a full physical version of the event.
The fair has attracted tens of thousands of visitors in recent years. It is a private fair and not open to the public. Because the press is welcome, many manufacturers have been using the fair for years to present new smartphones and other mobile products.
The move seems to indicate that the city of Barcelona feels that the coronavirus outbreak at the end of June next year will be under control enough to allow a major physical event to go ahead. MWC was the first major exhibition to be canceled in February due to the outbreak of the virus. That happened at the beginning of February. At that time, the virus was not yet significant in Europe, but the outbreak had already led to a lockdown in the city of Wuhan in China in January.