(Detailed version)
BARCELONA (awp international) – The world’s leading mobile trade fair Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona threatens to become a ghost event because of the corona virus. With Amazon and Sony, two other large companies canceled their participation. “Because we attach great importance to the safety and well-being of our customers, partners, media and employees, we made the difficult decision to withdraw from the exhibition and participation in MWC 2020,” said Sony on Monday. Similarly, Amazon justified his absence.
The Swedish telecommunications supplier Ericsson, the South Korean electronics group LG and the chip manufacturer Nvidia had previously canceled their participation in the MWC. Follow the recommendation of many health experts to refrain from unnecessary international travel at the moment, LG said.
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Other exhibitors such as the Chinese companies Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo as well as the South Korean electronics giant Samsung are still standing by their appearances in Barcelona. However, they have taken precautionary measures and, for example, send employees from China to Europe 14 days in advance to prevent infected people from appearing at the trade fair. Samsung wants to send fewer staff to Barcelona. ZTE canceled the press conference and now wants to present the innovations at the booth instead.
Sony is now switching to the Internet. Instead of the planned press conference on February 24, the Japanese group wants to contact potential buyers directly on its YouTube channel and present its new products there.
This is a dangerous experiment for the MWC organizer GSMA. Should companies like Sony experience that they can achieve a similar reach via YouTube as with an expensive trade fair appearance, this could put the future of the Mobile World Congress in question. The MWC is the world’s most important event in the mobile communications industry and has grown steadily in recent years. The GSMA expected more than 100,000 visitors and more than 2,800 exhibitors at the fair this year.
The GSMA is now trying not to cause panic among exhibitors and trade fair visitors. In an email to registered visitors, the association wrote that it was grateful to Chinese exhibitors such as Huawei and ZTE that they had taken preventive measures. The GSMA and the Catalan authorities do not only rely on voluntary steps on the part of exhibitors and trade fair visitors. The email says that all travelers from the Chinese crisis province of Hubei are denied access to the MWC. People residing in China would have to provide proof that they left the country at least 14 days ago.
In addition, the GSMA wants to create trust with additional hygiene measures: catering areas, handrails, toilets, entrances and exits as well as public touchscreen screens are to be cleaned and disinfected more intensively. The head of the preventive medicine and epidemiology service at the Clínic de Barcelona hospital, Antoni Trilla, emphasized: “We are not in an exceptional situation and our health system is ready” ./ chd / DP / jha
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