Facebook Y Oracle have communicated that they cancel their participation in the Mobile World Congress 2021 to be held this summer in Barcelona. They add to the casualties of Ericsson Y Nokia last March 9 and 10 respectively.
After the cancellation in 2020 due to the health situation derived from the coronavirus pandemic, the event postponed its realization to the middle of the year: from June 28 to July 1.
According to a statement, Facebook announced last year that it will not attend any events in person until June 2021. In accordance with policy, it will not have a physical presence at this year’s Mobile World Congress. They are open to participate virtually.
Oracle has communicated its decision to EFE, although they have not offered further details.
The beginning of the end of the Mobile World Congress 2021?
Like last year, cancellations of face-to-face attendance by brands at the Mobile World Congress it is done in a trickle, as some companies wait for others to announce their withdrawal. In fact in 2020 they were also Nokia Y Ericsson the first to warn that they would not be there. Days later they joined Vodafone, BT, Intel, AT&T, Nvidia The Sony.
This time around, history seems to be repeating itself and we will probably see more companies withdrawing – at least physically – from the event.
At the moment the GSMA, the association in charge of organizing the MWC, ensures that it will go ahead and celebrate the event Yes or yes. After the first cancellations, they explained in a statement that “our experience gives us a solid foundation as a rock from which we have built our plan.”
If held, no more than 50,000 people may attend, which in these times sounds totally crazy. From the organization they ensure that they will comply with all the necessary measures. A negative PCR must be obtained for a maximum of 72 hours before entering the fairgrounds.
The test should be repeated every 72 hours to confirm that contagions are not reproduced within the MWC. In addition, the entrances to the Fira would be different from the exits and would guarantee medical and temperature controls during the days in which the event takes place.
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