The GSMA is launching the “Mobile World Capital” to extend far beyond the annual Mobile World Congress event and include a “range of academic and business development opportunities, cultural festivals and programmes, and the creation of a permanent centre of the industry.” All of the six finalist cities vying to host the Mobile World Congress from 2013 to 2017 — including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Cologne, Milan, Munich and Paris — are developing proposals to become the Mobile World Capital for the same time period.
In addition to hosting the Mobile World Congress, which is the industry’s single largest gathering in the world, the Mobile World Capital city will also feature:
- The Mobile World Centre – located in the heart of the city and designed as the permanent flagship element of the Mobile World Capital. The Centre will include technology exhibits, museum features, a retail area, a mobile café, office space and more.
- The Mobile World Festival – which is envisioned as a range of festivities that will be targeted to the general public and will take place separate from the Mobile World Congress. Among the festivities that will take place, GSMA mentions concerts, music and movie festivals, competitions and awards, and dialogues and debates, among others.
The question is – which city will win. If I had to pick, I would select Barcelona once again. After all, no other city on the list has a nice weather in February…