A "situation of force majeure". Faced with the withdrawal of large telephone groups frightened by the coronavirus epidemic, the organizers of the world mobile show in Barcelona, explained on Thursday that its cancellation was the "only option",
"We looked at the data and concluded yesterday [Wednesday] that the vast majority of those who planned to participate would not be there," said John Hoffman, CEO of the World Association of Telecom Operators (GSMA) who organizes the show, the day after its cancellation.
GSMA Statement on MWC Barcelona 2020 from John Hoffman, CEO GSMA Limited https://t.co/aLwHF64ejJ pic.twitter.com/I3e7z6vwHE
- GSMA (@GSMA) February 12, 2020"It is impossible to maintain the MWC Barcelona 2020"
"We have considered postponing the event, and although it seemed like a good idea, it is impossible to predict when this situation will end. So it couldn't be done, ”he said at a press conference.
"Which brings us to our only option: unfortunately, it is impossible to maintain the MWC Barcelona 2020", he concluded.
The Covid-19 epidemic from China, the country of origin of some of the main exhibitors at the congress, gave rise to serious fears among many participating companies.
110,000 visitors including more than 5,000 Chinese expected
The high mass of the sector, during which the major brands of mobile phones present their novelties, planned to welcome nearly 110,000 visitors including more than 5,000 Chinese.
The Spanish authorities had increased calls for calm in recent days, arguing the low risk of epidemic in Spain, where only two cases have been detected, in the Balearic and Canary Islands.
But among the withdrawals were large telecom operators like Vodafone, NTT DoComo or Deutsche Telekom, alongside other heavyweights in the sector such as LG, Sony, Ericsson, Facebook, Cisco and Intel.
Who will pay the bill?
"We were forced to make this very difficult decision (...) It is really a situation of force majeure," said GSMA general manager Mats Granryd, stressing that it was still too early to calculate the cost. of this decision.
The question of whether it was a case of force majeure or not will probably be key during the negotiations to determine who will pay the bill for the cancellation (reimbursement of exhibition spaces and entrance tickets, reservations for 'hotels etc.).
Local authorities said they understood the decision but insisted that there were no sound health reasons. "There is no health alert situation in Spain," said Barcelona mayor Ada Colau to the press. "There are no public health reasons for not celebrating these kinds of events in our country," added the Spanish government in a statement.
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