Once again this year, Barcelona opens its doors to the Mobile World Congress, an event that each edition breaks its own attendance record and increases its economic impact. It is estimated that this year it will leave 471 million euros in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, a considerable figure compared to the 100 million that it brought to the city in the first edition held there, in 2006.

More than 2,300 companies will be exhibiting at the fair, including the world’s leading companies, including, of course, those that are part of DigitalES. To learn more about their booths, the Association organizes a personalized tour of the Orange, Ericsson, Vodafone, Telefonica, Altran and Cisco booths. The meeting will be held on Tuesday at 10:00 am and those interested can register or request information by e-mail at Info@digitales.es

The Barcelona Trade Fair will soon open its doors, but… What does one of the most important congresses in the world have to offer and why is it so important for Barcelona and Spain? A brief review of some of the figures and their evolution over time will help us to better contextualize the importance of an event that gathered 108,000 people last year and expects to beat its record in this new edition.

Economic impact of close to 500 million euros.

Year on year the amounts have been increasing, as these graphs from Statista show.    

2. Over 100,000 attendees

Last year’s attendance reached 108,000 and this year’s figure is expected to be exceeded. 

3. 50% of the attendees are senior executives


Not surprisingly, the cheapest ticket to the event costs 799 euros. It is not a fair aimed at the general public, nor is it designed to “take a look” at mobiles, but is focused on the professional sector at the highest international level.

4. High international impact

This map of tweets prepared by Magnet reveals the incidence of tweets about MWC, especially high in South America and North America (especially in the United States). Although there are two other MWC fairs in Los Angeles and Shanghai, neither has the impact of the one in Barcelona. 

5. 240,000 square meters of exhibition space

The area allocated to MWC in 2018 is the equivalent of 40 soccer fields. 

6. Generates 13,000 part-time jobs 

The main profiles recruited include audiovisual technicians, architects, journalists, engineers, computer specialists, carpenters, drivers, private security personnel, cooks and waiters, hostesses and cleaners. 

7. 367,000 coffees and 175,000 menus will be served. 

And not only that. A total of 1,050 kilos of ham will be sliced, for which 16 professional cutters have been contracted. 

8. 45,000 people will stay on AirBnB 

Always according to forecasts. 40 million in Barcelona.

In total, the MWC has generated 4 billion euros and created more than 100,000 part-time jobs since 2006. These figures consolidate it as one of the most important congresses in the world and in 2018 it will once again be the center of attention.