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The GSMA, organizer of Mobile World Congress (MWC), expects attendance at this year’s event to exceed 101,000, with artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as a dominant theme.
GSMA director general Mats Granryd expressed optimism about the event, stating, “We are expecting things to be even bigger and better.” The event, running from March 3-6 in Barcelona, is also projected to generate an economic impact of €540 million-€550 million, an increase from last year’s €500 million. GSMA Ltd CEO John Hoffman noted that since MWC’s first Barcelona edition in 2006, the total economic impact could reach €7 billion.
AI will feature prominently at MWC 2024, with keynote speakers including Arthur Mensch, CEO and Co-Founder of Mistral AI, and AI ‘godfather’ Ray Kurzweil. The event will also introduce a test pilot program for AI live translations, powered by Mixhalo, enabling real-time translations in French, Spanish, Korean, and Chinese across 11 stages.
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“The AI conversation has evolved very quickly in the last twelve months, and we have some of the biggest thinkers and disrupters speaking in this space,” said GSMA CMO Lara Dewar.
The conference will host 1,200 speakers across 19 stages, with 40% of them female and 30% from outside the telecoms industry.
Following a successful pilot in 2023, the 2025 edition of Talent Arena will be held at Fira Montjuic in partnership with Mobile World Capital. Hoffman described Talent Arena as a hub connecting digital professionals, developers, global tech firms, and educational institutions for learning, networking, and career advancement.
The event will feature speakers such as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and host the GSMA Open Gateway hackathon, where developers will test projects on live networks using the latest network APIs. The Open Gateway DevCon will also take place at Talent Arena.
Due to capacity constraints at Fira Gran Via, MWC organisers are looking forward to the opening of Hall 0 in 2027.
Several key elements will return to MWC 2024, including:
- The 30th edition of the Global Mobile Awards (GLOMOs).
- 4YFN (4 Years From Now) taking over Halls 8 and 8.1.
- The Ministerial Programme, with over 180 delegations from 140 countries expected.
- FC Barcelona’s Sports Tomorrow Congress, which will expand into exhibition space at 4YFN.
The GSMA Open Gateway initiative, which aims to create a unified API economy, will have a dedicated zone featuring six demo pods and 17 organisations. Demonstrations will include Nokia and Elmo cars showcasing remote driving in Finland using open API technology.
Since its launch two years ago, Open Gateway now represents nearly 300 mobile networks, covering three-quarters of global mobile connections.
Additionally, Mobile World Capital is bringing 180 developers from Paris via a charter flight with Vueling and 70 developers from Madrid on a high-speed train with Iryo, both of which will host onboard hackathons.
With AI leading the discussions and innovative initiatives expanding, MWC 2024 is poised to set new benchmarks in the mobile industry.
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