Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona is known to take place in the first quarter of the year, but that changes next year as the GSMA has announced new dates for its events.

Mobile World Congress

The new dates announced by the GSMA in a press release informed us that MWC Shanghai, which used to take place in June, will now hold in February, while MWC Barcelona moves to June. The Barcelona event was originally scheduled for the first week of March 2021. Below are the exact dates for the events in 2021:

  • MWC Shanghai: February 23 – February 25
  • MWC Barcelona: June 28 – July 1

*MWC Los Angeles remains unchanged with this year’s edition set to take place between October 28 to October 30.

The GSMA says the decision to move the Barcelona event to June is so as to deal with external circumstances related to COVID-19. The decision was also taken after planning and consultation with all key stakeholders. The Director-General of the GSMA, Mats Granryd, has said that “the health and safety of exhibitors, attendees, staff and the people of Barcelona are of paramount importance”.

MWC Barcelona is one of the biggest tech events in the world. The tech show is a platform for exhibitors to show off new technologies. A lot of phone manufacturers also use the platform to announce new products. It remains to be seen if these products will still be unveiled in the first quarter of the year at individual events or if they will be delayed so that they can be announced at MWC Barcelona.