The Catalonian capital's bid has overcome stiff competition from Paris, Munich and Milan to continue to host Europe's leading mobile congress.
The decision to continue with Barcelona's bid was taken on 22 July at a meeting held in London by the event's organizer GSMA, an association representing the world's leading telecommunications companies.
According to the managing director of GSMA, John Hoffman, all the cities involved submitted very innovative and attractive bids, but Barcelona was finally chosen because of its exceptional fair and congress facilities and its transport networks and hotels, in addition to its commitment to increasing mobile coverage. The strong support from the Spanish and Catalonian public and private sectors also helped to tip the balance in favour of Barcelona, which has hosted the event since 2006.
The organizers of Barcelona's bid estimate that in the first year of this second phase as host city the event will generate revenues in the region of EUR 300 million, although its economic impact will continue grow, reaching a total of 3,459 million by 2018.
Present in 219 countries, GSMA represents the interests of nearly 800 mobile operators and 200 telecommunications companies worldwide.
