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Mobile World Congress (MWC) organiser the GSMA has cancelled the biggest phone conference in the world due to concerns around the coronavirus epidemic.

John Hoffman, the chief executive of GSMA, said that the outbreak had made it "impossible" to hold the event later this month in Barcelona.


The announcement follows attempts to lobby the Spanish government to declare a health emergency that would allow it to claim back insurance, WIRED understands.

Sources close to the GSMA said negotiations to cancel the event hit a roadblock this week, leading to an emergency meeting on Wednesday as mass drop-outs from companies concerned about the spread of coronavirus.

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Following the meeting, the GSMA said it was "monitoring“ the fast-changing coronavirus situation. That monitoring quickly turned into an outright cancellation as company after company announced it would no longer be attending the trade show.

Companies including Facebook, Amazon, LG, Intel, Ericsson, Vivo, ZTE, Nvidia, Cisco, Sony, HMD, and Volvo all dropped out in recent days. On Wednesday, they were joined by Orange, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, McAfee, BT and HMD Global, which makes Nokia-branded phones, cancelled on Wednesday.


Before the GSMA announced the cancellation, Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi and Motorola had all issued statements saying that they still planned to go. The GSMA could have gone ahead with the event even if its numbers are decimated to avoid a hefty cancellation bill, sources said.

Over 100,000 people from 200 countries were expected to travel to Barcelona to attend the annual trade fair, which was due to start on February 24 and last four days.

However, fears over the spread of the coronavirus caused several major exhibitors to pull out at a rapid rate, while others resorted to self-imposed quarantines and slimmed down delegations.

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Huawei and Oppo were among the companies trying to play it safe. They said that those attending MWC this year from China – including executives, presenters, and service staff – would be quarantined outside of China for at least 14 days before the event.


Coronavirus has already killed more than 1,100 people and infected more than 42,000, and its spread has yet to be contained.

The GSMA initially announced a series of measures to safeguard people attending the event, including a ban on delegates travelling from the province in China where the virus was first identified.

MWC generates around 14,000 temporary jobs in Barcelona and makes €492 million (almost £414m) for the city, according to a report from El Pais.

Barcelona's mayor Ada Colau said on Wednesday afternoon that the city was "perfectly prepared" for Mobile World Congress to take place, and that there remained "no reason whatsoever" to apply emergency measures, according to a report by Spanish outlet La Vanguardia. Those measures, it seems, were deemed insufficient.

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