Sony has become the first major company to withdraw as an in-person exhibitor at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, reports Spanish news agency EFE. The Japanese company has decided to miss the physical event for the same reasons as last year, namely ongoing concerns regarding the health and safety of its employees due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Sony has not attended MWC Barcelona as an exhibitor since 2019 although it did have its own stand at the recent CES event in Las Vegas.
Mobile industry group GSMA said the event will this year take place from 28 February to 03 March under the theme “Connectivity Unleashed”. In a statement sent to EFE it expressed disappointment and surprise at Sony’s decision but said it had "overwhelming support from the industry" and Spanish institutions for the event, adding that companies including Google, Vodafone, Orange, HTC, Huawei, Cisco, Twitter, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Samsung and Nokia had already confirmed their attendance.
The scaled back 2021 edition of MWC Barcelona was held in June and attracted around 20,000 in-person visitors, figures that paled in comparison with the record 109,000 visitors that attended the 2019 event.
