There seems to be some difference of opinion when it comes to the level of attendance at this year's Mobile World Congress.
Members of the press seem to be largely in agreement: it's really quiet here. Ques to get into the Fira are tiny, you can get a seat at a terminal in the press room without running the risk of losing a limb in the crush, and most of the time it's possible to get a taxi anywhere in Barcelona within a few minutes.
Even more unusual, I've managed to eat lunch three days in a row. That's definitely never happened before; the queues for food in previous years snaked around for miles.
But, show organisers the GSMA insist that MWC 2009 is as busy as ever before.
"It's full," Tom Phillips, chief government and regulatory affairs officer for the GSMA told us over dinner last night.
"About the 50,000th person went through the door today," he said, which puts the show on a par with last year.
There are 2,000-plus members of the press here, he added, and 13,000 exhibitors. Exhibition space is sold out.
All of which leads us to wonder where all these people are. Is one of the exhibition halls that we haven't visited yet simply crammed with attendees, while the rest of the Fira breathes easily?
Let us know what you think. Has your MWC experience this year been as hectic as in the past?
1 comment:
Yes, all the queues were shorter. I can't believe there were as many people there as last year.
But on the other hand, our exhibition stand in Hall 2 was busier than last year, and the quality of the foot traffic was very good. Maybe "the right people" were there.
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