GSMA Offers Heavily Discounted MWC Passes to Spanish Residents

The GSMA is trying to bring more local businesses into the broader mobile ecosystem with a new initiative that will make it easier for Spanish residents to attend the 2021 Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. The Give To and Get Back initiative is specifically targeted at professionals in 11 key industries, and will allow people employed in those industries to buy a Discovery Pass for the event for only €21.

The discounted tickets will be on sale until June 23, and they are available to those who are involved in the automotive, broadcast, consultancy, cloud services, education, retail, finance, government, IoT, manufacturing, and technical sectors in some capacity. The GSMA noted that each of those industries is vital to Spain’s current and future economy. For example, the automotive sector already accounts for about 20 percent of the country’s GDP, while the government is planning to invest $1.9 billion to support film production.

“Barcelona is not just the place where we host MWC, it has become an integral part of the experience, and this initiative is an expression of gratitude to the local community,” said GSMA CEO John Hoffman. “Spain has a thriving ecosystem of entrepreneurs and start-ups. We are opening up MWC to a whole new generation of Spanish enterprises and professionals with our Give To and Get Back initiative with the goal of building a legacy ecosystem.”

The GSMA has pledged to donate €300,000 to local COVID-19 relief if 30,000 people register for MWC Barcelona through the Give to and Get Back initiative. Those who do so will also have access to an ongoing discount at future MWC Barcelona events, and will be able to purchase a pass at 50 percent off up until 2024.

MWC Barcelona is set to run from June 28 to July 1. Last year’s event was canceled due to COVID-19, though the GSMA would later extend its agreement with its local stakeholders as a show of good faith for the future of the event. The Spanish government has already agreed to welcome international guests traveling to Spain for this year’s show.