Thursday, February 16, 2006
HIGHEST EVER ATTENDANCE AT 3GSM WORLD CONGRESS 2006
Mammoth visitor numbers confirm 3GSM World Congress as the world’s premier event
Barcelona, Thursday 16th February – Final attendance figures for 3GSM World Congress 2006 - in its inaugural year in Barcelona – confirm the event as the biggest mobile show on Earth. An audited total attendance of 50,000* visitors converged on the Fira de Barcelona conference and exhibition centre from across the global mobile industry to do business in a decisive year for new multimedia services and growing markets.
At the end of Monday 13th February – day one of the event – gate figures showed that 34,900 visitors had attended the event, compared with 24,300 at the same point during the event in 2005. This growth of over 40% reflected the increased momentum that 3GSM World Congress had, even on day one of the show. In fact, attendance on day one of the show in Barcelona was greater than the total attendance for 2005, held in Cannes. The decision to relocate the event to the bigger facilities available in the cultural heart of Catalonia has proven vital in hosting a global mobile industry that is developing at a break-neck pace.
Observing, analyzing and reporting on these developments were a record number of international Web, paper and broadcast media – 1,900 compared with 1,200 in 2005 – in expanded press centre facilities.
For exhibitors, the Fira de Barcelona offered double the floor space, and accommodated a total of 962 companies - representing a massive 40% increase in exhibitor numbers over the 2005 event.
The 3GSM World Congress will return in 2007 to the Fira de Barcelona.
