King Felipe of Spain travelled from Madrid to Barcelona to take part in the annual opening of the Mobile World Congress hosted by the Catalonian capital.
His Majesty’s agenda began with the inaugural dinner, which was held at the Catalonian National Museum of Art. The King was accompanied by State and local authorities, including the Prime Minister, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, and the Mayor of Barcelona.
The last speech of the evening was the King’s, who delivered it in Spanish, Catalonian and English. In it, he said in part: “Without question, this event continues to represent the best opportunity for learning about -and sharing- perspectives and viewpoints on current issues in the industry, and for finding out how mobile technology is helping to tackle real-world concerns and embrace real-world opportunities. A congress that enables us to see into the future of our societies”.
At the end of the dinner, the GSMA Chairman Award was handed out to:
- the Secretary General of the International Union of Telecommunications, Doreen Bodgan-Martin;
- the Minister of Technology and Innovation, of Information and Communication of Rwanda, Paula Ingabire;
- the MTN Rwanda’s Delegate Councilor, Mapula Bodibe;
- the Executive Director of Rwanda’s Kigali Bank, Diane Karusisi.
The next day, King Felipe reached the Recinto Gran Vía of the Barcelona Fair space, where seven pavilions have been set up for the more than 2000 businesses to showcase their newest mobile technologies.
Upon his arrival, the King watched the presentation of this year’s novelties, including
the 6G challenges;
From the Metaverse to the Matterverse;
New in mobile phones;
More sustainable 4.0 industry.
His Majesty then proceeded to take the first part of his tour through the Congress, which saw him converse with some of the staff members of the business stands he was passing, including Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone.
Following a working lunch, His Majesty went on to visit Pavilion N°6, where, in the “Travel to the Future” zone, he toured the “The Next Hospital”, the “Wide Eyes Technology”, the “Bioo”, the “Venvirontech”, the “YBVR”, the “Hyperloop TT” and the “Mobile World Capital Barcelona Foundation” spaces, before returning to Madrid, where he and Queen Letizia are expected on Wednesday to officially launch the “Digital Portal of Spanish History” project of the Royal Academy of History.
The Barcelona Mobile World Congress was started in 2006 and reached its 17th edition in 2023. Since its start, it has slowly grown to represent one of the world’s biggest fairs to present innovative mobile technologies and connectivity projects.
This year’s theme was “Velocity”, and the Congress is expected to welcome more than 100,000 visitors, gathering to view the newest products from the more than 2000 businesses that have currently secured a stand in the fair.
