(Releads with official confirmation; adds context, details)
By Isla Binnie, Mathieu Rosemain and Douglas Busvine
MADRID/PARIS/BERLIN, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The Mobile World
Congress (MWC), the annual telecoms industry gathering that
draws more than 100,000 visitors to Barcelona, was cancelled on
Wednesday after a mass exodus by exhibitors due to fears over
the coronavirus outbreak.
Bowing to the inevitable, the GSMA telecoms association that
hosts the Barcelona get-together said it had cancelled the event
planned for Feb. 24-27 despite assurances from local and
national health officials that it would have been safe to hold
it.
"The GSMA has cancelled MWC Barcelona 2020 because the
global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak, travel
concern and other circumstances, make it impossible for the GSMA
to hold the event,” John Hoffman, the CEO of organiser GSMA,
said in a statement.
The announcement followed a crisis meeting of the GSMA
board, after its hand was forced by the pullout of anchor
European members including Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone
, BT and Nokia.
Barcelona's mayor Ada Colau said earlier she wanted to send
a "message of calm", insisting the city was ready to host the
event, while Spanish health officials reiterated that there was
no reason to call off MWC.
That failed, however, to alleviate concerns among major
exhibitors that the precautions would be insufficient to halt
the virus that has spread beyond China's borders to two dozen
countries.
"To bring people together and connect them: That is what
Telekom stands for. This is also what the Mobile World Congress,
the 'class reunion' of our industry, stands for," Deutsche
Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges posted on LinkedIn.
He added, however, that large gatherings of people with many
international guests posed a particular risk: "To take this risk
would be irresponsible."
(Writing by Jessica Jones; Additional reporting by Supantha
Mukherjee, Joan Faus, Can Sezer, Tarmo Virki, Stephanie Nebehay,
Carolyn Cohn and Noor Zainab Hussein; editing by Keith Weir,
Elaine Hardcastle, Chizu Nomiyama, Kirsten Donovan)
Vodafone (VOD)
BT (BT.A)
