Barcelona is to remain the home of MWC – the world’s largest annual mobile tech event – until at least 2030.

Mobile industry association (and organiser of the event) GSMA stated the deal was agreed at its Board meeting in Kuala Lumpur today (June 27).

The annual February show has been held in Barcelona since 2006 and today’s news marks the latest agreement between GSMA and what it terms its ‘host city partners’; Barcelona City Council, Generalitat de Catalunya, The Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation, event venue Fira de Barcelona and Tourism de Barcelona.

Back in 2011 Barcelona won its first deal extension (to 2018) and was also awarded the title ‘Mobile World Capital’, beating competition from 30 cities including Milan, Munich and Paris. That partnership was later renewed until 2023, with another year added to the agreement (2024) when the 2020 edition of MWC was cancelled due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Since a change in location from Cannes to Barcelona sixteen years ago the GSMA has grown MWC to a show where more than 109,000 global visitors attended in 2019.

In a statement, GSMA Ltd CEO John Hoffman pointed to Barcelona’s role as more than just the host city of MWC. “We’ve not just grown the event since our move to Barcelona but evolved it to include an entire ecosystem,” he noted.

Barcelona is home to a range of programmes and activities throughout the year benefiting the citizens of the city and beyond, with initiatives such as the Mobile World Capital and mSchools driving growth in the local economy and tech sector.

The GSMA stated that more details on the new partnership will be announced at a press conference in Barcelona July 20.