Mobile World Congress hopes for bigger bash as Spain eases restrictions

FILE PHOTO: People walk at the venue of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, June 28, 2021. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File Photo

STOCKHOLM/BARCELONA (Reuters) - The Mobile World Congress (MWC), telecoms industry's biggest annual gathering, is hoping to attract about 50,000 attendees in the Spanish city of Barcelona, making it one of the biggest physical events since the start of the pandemic.

Online conferences have become the norm for the past two years, boosting the valuations of conferencing companies such as Zoom and Hopin, but as the pandemic recedes the appetite for doing business in person is slowing recovering.