LONDON: The GSMA today announced that six cities are competing to host the GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) event starting in 2013. Amsterdam, Barcelona, Cologne, Milan, Munich and Paris have been named candidate cities who are vying to become the home of Mobile World Congress for the five-year period from 2013 through 2017. The GSMA expects to identify a short list of finalist cities in January 2011 and to complete the evaluation process and to announce the host city in mid-2011.

"The mobile industry continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace and the GSMA is also advancing its business to meet the changing requirements of constituents across the global communications industry," said John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd. "The Mobile World Congress has grown significantly since it was started in 1987, and we look forward to shaping the future of the event with one of these outstanding candidate cities."

The Mobile World Congress is widely considered the industry's "must-attend" event and is expected to draw more than 50,000 visitors at the 2011 Mobile World Congress, which will be held in Barcelona 14-17 February, 2011. The four-day conference and exhibition attracts executives from the world's largest and most influential companies across the mobile industry and adjacent sectors, as well as government delegations. The Mobile World Congress has been held in Barcelona since 2006 and the city will continue to host the event through at least 2012.

"The GSMA is committed to holding the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona through 2012," continued Hoffman. "In partnership with the city of Barcelona, the region of Catalonia, the Fira de Barcelona and all our city partners, we have experienced tremendous success and our association with Barcelona has been extremely positive for the GSMA, for our exhibitors, for our attendees and for the wireless industry."

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile communications industry.

For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the new online portal for the mobile communications industry, at www.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at www.gsmworld.com.

SOURCE GSMA