Frequently Asked Questions

Testing

• Before flying, and as directed by the Government of Spain, all passengers from a country or zone of risk (except for children under 6 years old), must have a PCR or TMA for SARS-CoV-2 with a negative result, carried out in the 72 hours prior to arrival in Spain. The airlines will firstly enforce the requirement and will be subsequently re-checked upon arrival at the airport.

• Access to the event venue will be allowed on strict condition of a valid, negative rapid test result. This includes the official build period for MWC21 (for booths, etc.), during the event, and afterwards during the dismantling period (take down booths, etc.). This strict condition applies to all attendees, staff, visitors and suppliers. Without the valid, negative test, access will be denied. If you’ve just arrived in Spain via aeroplane and have a valid, negative test, then you may use it, if you enter the event within 72 hours from when you took the test. You can scan the test certificate and send it to the My MWC app for our medical partner to check the validity and remaining time.

• The test result will be valid for 72 hours. No remaining partial hours will be permitted for access to the venue. Only full valid days remaining will be permitted. The digital badge will indicate the time of expiration.

• If the test is positive, the individual will be required to do an additional PCR test. If the PCR test is positive, the public authorities along with our leading provider of medical services will manage according to their protocol.

• We are partnering with a leading provider of medical services in Spain and arranging for testing centres in order to address the testing needs of our attendees, staff, visitors, and suppliers. Rapid tests will be available at MWC relevant testing centres (details to be announced). All tests will be performed by qualified personnel from our leading provider of medical services.

• The results of a negative test, and the completion of a daily health declaration form (on your MYMWC app) will activate the digital badge for the day. Subsequently, a daily health declaration will be required to re-activate the digital badge as well as valid test within the full 72 hours for the following days.

• Expired test results will de-activate the digital badge and access to the venue will be denied. A new test must be performed resulting in a negative test will be necessary to re-activate the digital badge. Testing times along with results for a rapid test will vary between 10-15 minutes.

• The testing centres will also administer a PCR or rapid test - depending on the country of destination requirement- for people flying out of Barcelona after MWC. (Further details to come)

Venue and environment

• MWC will be a ‘touchless’ environment. Previously, customer service areas at Fira Barcelona were in-person. Now, they are online. These services include registration, ID verification and info points.

• Restaurants have been “re-designed” to ensure social distancing and food preparation and delivery adheres to enhanced standards.

• Fira de Barcelona has increased sanitization protocols of all areas of the Fira Gran Via venue, including the addition of 1,300 disinfectant dispensers placed throughout.

• The venue will feature fresh-air injection and external ventilation to improve airflow, meeting the highest standard of AD1.

• Upgraded infrastructure including new cameras and systems will support our active capacity and density management, ensuring social distancing guidelines are adhered to along with one-way flows.

• Entrances and exits have been doubled to ensure social distancing and support one-way traffic flow through the venue. We will use technology for contact tracing to mitigate and manage potential exposure and will share relevant data, if requested by health authorities.

• The venue will be disinfected regularly, including stands, product samples and audio-visual equipment.

Your commitment to keeping others safe, before you enter the venue perimeter

• Complete registration to activate your digital badge.

• Download the My MWC app, a bespoke app designed for MWC21 Barcelona, after registration.

• Have a valid negative test result.

• Complete the daily health questionnaire in the app. You will be prompted by the app to answer the daily questionnaire. If you do not complete the daily questionnaire, you will be denied access.

• In order for the digital badge to be fully activated, the test must be negative and, at the same time, the health declaration answered.
• Stay safe: attendees and everyone participating in the event must make regular use of the 1,300 disinfectant dispensers placed around the venue, wear a FFP2 (Filtering Facepiece Respirators) mask and adhere to social distancing guidelines. The FFP2 mask is designed for highest mutual protection.

• Face masks:
  • Everyone must wear a FFP2 mask satisfying European Standard EN 149:2001 and bearing the CE mark. Please note that FFP2 masks with exhalation valves are not allowed.
  • Cloth masks will not be accepted, even if two masks are worn at the same time (double masking).
  • The mask must be in good condition and replaced as per instructions from the manufacturer.
  • Exhibitors must ensure that every person in its stand (including, but not limited to stand staff, suppliers, contractors and visitors) is correctly wearing their face mask at all times. This applies during build-up, show days and dismantling.
  • All individuals are required to bring their own facemask(s), satisfying the criteria set forth above, to the Event. GSMA will not be provide facemasks to any Event participants. Any individuals without approved facemasks may be denied entry to, or asked to leave, the Event.
  • Masks will be available on-site for purchase if necessary.

Medical protocols

• The medical facilities have been increased and adapted to incorporate Covid-19 protocols including the addition of isolation rooms to facilitate assessments in a fully safe environment that protects the medical staff and the rest of participants in the venue.

• The number of medical personnel onsite has increased in order to conduct assessments, administer PCR or rapid tests and to coordinate where necessary with Catalan health authorities.

Rapid tests will be available at MWC relevant testing centres. We will share details of the centres including names, locations in the coming weeks.

Positive results (will be confirmed with an additional PCR) and managed according to the public health authorities’ protocol at the time of the event.

If you are onsite at MWC:

• If you are onsite at MWC and not feeling well, seek assistance at the closest first aid point inside the venue. You will be assessed by trained, medical staff according to the Covid-19 infection protocols at the time of the event. If the medical assessment concludes that you require further investigation, medical staff will carry out a rapid test. You will wait for the result of the rapid test in the onsite isolation room, located at the first aid centre.
• If the result of the rapid test is positive, a PCR test will be done. The PCR test takes 4-6 hours to return a result. The medical staff will decide where you should wait for the PCR results, based on your symptoms and the health protocols in place. You might be asked to wait in the onsite isolation room, at your hotel or a dedicated quarantine hotel.
• If the result of the PCR test is negative, the doctor will contact the patient and advise accordingly
• If the result of the PCR is positive a doctor will medically assess the attendee and determine:
  1. If the patient needs to go to a hospital
  2. If the patient needs to go to a dedicated hotel to quarantine

If you are offsite, e.g. at your hotel and not feeling well:

Depending on the severity, we recommend either contacting medical personnel or our leading partner of medical services (we will share details of the medical partner shortly), and you will be advised of next steps.

Barcelona Hotel Association health and safety measures include:

• Protection kit on arrival which includes masks, gloves and sanitizing gel
• Contactless payment system
• Express check-in and check-out online
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner served by hotel staff to avoid direct contact with guests
• Temperature checks, social distancing, hygiene protocols and ongoing training
• Limiting non-guests access to the hotel

Regardless of mode of transportation, our partnership with local transport entities will help create an environment where all attendees feel safe.

Metro and Bus networks in Barcelona are now officially accredited with the Applus certificate as safe for their protocols and procedures involving cleaning, disinfection and control. Plan your transport journey by consulting the estimated level of occupancy on the TMB app, the Barcelona public transport app

Local transport health and safety measures include:

• Hydro-alcoholic gel dispensers at stations
• Compulsory wearing of protective face masks
• Constant air renewal inside the trains and increased ventilation on buses
• Enhanced procedures for cleaning vehicles and facilities, including new innovative techniques to improve disinfection processes with UV light
• Installation of signs to facilitate adherence to social distance

Our health and safety plan, Committed Community, is developed with and approved by Catalan Health authorities. Our safety approach meets the directives and recommendations for event organizers according to the Sectorial Plan of Fairs and Congresses, elaborated by the Department of Business and Knowledge of the Generalitat de Catalunya – and approved by the Technical Committee of the PROCICAT in July 2020.

We will use contact tracing technology to mitigate and manage potential exposure. Relevant data will be shared if requested by health authorities. This information will be kept safe and confidential in a database. The tracing process and outreach consultation will be managed by the health authorities. Attendees will have their digital badge scanned by exhibitor staff/MWC staff depending on location

• at entry and exit of enclosed spaces
• and where meetings take longer than 15 minutes

Our two official suppliers, Fira Barcelona and Aventri, will provide the scanning devices. Exhibitors will be required to hire contact tracing devices from these suppliers and scan visitors as per guidelines above.

Note: Masks and social distancing requirements will continue to be required in the meeting rooms.

Since anyone entering Spain will already have a negative PCR, our mandatory direction for rapid testing every 72 hours provides further layers of protection. As always, health and safety are a paramount consideration, and we are working closely with authorities to ensure we incorporate all guidance and provide the best level of protection possible at the event.

The health and safety plan, Committed Community, is a multi-layered approach designed to ensure an environment that will keep everyone safe, including staff, workers, exhibitors, visitors, suppliers, partners, and the people of Barcelona.

The layers incorporate frequent testing, contact tracing, a touchless environment, re-vamped catering, occupancy monitoring, upgrades to facility infrastructure, increased medical staff and personal commitments like adhering to social distancing. The plan builds on the Protocol on Safety and Prevention against COVID-19 currently being implemented by Fira de Barcelona.

Currently, there is no global standard for proof of vaccine approved by governments. Therefore, for now, we have decided to use the rapid test. Should the situation change from now until June we will adjust as necessary. Therefore, all will need to be tested or have current 72-hour valid test.

As with previous years, the entire Fira Gran via venue will be leased to the GSMA for MWC21. This year, we are planning for around 50,000 people to attend and we are re-designing the layout to ensure social distancing, active capacity, crowd density management and one-way crowd flows, including doubling entrances and exits.

A test is valid for a 72-hour period and must not ‘expire’ whilst you are onsite. All participants will be required to have a negative rapid test to access the venue. The test must be repeated every 72 hours with participants notified through the My MWC app of upcoming expiration. Therefore, participants will only be allowed to enter the venue if they have a full day validity remaining on their 72 hour time frame.

As a test is valid for a 72-hour period you will need to get a new test at one of MWC relevant testing centres for the full day you intend to visit the event. The test must be repeated every 72 hours with participants notified through the My MWC app of upcoming expiration.

No. You will only be allowed access to MWC with a full day’s validity in any one test period.

We are closely working with the government on current travel restrictions and visa requirements for essential business travel such as for MWC Barcelona.

Visa requirements for travel are dynamic and we encourage everyone travelling to attend the show to remain up-to-date by accessing this website, as well as travel information issued by your country of residence. Please access this website for further information: Spain Travel Health portal,

The health authorities will contact you directly and communicate next steps. Our contact tracing will facilitate this action.

All participants will be required to have a negative rapid test repeated every 72 hours, with participants notified through the My MWC app of upcoming expiration. Multiple testing centres will be available to support this routine. All tests will be performed by qualified personnel from our medical partner working alongside the Catalan Health Authorities. Whilst in the venue, temperature checks will also be conducted at all access points.

We are currently working with our leading provider of medical services regarding the tests and will provide further information in the next update.

We are developing the process for this step. For now, our plan is to scan and upload the negative test certificate to the My MWC app. You will need to provide our certificate to our medical services partner who will process the certificate and contact you directly to inform you if the test is valid or not, according to Spanish health authorities protocols.

It will take about 15-20 minutes after taking the test to have the results of the test.

Check in to get in is the first step to complete on the MWC21 Barcelona registration page. Registration will be open in the coming weeks.

As directed by the Spain Travel Health Portal, “if you are coming from a country / zone considered to be at risk, you MUST carry a certificate of a negative result of the AIDT (RT-PCR or other molecular techniques for detecting viral RNA with equivalent reliability, such as TMA, RT-LAMP) for COVID19, carried out in the 72 hours prior to your arrival. You may be required to show the certificate upon entry into Spain by the authorities. Children under 6 years of age are not required to take this test.”

The GSMA, working together with and following the advice of medical experts and our medical services partner, has developed the testing plan for MWC21.

Please refer to this website: Spain Travel Health portal

It is a requirement to enter Spanish borders to have a valid test from 72 prior to arrival. At the airport you will be asked to present your valid test. Failure to do so means that Spanish health authorities will require you to take a test; and they will decide on next steps depending on results.

Registration will be open in the coming weeks.

The 2022 dates are from 28 February to 3rd March 2022

At the present time, we have the full support of the Spanish and Catalan government to move forward with our event based on our H&S plan.

Click to watch ministers give us full support on our plans: Salvador Illa, former Spanish Minister of Health, Secretary for Socialists’ Party of Catalonia and candidate for the presidency of Catalonia; Ramon Tremosa, Catalan Minister of Enterprise and Knowledge.