The GSM Association has said that 50,000 visitors crossed the doors of the Fira de Barcelona last week — 40% more than squeezed into Cannes last year.
The increase in numbers and generally positive experience of most visitors to the show will come as a relief to the Association, which took something of a risk in moving a successful and friendly event from Cannes.
Several speakers at the show took the opportunity to comment that the move reflected the shift of the industry itself, from a cosy operators’ club to a global industry.
There were one or two security incidents reflecting the big city nature of the event – and not everyone liked the large scale of the venue. But the Exhibition Halls especially felt much more spacious.
The booth-like meeting rooms couldn’t really compete with the yachts moored up alongside the Quais in Cannes, though. Perhaps Midem will serve to give an increasingly content-driven business its annual Cannes fix.
Because, despite rumours, it seems the Congress is in Barcelona to stay, at least for the next three years.