Barcelona is gearing up for the 2025 edition of MWC, which kicks off this Monday, 3 March, at the Gran Via Fair venue. This year’s event will feature the first edition of the Talent Arena, an initiative designed to connect developers, top technology companies and educational institutions to foster learning, networking and professional growth in the digital sector.  Organised by Mobile World Capital Barcelona in collaboration with GSMA, Barcelona City Council, the Government of Catalonia and the Spanish Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service, the event will take place from 3 to 5 March in Hall 8 of the Montjuïc Fair venue, further reinforcing Barcelona’s role as a global leader in the digital sector.

With the addition of the Talent Arena, the 2025 edition of MWC will be the largest yet, incorporating a talent-focused segment into the congress, which is already a leading event for the industry and start-ups.

The city will have dedicated spaces both at MWC, with the fourth edition of BEAT BARCELONA and the Barcelona Activa stand at 4YFN, and at the Talent Arena, where it will host the Barcelona Space. The theme for its participation at the congress will be “Barcelona, where connectivity flourishes”.

“Barcelona, as a leading international hub for technology and science, will play a key role at both MWC and, specifically, the Talent Arena, where we will host talks, round-table discussions, training sessions and even after-work events,” says Jordi Valls, Barcelona City Council’s Deputy Mayor for the Economy, Treasury, Economic Promotion and Tourism. “MWC’s presence in Barcelona has fostered a thriving digital and technological business ecosystem. Now is the time to also focus on training and the professional development opportunities this ecosystem offers the city so that we can also lead in talent generation and retention.”

The Welcome Barcelona Space at the Talent Arena will include a forty-seat auditorium where a variety of presentations will be held throughout the event. The city will also host talks on the future of microchips (“Hardware Meets Software: SW Development for Microchips”), digital health (“Coding for Care: AI-driven SW Development in Digital Health”) and quantum computing (“Quantum SW Development: Hype or Reality?”). Additionally, the City Council will have a space at the Talent Arena for the Barcelona International Welcome Desk, a municipal service for assisting international talent.

Also present at the event will be IT Academy, Barcelona Activa’s public bootcamp that prepares students for careers in web development and big data; 42 Barcelona, a Fundación Telefónica project in collaboration with Barcelona City Council and the Government of Catalonia, which trains students in programming through an innovative methodology; and XTalento, a pilot programme led by Fundación ONCE and Barcelona City Council that provides digital training for people with disabilities.

Overall, the Talent Arena, an open-access space, will bring together more than two hundred expert speakers who will share their insights on the evolution of technology and innovation. Notable participants will include Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak; former world chess champion and AI advocate Garry Kasparov; open-source expert and former Microsoft Azure Office employee Sarah Novotny; Meta’s head of AI Cristian Canton; and former senior developer engineer at SpaceX, Blue Origin and Starlink Lauren Lyon.

Fourth edition of BEAT BARCELONA

This year’s MWC marks the fourth edition of BEAT BARCELONA, an initiative led by Barcelona City Council, GSMA and Mobile World Capital Barcelona, which has established itself as the congress’ official after-work space. Open to all MWC25, 4YFN and Talent Arena participants, this year’s BEAT BARCELONA will offer a mix of content, networking opportunities and food reflecting Barcelona’s unique character and global positioning.

The space will showcase and highlight the city’s assets, contributing to its economic promotion. Set in an outdoor area spanning 1,600 m², BEAT BARCELONA will be located in the inner gardens of Hall 8, at the entrance to 4YFN within the Gran Via Fair venue.

Tagged as “The place to B”, BEAT BARCELONA offers a space to learn about trends, innovation and Barcelona’s business network in a more relaxed setting.

The space will feature an agora area, which will hold an ongoing programme of events organised by Barcelona City Council and MWC, with a seating capacity of around forty people.  The agora will host sessions on topics such as audiovisual robotics, the blue economy, the roll-out of 5G in the city, deep tech and quantum technologies, among others. All agora talks will include a transcription service to enhance accessibility. The floral design of the space was created by the Bon Pastor Vocational Training Institute for Environmental Studies. The venue will also feature an International Welcome Desk and will host a session on investment attraction.

BEAT BARCELONA will also include a DJ area, workspaces, networking zones and a city information point. The space will host a daily music programme carefully curated by the Association of Concert Venues of Catalonia (ASACC), with a line-up blending global sounds with local rhythms and featuring renowned local DJs who regularly perform at some of Barcelona’s top music venues, such as Razzmatazz, Laut, Apolo, Marula, Taro, Salvadiscos, Freedonia and Garage 442. Among the DJs taking the stage at BEAT BARCELONA will be Sama Yax, Spacer, Ivan Ivanovich, Kosmos, Dirtilarita and Armela.

In addition, the space will feature an area with ongoing live culinary demonstrations to showcase Barcelona’s food culture, with a focus on both local ingredients and high-quality cuisine. The venue will offer fair, locally sourced food.

Barcelona Activa to support 35 start-ups at 4YFN

MWC25 will also host the eleventh edition of 4YFN (Four Years From Now), the leading event within the start-up ecosystem, designed to drive new projects through networking, visibility and investment opportunities.   The City Council, through Barcelona Activa, will once again have a stand at the event, this year with the theme “Barcelona, where start-ups flourish”. The stand will focus on entrepreneurship, with a particular emphasis on access to different funding models, deep tech and health start-ups and user experience as a key to success.

The 200 m² stand will feature an agora, spaces for the UX Lab, the Barcelona International Welcome Desk and a showroom with innovative projects from three start-ups connected to Barcelona Activa: Kaybotic, Nixi for Children and Union Avatars.

Barcelona Activa will also support 32 additional start-ups at the congress, within the Village Space.  Through these initiatives, Barcelona City Council is further strengthening its position at 4YFN as a key partner for tech and deep tech start-ups, particularly in their early stages.

Also participating at 4YFN will be the Catalonia Health Innovation Ecosystem Pavilion. Led by Biocat, ACCIÓ – the Government of Catalonia’s business competitiveness agency – and Tic Salut Social, this dedicated space will provide companies in the BioRegion with a chance to boost their visibility. A total of 16 start-ups will take part in this initiative.