Search: null

85,000 strong record-breaking attendance at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress 2014

February 27, 2014 09:02 PM | Ben Ramage / Rurika Hashimoto / Neringa Sinkevi?i?t?

GSMA, the organisers of the Mobile World Congress, have announced on Thursday that more than 85,000 visitors from over 200 countries participated in this year’s event. The figure sets a new impressive attendance record with an overall increase of 18% on last year’s edition. Around 80,000 attendees participated at the Mobile World Congress at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venues and more than 5,000 visitors attended mPowered industries programme at Fira’s Montjuïc venues. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and IBM CEO Virginia Rometty delivered highly anticipated keynote speeches, while close to 1,800 international market leading companies presented their latest innovative products and services. In the Global Mobile Awards, the HTC One scooped top award of the Best Smartphone of the year, while Apple iPad was announced the Best Mobile Tablet. Wearable devices were also an exciting highlight of the 2014 MWC.

Spanish Parliament “supports” Rajoy using “all the measures allowed in the legal framework” to keep Spain’s unity

February 27, 2014 08:56 PM | ACN

The Spanish Parliament has approved a motion that “supports” the Spanish Government using “all the measures that the legal framework allowed to keep the unity of Spain, as a nation of free and equal citizens only subject to the rule of Law”. The motion has been filed by the People’s Party (PP), which holds an absolute majority and runs the Spanish Government. Spain’s nationalist and populist party UPyD abstained, as well as the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), including the MPs from the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC). Article 8 of the Spanish Constitution, negotiated between democracy supporters and members of the Franco Dictatorship, reads: “the Armed Forces […] have the mission to guarantee Spain’s sovereignty and independence, defending its territorial integrity and the Constitutional order”.

Grífols’ profits up 35% in 2013 to reach over €345 million

February 27, 2014 08:37 PM | ACN

The profits of Catalan pharmaceutical company Grífols in 2013 grew by 34.6% over the previous year, reaching €345.6 million, as reported by the multinational to the Spanish Stock Exchange Regulation Authority (CNMV). The turnover of the company, based in Greater Barcelona, amounted to €2.75 billion, representing a 4.6% increase on 2012 figures. The geographical expansion of the pharmaceutical company has helped mitigating the effects of volatility in currencies, especially between the euro and the dollar. The Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) grew by 9.6% compared to 2012 and stood at €864.6 million, driven by an increase in the sales of plasma proteins and the optimization of the expenses for raw materials and manufacturing.

Catalan Public Diplomacy Council promotes the projection of civil society organisations abroad

February 27, 2014 08:34 PM | ACN

The Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (Diplocat) has launched its first call for applications for ‘Grants for the International Projection of Catalan Civil Society Organisations’, designed to cover the participation costs of such organisations in international meetings. The grants will be managed by the Federation of Internationally Recognized Catalan Organisations (FOCIR) and applications can be submitted until the 27th of March. The Secretary General of Diplocat, Albert Royo, detailed the call on Wednesday evening. He stressed that activities aimed towards international public opinion could have a significant impact on presenting Catalonia to the world.

FC Barcelona Board calls for a referendum on April 5 on the stadium’s renovation

February 27, 2014 08:21 PM | ACN

The Board of Directors of FC Barcelona have called for a referendum, which will take place on April 5, to decide on the stadium’s renovation plan. Members of the Catalan sports club will vote on the Board’s project that includes a full renovation of the current stadium, the construction of a new Palau Blaugrana and the so-called Espai Barça. The initiative foresees adding a commercial ‘surname’ to the Camp Nou stadium in order to obtain additional revenue. The Board has issued the full details of the regulations governing the procedure for voting on the proposed project.

Wearable devices, stars of the 2014 Mobile World Congress

February 27, 2014 07:55 PM | Rurika Hashimoto

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) has been held in Barcelona from the 24th to the 27th of February. All the halls have been filled with excitement as international competitive exhibitors showed their latest products and growing trends in the mobile phone industry. This year, ‘wearable devices’ received world-wide attention. Samsung showcased the newest smartwatches called ‘Gear 2’ and ‘Gear 2 Neo’, and also its cutting-edge smartband called ‘Gear Fit’. Sony also released its latest smartband, called ‘Core’. Other companies such as Motorola, which announced at the MWC it was going to launch a new smartwatch, are about to join this emergent part of the industry.

Spanish Parliament rejects motions urging Rajoy to stop his no-to-everything stance on Catalan claims

February 27, 2014 03:06 PM | ACN

Catalan parties have filed several motions requesting the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to make a move regarding Catalonia’s self-determination and abandon his frontal opposition attitude. “React now before it’s too late”, the Spokesperson of the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU), which runs the Catalan Government told Rajoy. The Left-Wing Catalan Independence Party (ERC) was asking the Spanish Government to negotiate the terms for holding a self-determination referendum in Catalonia. The Catalan Green Socialist and Post-Communist Coalition (ICV-EUiA) was asking Rajoy to transfer the powers to organise referendums to the Catalan Government, using Article 150.2 of the Constitution. Meanwhile, the Spanish and Catalan Socialists are proposing a revision of Spain’s territorial model. Rajoy rejected all the motions.

Innovative Catalan Apps shine at Mobile World Congress’ App Planet

February 26, 2014 09:59 PM | Ben Ramage

The App Planet at the Mobile World Congress is one of the biggest app events in the world, and the Catalan App companies have taken full advantage of the opportunity to showcase their latest products. Not only this, several Catalan App companies have come together to form the group ‘Catalunya Apps’, in which big and small companies alike have joined in order to survive and compete on the global stage. ‘InQBarna’ had extraordinary success since last year with their Music based app; they have had 700,000 downloads and Apple named the best music app in 2013. Inqbarna isn’t the only large company to commit to ‘Catalunya Apps’; Sixtemia, founded 5 years ago, is on board as well.

Abertis’ turnover increased by 25% in 2013 to reach €4.65 billion

February 26, 2014 09:34 PM | ACN

The profits of Barcelona-based Abertis, a world leader in the toll road management sector, dropped by 39.8% in 2013 compared to 2012 figures. However, the company emphasised that both years are “not comparable” since profits were particularly high in 2012 due to the capital gains from selling corporate shares. If those operations were not taken into account, the recurring profit would have indicated a 6.5% growth. However, the Catalan multinational’s net profit amounted to €617 million in 2013, as opposed to the €1.02 billion reached in the previous year, as reported to the Spanish Stock Exchange Regulation Authority (CNMV) on Wednesday. Abertis’ EBITDA was set at €2.92 billion, representing an increase of 23.6% while the turnover increased by 25% to reach €4.65 billion.

New ‘Digital 4C’ conference to reflect on digital cultural production and consumption

February 26, 2014 09:21 PM | ACN

Coinciding with the Mobile World Congress, the Catalan Ministry of Culture has organised the conference ‘Digital 4C’, which aims at “providing answers” to questions about digital contents and “bring closer” the world of technology and culture. The EBook, music, the audiovisual sector and video games will be the main topics of discussion among professionals through seminars, roundtables, conferences and meeting points to exchange about past experiences and new initiatives. Barcelona holds such an event as part of the Mobile World Capital project, a title the city was awarded until at least 2018 in order to act as the main international platform for the mobile-related industry. ‘Digital 4C’will be held at the Arts Santa Mònica Centre on the 27th and 28th of February, overlapping with the Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest fair in the sector which ends this Thursday.

Spanish Deputy Minister for the EU told Commissioner Reding “what is going on in this country”

February 26, 2014 08:56 PM | ACN

The Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy disclosed on Tuesday evening that the Spanish Deputy Minister for EU Affairs, Iñigo Méndez de Vigo had travelled to Barcelona on Sunday “to talk with” Viviane Reding and tell her “what is going on in this country”. Méndez de Vigo’s trip was decided after the European Commission Vice President had publicly called on Catalan and Spanish authorities to negotiate “without red-lines” to solve the conflict. Rajoy also said that he had spoken about Catalonia with the European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, “and many other political leaders”. The Catalan Government’s Spokesperson, Francesc Homs, ironically stated that  the Spanish Foreign Affairs Ministry is putting “so much pressure […] for us not to be received anywhere [to talk about self-determination] that in the end [this attitude] opens doors for us”.

HTC, Nokia and Apple come out on top of the 2014 Global Mobile Awards

February 26, 2014 07:30 PM | Neringa Sinkevi?i?t?

The winners of the 19th Global Mobile Awards were announced on Tuesday afternoon, in a ceremony held at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The prizes recognize the most innovative mobile products, apps, services and initiatives from all over the world. More than 175 international industry experts, analysts, journalists and academics were involved in the judging process.In the category of the Best Mobile Handsets and Devices, the HTC One scooped top award of the Best Smartphone, defeating other nominees such as Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Apple iPhone 5S.The Apple iPad Air was announced as Best Mobile Tablet. Nokia was a runaway winner having received awards in two different categories. The Catalan Government was also honoured for the educational mSchools project. The award ceremony was hosted by British comedian James Corden.

Asian artists sweep up at the 2014 Figueres International Circus Festival

February 26, 2014 05:55 PM | Carolina Pons

The third Festival Internacional del Circ de Figueres held its final gala on Monday evening with 13 performances on show. The winners of the Golden Elephant were a Chinese juggler, Kai Cao, and two more Asian groups, the Chinese Flag Circus and the North Korean National Circus of Pyongyang. The Critics Jury and a Jury dedicated to the image of the performances awarded prizes to two Chilean artists, the contortionist Catalina Pala and the clown Pastelito. This year, more than 28,000 spectators attended the festival, double the attendance of the first year.

World’s largest cruise ship to be based in Barcelona and offer 25 routes in 2015

February 25, 2014 08:50 PM | ACN

The ‘Allure of the Seas’, which is currently the largest cruise ship in the world, will operate from 2015 onwards from the Port of Barcelona. Next year, it will offer 25 different routes from or to the Catalan capital. For each trip, the ‘Allure of the Seas’, which belongs to Royal Caribbean, welcomes 6,318 passengers on board. Due to the considerable size of the boat - 361 meters long - passengers will access and exit the facilities through two terminals of Barcelona’s Harbour. Royal Caribbean stated that the 158,000 passengers expected to travel on all 25 routes will bring €17.5 million to Barcelona’s local economy each year. It will be the first time the ‘Allure of the Seas’, which currently operates in the Caribbean, will drop anchor in a European harbour.

Catalan companies present their products worldwide at the Mobile World Congress

February 25, 2014 08:30 PM | ACN

A total of 53 companies are present at the ‘Catalonia’ stand that the Catalan Government has set up at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), for “established companies with international sales to newly-created start-ups”. Larger Catalan companies already dispose of their own stand at the MWC, the world’s largest fair in the mobile phone industry, which was launched on Monday in Barcelona for the 9th consecutive year. Joan Tarradellas, CEO of the public business innovation agency ACCIÓ, highlighted the heterogeneity of the companies present at the ‘Catalonia’ stand, which work on different fields, from developing applications for the biomedical sector to dealing with social networks, urban mobility or ‘smart cities’.