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The region which attracted the fourth-most foreign investment in Europe in 2015 was Catalonia. According to the Financial Times’ FDi Markets report, the Catalan economy attracted €5.224 billion throughout 2015, the highest figure of the data series, which sets Catalonia as the leading region in the Western European area. The sector which attracted most foreign investment was ICT, which according to Catalan Ministry for Business and Knowledge, Jordi Baiget, proves the “traction effect” of the Mobile World Congress for the Catalan economy. Baiget explained this good result as being due to Catalonia’s geographic situation and the neighbouring markets, as well as to its qualified workforce and its solid, diversified and innovative business network. In March, the Financial Times report FDi European Cities and Regions of the future 2016/2017 recognised Barcelona as the best city in Europe for foreign investment.

Barcelona will continue to host each year the world's main event of the mobile phone-related industries until at least 2023, it has been confirmed by the company organising the Mobile World Congress, GSMA, on Tuesday through a press release. “We are very pleased to confirm that Barcelona will continue to serve as the Mobile World Capital and home of the Mobile World Congress for the next eight years”, stated the CEO of GSMA, John Hoffman. The Catalan capital has been uninterruptedly hosting this annual event since 2006 and has been declared the Mobile World Capital, as the project goes beyond the congress and involves the development of a business environment focused on this type of industry at international level. The current contract was due to end in 2018 and a few months ago Barcelona officially told GSMA it was willing to continue hosting the event until 2023.

Lombardy, Baden-Württemberg, Rhône-Alpes and Catalonia will work together to develop strategies to foster the Information and Communication Technology sector in both their own territories and at European level, in order to make the continent hold a leading position in this sector at world level. This has been the main conclusion of the main event of the current presidency of the Four Motors for Europe, which is a regional association formed in 1988 by the aforementioned 4 territories in order to develop common projects and lobby at European level. Catalonia currently holds the association's rotating presidency and has made the development of the ICT sector its main objective, particularly focusing on smart city and 4.0 technologies. Lombardy, Baden-Württemberg, Rhône-Alpes and Catalonia signed on Wednesday in Barcelona a shared declaration strengthening their commitment in this field.

Every party with representation in the 41-seat Barcelona City Council, except for one small party holding 3 seats, were present at the signing of the official proposal that will be sent to the Mobile World Congress' organisers in order to continue hosting the event until 2023. The MWC is the world's main event of the mobile phone-related industries and since 2006 has taken place each year in Barcelona. The current contract expires in 2018 and there are other cities that want to host the event besides the Catalan capital. The 2015 edition attracted 93,000 visitors in Barcelona, 9% more than in 2014. Most of those who attended were executives from international companies staying for 4 or 5 days in town. It was estimated that the 2015 edition had a €436 million impact on the local economy and generated more than 12,600 temporary jobs. Furthermore, Barcelona has been named the Mobile World Capital, a long-term project to make the Catalan city a hub for this industry, hosting standardisation organisations, multinationals and international research centres focused on related technologies.

Ada Colau, who leads the alternative left and green coalition Barcelona en Comú, is very likely to become the Catalan capital's next Mayor, with there not being enough ground on which to build an alternative majority. Colau won Sunday’s elections by obtaining 11 seats in the 41-seat City Council, just 1 seat more than the incumbent Mayor from the centre-right pro-Catalan State Coalition CiU, Xavier Trias. In the last days, the People's Party – which runs the Spanish Government – and some economic powers have been pressuring for the building of an alternative majority led by Trias. However, the essential parties involved do not support the idea. In order to facilitate her election, Colau has cleared up any doubt surrounding her fully supporting the continuing of the Mobile World Congress, the world's main event of the mobile phone-related industries, which will take place each year in Barcelona until 2018. Colau has validated the offer prepared by Trias' team to extend the organisation of the congress until at least 2023.

The 38^th edition of the Barcelona International Motor Show (SIAB) will be held between 9 and 17 May at the Montjuïc venue of the Catalan capital's trade fair. This year, the event will host at least 38 brands and others could be added in the following weeks. This is the biggest number since the economic crisis started. According to Mario Armero, ANFAC Executive Vice President, "the show coincides with a clear recovery of the sector, where 2-digit growth rates have been registered in sales, production and exports volumes". Organised by Fira de Barcelona, SIAB is the only motor show in Spain recognised by the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. The coming edition will also coincide with the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix, transforming the Catalan city into the world's motor capital for a few days.

Being the European capital of Circus Arts 5 days a year seems not to be enough for the Catalan city of Figueres (near the Costa Brava and the French border). On Monday, in a press conference that took place a week after the 4th edition of the city's International Circus Festival, Mayor Marta Felip and Festival Director Genís Matabosch announced a plan to become the Word Circus Capital by 2018. Figueres is already working on the project, which will coincide with the 250th anniversary of the arrival of the circus in Spain. A City of Circus is to be created, a very ambitious project that will host - among others draws - a museum, a high-performance centre for international artists and a permanent big top with a resident show every half-year.

The 2015 Mobile World Congress, which takes place each year in Barcelona, has shattered the records by hosting more than 93,000 visitors from 200 different countries, as reported by event organiser GSMA on Thursday, the last day of the trade fair. Thisyear’s attendance exceeded by 9% the figures recorded in 2014 and by 45% the number of people who visited the event during its first edition in 2006. The 2015 Mobile World Congress confirmed itself as the global platform for the cell-phone-related industries, where a large number of news and products were unveiled for the first time by world-class companies such as Samsung, HTC, Sony, Microsoft and Google. Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Sundar Pichai (Google) and Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia) were among this edition's main speakers.

This year at the Mobile World Congress one of the most discussed trends is the Internet of Things (IoT): everyday objects that are connected to the internet and which are able to control other machines. Although some of these implements do not yet have a direct application on the consumer market, the automobile sector is already selling vehicles with these functionalities. Smart cars can be controlled with a smartphone, for example, by creating a temporary digital key to access the car, and can also enable other devices in the home.

The Catalan companies on show at the Mobile World Congress this week not only include recently created start-ups. Some companies have been in the business for over 20 years with delegations in 19 countries, such as the registering operator Lleida.net. There are other projects on show which, although already active, have not been launched completely and are still in beta form, such as King of App, an open source app creator. Neither of them are based in Barcelona, but rather in Lleida in Western Catalonia. Most of the Catalan companies on show at the MWC are at one of the stands of the Catalan Government, which gives these companies space to promote their products either at the general exhibition or in the App Planet hall. But others such as Lleida.net set up their own stands.

On the second day of the Mobile World Congress, which is the largest event of the mobile industry and is currently being held in Barcelona, the GSMA announced the Global Mobile Award winners in more than 30 categories and Blackberry presented a new phone oriented towards the business sector. If Then This That won the Best Overall Prize in the app category and LG’s G3 and the iPhone 6 shared the Best Smartphone award. In the featured keynotes speech, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales remarked on the importance of minority languages on the internet. In addition, Wales presented his project to provide free access to Wikipedia in developing countries, following Monday's announcements by Google and Facebook to also provide internet access to the entire planet.

In a keynotes speech held at the 2015 Mobile World Congress, which is currently taking place in Barcelona, CEOs from network carriers such as Huawei, South Korea's KT and Orange have explained their vision for facilitating huge increases in speed and the number of connections supported by network carriers over the next five years. This new standard, which is being developed as a collaboration between the industry’s main actors, should be available for the upcoming 2018 and 2020 Winter and Summer Olympics and will substitute 4G. The Tokyo Olympics will be the first commercial test. The South Korean carrier KT will also undertake a test at the 2018 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Pyeongchang.

Dozens of Catalan companies are on show at the 2015 Mobile World Congress, which is taking place in Barcelona until Thursday. Many of them are gaining notable success in international markets. For instance, an innovative multi-functional grip for smartphones to take photos, which is made in Barcelona, is selling not only throughout Europe but also in the USA, Canada, Hong Kong and Thailand. This grip, called the ‘Shoulderprod’, is, at the same time, a tripod mount, a hand grip for best stability in videos and photos, and a versatile stand with different positions. The mobile, tablet and TV games company Digital Legends has been internationally successful too. Besides, the Aparca&go app changes the concept of finding a parking space, since the user searches on the map the car parks nearest to its destination and makes a reservation.

The new flagship phone from Samsung will come in two models, the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge, according to the announcement that the South Korean company made in Barcelona at the beginning of the Mobile World Congress, the largest annual event of the cell-phone-related industries. Microsoft debuted two new mid-range Lumia phones, the 640 and the 640 XL models, which include the new Windows 10. Google announced its intention to enter the carrier market, with a new approach that uses the existent carrier networks and innovative Wi-Fi projects. In addition, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg explained his project to bring the internet to developing countries and connect them through his social network.

The major players in the cell-phone-related industries such as Samsung, Sony, Microsoft and Google are currently presenting their new products in Barcelona, consolidating the city’s position as a true meeting point for the sector. For the 10^th consecutive year, the biggest event in the world of mobile industries kicked off in the Catalan capital on Monday. The 2015 Mobile World Congress, organised by GSMA, will be in Barcelona until Thursday, breaking all records during this time. 90,000 attendees are expected from 201 different countries, representing more than 2,000 companies distributed across more than 100,000 square metres at Fira de Barcelona's Gran Via venue. Furthermore, the event has raised the attention of the world's main media and trade publications, with more than 4,000 accredited journalists in attendance at this year’s edition. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Vice President, Sundar Pichai, were Monday's main speakers.