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Barcelona’s City Council has launched idBCN, a mobile application that allows citizens to make themselves identified through their cell phone. This new digital identification system is a world pioneer in this field and allows citizens to access all kinds of paperwork and online services in a legal and safe technological framework. The initiative follows a series of actions promoting Barcelona’s current status as the Mobile World Capital, while also stressing the city’s commitment to becoming a leader in the world of ‘smart cities’, new technologies and mobility sectors.

Barcelona has hosted the CitiSense forum on smart cities on the 17^th and the 18^th of November. Over 250 mayors and representatives from a hundred different countries have shared their knowledge and experience on smart cities, open innovation, energy savings and efficient mobility with 69 experts. Barcelona was chosen because it serves as a laboratory for both innovation and knowledge and also for its proud history among smart cities. By organising this forum, the World Bank was hopeful that other cities with a margin of “smart” growth would take advantage of the experience of more advanced cities in this area such as Barcelona. The CitiSense forum was intentionally launched simultaneously with the Smart City Expo, which takes place in Barcelona and aims at promoting internationally methods and projects in this field.

Emin Capital will buy Barcelona’s Torre Agbar, designed by Jean Nouvel, for €150 million. North-American Hyatt will invest a further €35 million to transform the 145-metre-tall building into one of its grand luxe hotels. Grand Hyatt hotels – the US company’s luxury brand – tend to occupy iconic buildings in the world’s main business cities. The Agbar Tower has become one of the most emblematic buildings of the Catalan capital, with its blue and red lightening and bullet shape imitating a flame. Nouvel’s tower was unveiled in 2005 to host the main headquarters of the water distribution multinational Agbar. The Catalan multinational, which owns the 50,000-square-metre tower, will now look for another building in Barcelona to place the 700 people working in its central offices.

The founder and CEO of technology company GFT announced that they will create 500 new jobs in Catalonia in the coming years. In an exclusive interview with the CNA, Ulrich Dietz, stated that he has “aggressive plans to increase the staff” in Greater Barcelona and Lleida. GFT  specialises in developing technological solutions for the banking and insurance sectors, with a turnover of €231 million in 2012. With several offices in Germany, the company is based in Stuttgart and is present in Brazil, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, US and UK. A quarter of GFT employees throughout the world are based in Catalonia. Most of them work in Greater Barcelona, which is the company’s “hub” for the European market. Dietz explained that he has plans to develop Lleida’s facilities, which currently employ 40 people, “significantly”.

Telefónica’s R&D centre in Barcelona’s 22@ technological district will lead the company’s innovation internationally and will significantly increase its staff numbers, which currently stands at 220 workers. The decision strengthens Barcelona’s position as the Mobile World Capital, as it already hosts the main event of the mobile technology industry at an international level. In total, Telefónica has 6 R&D centres spread throughout the world. Besides Barcelona, the company’s innovation centres are based in Silicon Valley, Sao Paulo, London, Tel Aviv and Madrid. The Barcelona centre is now celebrating its 10th anniversary. In the last decade, Telefónica has invested up to €200 million in its Catalan centre, €28 million of which was in 2012.

The Spanish Airport Authority (AENA), which owns and manages Barcelona El Prat Airport, has issued the tender to allocate the construction and management of a golf course located between the sea beach and the airfield’s third runway for 30 years. The golf course will be 175,000 square meters and have 9 holes. It will be for the passengers’ use, mostly those who are transferring through El Prat Airport. It should be operational by summer 2014, profiting from some of the infrastructure of a previously existing golf course. The project will come with restaurants and shops, as well as rooms for relaxing or holding meetings. Furthermore, in the future a beach club might also be built. The aim is to raise Barcelona Airport’s attractiveness as an international hub connecting short- and medium-distance flights with intercontinental ones.

The world’s main event of the mobile technology industry, which takes place in Barcelona every year, ended on Thursday. This year’s event broke all records, going beyond all expectations. This was the 8th consecutive year the event has been organised in Barcelona, and this year the GSMA Mobile World Congress moved to a new venue in Fira de Barcelona, which has a much larger capacity. “We are very happy with the record results for the 2013 MWC in our first year in Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue”, stated John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA, which organises the congress. Over the four days, senior executives of the world’s main companies of this industry gathered in the Catalan capital. It had an impact of more than €320 million for the local economy.

This week the GSMA Mobile World Congress is in full swing in Barcelona. From the 25th to the 28th of February the MWC has opened its gates to more than 70,000 participants. On Tuesday, the 18th edition of Global Mobile Awards took place in the Catalan capital. The Android system and software was acclaimed for its role in the current mobile technology and in this regard the Samsung Galaxy S III won best Smartphone and Nexus 7 the best Tablet. 32 prices in six different categories were awarded to advances in mobile technology of several companies.

The GSMA Mobile World Congress, the main international trade fair and congress for cell-phone-related industries, is being held in the Catalan capital from Monday the 25th of February until Thursday the 28th. 70,000 attendees, half of which are senior executives from 200 different countries, are coming to Barcelona to develop new business opportunities and discover the sector’s novelties. With 94,000 square metres of exhibition space, 1,500 participating companies and 300 speakers, the 2013 MWC will break all previous records, and it will be the 8th consecutive year it has been organised in Barcelona. In addition, Barcelona will unveil its new Mobile World Hub by June, aiming to become the world capital of the mobile industries in its own right.

The platform, which is aiming to become one of the world’s main hubs for companies working within the mobile and cell phone-related industry, will start its activities in the Catalan capital in June. The Mobile World Hub aims “to transform Barcelona and Catalonia into the best mobile framework” to enhance entrepreneurship, develop business projects, attract talent, create knowledge and become one of the main world centres of the mobile industry. In addition, it will also work to make of Barcelona an international lighthouse hosting the regulation and standardization bodies for the mobile industry. The Mobile World Hub will be located in the MediaTIC Building, a high-tech venue in the Catalan capital’s Poblenou neighbourhood. The announcement comes five days before the Mobile World Congress kicks off.

Barcelona plays host each year to the world’s largest cell phone-related technology event, the Mobile World Congress, and the Catalan city is becoming an international hub in this field, concentrating several platforms, business initiatives and cultural projects. In fact, Barcelona was declared the Mobile World Capital, in order to act as a global meeting point and platform for mobile related industry. The Mobile World Centre was unveiled on Thursday in Catalunya Square, in the heart of the city, and will become a permanent lighthouse for mobile technology. It will display human stories of how this technology can help in everyday life, explaining the latest developments and also the history of this industry.

From the 28th to the 31st of January, Barcelona became the capital of the fashion world as the eleventh edition of 080 Barcelona Fashion took place in the brand new DHUB building, the city’s new museum and professional centre for design. For four days, companies, independent designers and young fashion promises met on the Barcelonan catwalk.

The world’s main event showcasing cell phone and mobile technology, the Mobile World Congress, is starting the final countdown to open its doors in one month’s time in Barcelona, as it has been doing each year since 2006. In its 8th year in the Catalan capital, the MWC, which is organised by GSMA, will move from Montjuic to the Gran Via venue of Fira de Barcelona, in order to increase its space by 30%. Between, the 25th and 28th of February, this trade fair, expert conference and industry meeting point will host more than 70,000 visitors from 200 different countries, 300 speakers and 1,500 companies, 70 of which are Catalan. The congress will bring in more than €300 million to Barcelona’s economy and will create 6,500 temporary jobs.

A journey around the world through art. This is the aim of the new museum in Barcelona, the Museum of World Cultures, which will open its doors in June 2014 in two gothic palaces in front of the Picasso Museum. This new cultural offer in the capital of Catalonia will host art pieces from non-western collections of the Ethnological Museum of Barcelona and private collections, mainly from Folch’s collection which was given to the City Council in 2011. The Museum of World Cultures will display about 700 pieces from Asia, Africa, America and Oceania in permanent and temporary exhibitions. It will also host an educational area. The museum will occupy an area of 2,100 square meters and will cost approximately €5 million.

Emirates have announced they will link Barcelona with Dubai with a daily flight commencing in July. Furthermore, Spanair have announced connections with Beirut and Moscow, as well as more flights with Germany, France, Croatia and Serbia.