12 February 2020 was the darkest day in the history of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the most important trade fair in the mobile technology industry. The coronavirus was still a distant issue for Catalans, and many found hard to understand the cancellation rumours flying around Mobile. When some companies began to announce that they would not be attending, it was even said that it was in response to a supposed boycott by Chinese companies, which dominated the Barcelona event. In the end, the event's organiser, the GSMA, decided to suspend Mobile. The CEO of GSMA, John Hoffman, appeared deeply affected and in some interviews he even cried.