- The second edition of the event will bring to Barcelona leading figures such as Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web; Boston Dynamics researcher Kate Darling; Linux Foundation VP, Tim Serewicz; and DJ, producer and entrepreneur, Steve Aoki.
- The event expands its offering with the launch of the XPRO Zone, featuring advanced content for developers and ICT professionals.
- More than 200 talks, workshops and hackathons, this year, Talent Arena also introduces new areas dedicated to robotics and gaming.
Francesc Fajula, CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona, and John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA, during the presentation of Talent Arena 2026.
[Click here to access the press registration for Talent Arena 2026]
11/November/2025
Mobile World Capital Barcelona unveiled today the highlights of the second edition of Talent Arena, which will take place from 2 to 4 March 2026 in Hall 8 of Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuïc venue. Co-located with MWC26 Barcelona and 4YFN, Talent Arena stands out as Europe’s leading gathering for developers, this year, with new spaces, more professional content, and an expanded programme designed to boost the city’s digital talent ecosystem.
After attracting more than 20,000 visitors in its first edition, Talent Arena 2026 reaffirms its mission to connect talent, industry and training, driving professional growth and positioning Barcelona as a global hub for digital talent.
A key attraction of Talent Arena is its line-up of speakers, featuring over 200 sessions delivered by technology pioneers, industry leaders and tech experts from the world’s top tech companies. Headlining the 2026 edition are Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web; Kate Darling, researcher at the Boston Dynamics AI Institute; Tim Serewicz, Vice President of Education at the Linux Foundation; and Steve Aoki, DJ, producer and entrepreneur.
This year’s content offering is broader than ever, complemented by specialised spaces and additional activities such as 45 workshops and hackathons organised by leading global operators and institutions.
Francesc Fajula, CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona, affirmed: “Talent Arena is much more than an event; it’s a platform to drive the future of digital talent on a global scale. Barcelona has become a European benchmark for innovation and technology, and our goal is to continue connecting talent with the trends and opportunities transforming the industry.”
John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA Ltd., added: “After an outstanding first edition, we are delighted to play a part in bringing Talent Arena back next year. Talent Arena was born out of a desire to develop the next generation of digital talent – to identify, retrain, upskill and keep up with the rapid pace of change we see from digital technologies like AI – and I’m looking forward to seeing this mission realised again in 2026. I encourage all MWC and 4YFN attendees to visit Talent Arena and experience the buzz for themselves.”
The press conference also featured the participation of Jordi Valls, Deputy Mayor for Economy, Housing, Finance and Tourism at Barcelona City Council, who expressed his gratitude for the Talent Arena initiative, which aims to “continue making the presence of MWC in the city a collaborative space for shared learning” that keeps connecting people and experiences around technology — a key area for the city’s economy. “The generation of human capital in the digital field is strategically important to gain sovereignty, at a time when science and technology are decisive in the economic strength of nations,” Valls added.
Also taking part was Maria Galindo Garcia-Delgado, Secretary for Digital Policies of the Government of Catalonia, who stated that “Talent Arena is much more than a technological event: it is a national commitment. It brings together talent, industry and knowledge, and aligns with the objectives of the National Pact for Digital Talent to train, attract and retain professionals capable of driving Catalonia as the digital capital of southern Europe.”
Finally, the Government Delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto, highlighted the contribution of the Spanish Government to making Catalonia “one of the main drivers of the digital transformation of this country and also of Europe.” In this regard, Prieto underscored the nearly 1 billion euros that the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence has invested in Catalonia — 19% of the total for Spain — “in initiatives that, while improving people’s lives, foster innovation and place us at the forefront of the technological revolution.”
Talent Arena is an initiative by Mobile World Capital Barcelona, co-organised with GSMA and in collaboration with Barcelona City Council, the Government of Catalonia, and the Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service. The event also receives support from private-sector partners such as CaixaBank as Main Partner, Schneider Electric and SEIDOR as Event Sponsors.
Six topics shaping the digital future
The Talent Arena 2026 programme is structured around six key topics defining the industry’s future: artificial intelligence, software engineering, cloud computing, cybersecurity, management, and emerging technologies such as quantum computing and NewSpace.
Alongside the headlining speakers, the programme will also feature engineers, developers, CTOs and professionals from leading companies including Google, Microsoft, AWS, Red Hat, GitHub, Scopely, Figma and Spotify, offering exclusive insights into the latest trends and the direction of technology in the coming years.
It will also include well-known content creators and tech communicators such as Tim Roedenbroeker, technology and coding specialist; Adri Zip, digital content creator; and Marcia Villalba, technology educator — all of whom inspire and connect developer communities worldwide by sharing their experiences and new technologies.
What’s new in 2026: new spaces, new opportunities
This year’s edition introduces two complimentary activity areas, offering different ways to experience Talent Arena: the open area, an accessible and participatory space for all visitors, and the XPRO Zone, focused on advanced knowledge for developers and ICT professionals.
The XPRO Zone offers a specialised environment for learning, networking and professional development, combining co-working and meeting spaces with an exclusive programme of over 70 talks, 15 workshops and hackathons. Sessions will feature the latest tech tools, trends and insights, featuring experts such as Sarah Armstrong, former Chief Security Advisor at Microsoft; Matteo Bianchi, Engineer at GitHub; Bianca Cefalo, CEO and Co-founder of Space DOTS; Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, MIT physicist and pioneer in graphene research; and Sven Peters, Lead AI Evangelist at Atlassian.
A key highlight is the GSMA Open Gateway DevCon, the only place where developers can truly deep dive into the world of mobile network APIs and experience firsthand how to build apps that connect deeper, scale faster, and deliver smarter experiences. Also, the GSMA Open Gateway Hackathon sponsored by Nokia, returns after a successful edition in 2025 where developers built innovative solutions using mobile network APIs in real-world conditions, marking a milestone for the industry.
In addition, MWCapital, together with Barça Innovation Hub will host a Hackathon in the open space focused on training and stimulating large language models to develop virtual agents that assist in football match analysis. The hackathon will run for one week and culminate during Talent Arena.
Other new features open to all visitors include the Robotics Zone, where participants can get hands-on with cutting-edge technologies, and the Gaming Zone, which combines the latest video game and simulation trends with interactive, immersive experiences.
As in the previous edition, Talent Arena will offer tech experiences, as well as dedicated areas such as the Skills Hub, focused on HR and the development of key employability skills, and the Mentoring Zone, where visitors can receive personalised advice from experienced professionals. All attendees will, once again, be given access to MWC and 4YFN on Thursday 5th March – an ideal opportunity to gain direct exposure to the wider tech and startup ecosystem.
Barcelona, European capital of digital talent
With 130,000 ICT professionals — 30% of whom are international — digital talent already represents 6% of Barcelona’s workforce. Since 2018, the city has added 62,000 new tech professionals, consolidating the digital sector as a key driver of employment and one of the pillars of economic growth.
This momentum highlights the need to promote training, retention and the attraction of specialised talent. Within this context, Talent Arena has established itself as the leading platform for connecting talent and industry — a key event positioning Barcelona as Southern Europe’s digital hub, capable of meeting the growing demand for tech professionals and driving the future of the digital economy.
[Click here to access the press registration for Talent Arena 2026]
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