Talent Arena positions Barcelona as the capital of ICT professionals for businesses and institutions

• Institutional and business leaders highlight Barcelona’s key role in digital transformation and attracting tech talent.
• The delegation visited the venue and explored initiatives aimed at fostering digital talent, such as the GSMA Open Gateway Hackathon.
• Talent Arena is taking place at Fira de Barcelona (Montjuïc) until Wednesday, 5 March, bringing together over 200 international technology leaders, including Steve Wozniak, Cassie Kozyrkov, and Lauren Lyons.

04/March/2025

Talent Arena, Europe’s largest event dedicated to digital talent and driven by Mobile World Capital Barcelona, held its institutional inauguration this Tuesday. The delegation included Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona; María González Veracruz, Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence at the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration; Maria Galindo, Secretary for Digital Policies of the Government of Catalonia; Albert Tort, Secretary for Telecommunications and Digital Transformation of the Government of Catalonia; Jordi Valls, Fourth Deputy Mayor of Barcelona, responsible for Economy, Finance, Economic Promotion, and Tourism; David Francisco Blanco, Secretary-General of Red.es; Aleida Alcaide, Director-General of Artificial Intelligence at the Secretariat of State for Digitalisation and AI; Pau Relat, President of Fira de Barcelona; Constantí Serrallonga, CEO of Fira de Barcelona; along with GSMA Director John Hoffman; MWCapital CEO Francesc Fajula; and MWCapital’s Digital Talent Programme Director, Jordi Arrufí.

Institutional and business representatives attending the Talent Arena inauguration had the opportunity to explore initiatives that reinforce Barcelona’s position as a global capital for digital professionals. Among the key highlights of this first edition are the GSMA Open Gateway Hackathon, the mentoring programme connecting businesses with digital talent, and a packed conference agenda featuring over 200 national and international technology leaders, including Steve Wozniak, Cassie Kozyrkov, Lauren Lyons, Xavier Amatriain, Pilar Manchón, and Antonio Torralba, among others.

During the tour, attendees engaged with these initiatives and exchanged views with the companies and professionals participating in Talent Arena, all of whom are part of Barcelona’s thriving tech ecosystem. The delegation also met with the 180 developers who arrived this morning from Paris on a flight organised by MWCapital and Vueling, in an initiative linking two of Europe’s leading tech hubs.

With its inaugural edition, Talent Arena establishes itself as a key meeting point for digital professionals and tech companies, addressing one of the industry’s and Barcelona’s major challenges: securing the talent needed to support the continued growth of the ICT sector. In this regard, Francesc Fajula stated, “Talent Arena provides a crucial space for innovation and talent development, with Barcelona at its heart. We want institutional representatives to gain first-hand insight into the impact of the initiatives taking place here and strengthen our commitment to the sector’s growth.”