Photos: The world's biggest mobile shindig

Delegates arrive for the first day of the world's biggest mobile phone trade show, Mobile World Congress, which took place at the Fira exhibition ground in Barcelona last week.

According to industry body the GSMA, which hosts the show, more than 47,000 people walked through the gates this year - a figure that is several thousand down on last year and smaller than 2006 when the Fira saw more than 50,000 visitors for MWC. Not a keynote speech passed without reference to the worldwide economic downturn and the challenges it poses to the industry.

Photo credit: Natasha Lomas/silicon.com