LONDON, Jan. 5, 2011 -- The GSMA today announced that Duffy, the Grammy and Brit Award-winning singer/songwriter behind the multi-platinum album "Rockferry" and brand new album "Endlessly", is to perform at the Mobile World Congress Party and Awards Celebration on Tuesday 15 February 2011in Barcelona. The Congress Party and Awards Celebration is being sponsored by telecommunications leader the Qtel Group, which has operations across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.

The Global Mobile Awards 2011 will be presented in a two-part ceremony, with the main body of awards presented as part of the Mobile World Congress conference programme on Tuesday afternoon, and with select awards including the "Best Mobile Device" and the "Global Mobile App Awards" being presented at the evening Congress Party and Awards Celebration.  

Honouring excellence and innovation in mobile communications worldwide, the mobile industry's leading annual awards also include categories for "Best Marketing and Advertising", "Best Mobile Innovation", "Best Mobile Enterprise Product or Solution", "Best Technology", the "Green Mobile Award", "Best Mobile Contribution to Social and Economic Development", the "Government Leadership Award" and the annual "Chairman's Award" for outstanding contribution to the industry.

Welsh singer-songwriter Duffy's 2008 debut album "Rockferry" entered the UK Album Chart at number one and reached number one across Europe. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold. The album was certified as platinum several times and sold more than 6.5 million copies worldwide, spawning the hits "Mercy" and "Warwick Avenue".  With "Mercy", Duffy became the first Welsh female in 25 years to achieve the number-one position on the UK Singles Chart. In 2009, she won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for "Rockferry", and she was nominated for two other Grammy awards. In 2009, she won three Brit Awards: British Breakthrough, Best Female Solo and Best British Album. Duffy has just completed recording and released her second album "Endlessly" and made her acting debut in the film "Patagonia".

The afternoon awards presentation is open to all Mobile World Congress Platinum and Gold Pass conference attendees as well as Global Mobile Awards ticket holders, Global Mobile Awards nominees and all accredited press attending Mobile World Congress. Tickets for the Congress Party and Awards Celebration are on sale now at the online registration point for the Mobile World Congress, which you can access via www.mobileworldcongress.com/registration.

In addition to the Qtel Group, other Global Mobile Awards sponsors include: Huawei (Platinum Awards Sponsor); the Government of Catalonia (Global Mobile App Awards Sponsor and Host Sponsor); and Myriad (Best Mobile Device category).  Entries for the 2011 Global Mobile Awards are now closed, and the shortlisted nominees will be announced in January 2011. More information on the awards can be found at www.globalmobileawards.com.

About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile communications industry.
For more information, please visit Mobile World Live, the new online portal for the mobile communications industry, at www.mobileworldlive.com or the GSMA corporate website at www.gsmworld.com.