Budapest is bidding to be World Book Capital for 2023. If supported by organisers UNESCO, the Hungarian capital will host this year-round event on the 150th anniversary of the unification of Pest, Buda and Óbuda.
After Kuala Lumpur and Tbilisi, in 2023 Budapest is aiming to become World Book Capital. The title also carries cultural and tourist significance – the aim is for this annual event to support both the book industry and cultural tourism.
Every year since 2001, UNESCO has selected a city to be World Book Capital for 12 months from April to March. The last two European ones were Wrocław (2016) and Athens (2018). The current book capital in 2020 is Kuala Lumpur, and in 2021 it will be Tbilisi. In 2023, the rotation of global regions should once again come back round to Europe.
If Budapest were to win the bid, alongside already established book weeks and festivals, many smaller, free literary and promotional events would be set up around the city.
In recent years, countless literary discussions, quizzes, salons, meet-the-writer sessions and Q&As have taken place in Budapest. Thanks to this, a love of reading is still deep-rooted in many people who may otherwise not be engaged in the arts.
Here, it’s still cool to read a book on the bus, the metro or the tram. At the same time, it's still a serious problem that many in Hungary cannot afford to buy the latest publications, often priced at 4-5,000 forints in bookstores. UNESCO expects cities bidding to be World Book Capital to see a long-term positive impact on participating partners and society.
The application is being put together by a professional panel, and discussions began during the spring quarantine, when libraries in the capital were closed.
“A love of books, the beautiful tradition of visiting libraries, learning to read – these may be the focus for World Book Capital year,” says Dr Péter Fodor, head of the committee preparing the application.
