What will be the fate of the 52nd Cairo International Book Fair?

CAIRO – 31 May 2021: The fate of the 52nd Cairo International Book Fair, previously scheduled to be held at Egypt’s International Exhibitions Center in the Fifth Settlement from June 30 to July 15, is yet to be decided, as the Higher Committee of the book fair has not taken a decision regarding whether or not to hold it.

The Supreme Committee was scheduled to take the final decision on the fate of the book fair on May 30, after discussing the latest developments in the health measures taken by the Egyptian government, and the extent to which the Egypt International Exhibitions Center is prepared to host the exhibition.

However, the resolution meeting was postponed to June 1, to decide on the possibility of holding the exhibition and to discuss various scenarios.

Three scenarios are expected for the fate of the 52nd Cairo International Book Fair.

The first scenario is to hold the exhibition normally and with its full capacity, but this scenario seems difficult to implement at the present time, especially in light of the ongoing global pandemic and the strict government measures imposed on the cultural and artistic gatherings and events.

The second scenario, the most likely to be implemented so far, is the partial establishment of the book fair, where the various events (seminars and evenings) are set to be held online with the permission of the sale movement only, and with full control on the number of visitors to the book fair. As part of this scenario, it is possible a specific time for visits will be set in order to prevent over-crowding in the exhibition halls.

The third scenario is the cancellation of the current edition, and holding it next January [the original date of book fair], in light of the difficulty to hold the exhibition in its natural form, especially since the Cairo International Book Fair is the most popular book fair in the world, visited by at least 4 million visitors annually.

Given the blurry image posed by the global pandemic, nobody can predict the fate of the book fair. The Supreme Committee will have the final say on June 1.