Celebrating 52 Years: Cairo’s International Book Fair Opens to the Public Today

After its inauguration on Wednesday 30 June by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly alongside the Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem, the Cairo International Book Fair opens today Thursday 1 July to the public.

Its aim is to welcome 100,000 visitors daily, at Egypt’s International Exhibition Center (EIEC).

This year’s edition of the book fair launches its digital platform through which visitors can reserve their tickets, free of charge, and know all about the fair’s cultural programs, publishers, and where booths are located.

According to Ahram Online, each visitor is allowed to book four tickets online to their registered number.

The General Egyptian Book Organization (GEBO) specified the working hours of the Book Fair to be from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM and on Fridays from 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM till 15 July.

GEBO also offers visitors, this year, a WhatsApp number through which visitors can arrange group trips from different governorates to facilitate their commute to the book fair from 10:00 AM till 6:00 PM.

Taking into consideration the coronavirus safety measures, the fair is set to be in four grand halls where each booth does not exceed 18,600 square meters in order to allow visitors to practice social distancing. The fair also cancelled any book signings in order to avoid potential crowds.

This year’s edition features 1,218 publishers from different countries, mostly Arabs. Additionally, 25 countries are participating in this year’s book fair including Palestine, Eritrea, Japan, Kuwait, the United States, Iraq, Russia, Spain, among other countries.

Visitors will only be allowed to enter after checking their temperature on the gate while wearing their masks.

The International Cairo Book Fair is the largest and oldest book fair in the Arab world, usually held in the last week of January of each year. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s book fair was postponed until 30 June. Visitors have the chance to browse through booths of different publishers and writers to buy  discounted books from inside and outside Egypt.

Featured Image Source: Shafaf