It’s official, Strasbourg will become the world capital of books in 2024. Unesco announced this Wednesday morning. It is the first French city to win this title. 10 cities were in the running for this edition: Amman (Jordan), Havana (Cuba), Iasi (Romania), Obidos (Portugal), Plovdiv (Bulgaria), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Salamanca (Spain), Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria).
First distinguished French city
Unesco says it is impressed by “Strasbourg’s emphasis on books as a means of meeting the challenges of social cohesion and climate change, with programs such as “Reading for the planet“. Strasbourg is also 59 libraries, including the second largest in France, 25 bookstores, 40 publishing houses. It was also during a trip to Strasbourg that Gutenberg developed the system that would give birth to the printing press.
The year of celebrations will begin April 23, 2024, on World Book and Copyright Day. Strasbourg promises more than 200 actions around reading. The budget for the event is set at 4.5 million euros.