Date announced for the Madrid Book Fair

May has always been a busy month packed with activities in Madrid. Basically, because the month includes the city’s two major fiestas: the regional one on 2 May and the city’s patron saint, San Isidro (the patron of farmers and agricultural workers), on 15 May.

Madrid Book Fair from 2 to 18 October 2020

We saw some spontaneous – and pretty inappropriate – celebrations in Malasaña on 2 May that attracted the attention of TV channels and the police given the situation. And then the typical boina hats and carnations were also seen during the San Isidro fiesta later in the month. Madrid is afraid of ending up without fiestas this year, because the famous La Paloma celebrations on 15 August will probably also be cancelled.

However, May is also a special month because it’s the prelude to the Book Fair, which always begins in the last few days and goes on into the first couple of weeks of June. This year, the Retiro Park was supposed to host this major event between 31 May and 16 June, but – like all other key events – it has been postponed.

Fortunately, there’s already a new date. The Madrid Book Fair will be held between 2 and 18 October, although the dates will be reconfirmed in September to make sure that there is no risk.

October wasn’t the only date mooted for staging the seventy-ninth edition of the event. At first, July was put forward, but seeing how things were evolving, the organisers thought that it would be better after the summer, when it’s also a bit cooler.

Bookstores have high expectations for this major event, as between World Book Day (23 April) and the Book Fair they make at least 30% of their annual revenue, so they need to get out of these lean times caused by the pandemic, especially taking into account that sales of almost ten million euros were generated during the Book Fair last year alone.

Sales may not increase in this year’s edition, but the lockdown has certainly served to boost people’s love of books and all the adventures that can be experienced without leaving home.

(Photo: Logo of the Book Fair – http://www.ferialibromadrid.com/feria-2020/)

Categories: Madrid Eventos