The 31,735 trade-visitor attendance numbers organizers are releasing show a 10-percent jump over 2023 statistics
For those international publishing professionals and associated exhibitors who have spent the week in Bologna insisting that there were more people in the halls than in past years, it’s welcome news that 31,735 trade visitors took part during the four days of the trade show—up from 28,894 last year.
Programming featured 386 events from the Bologna’s Children’s Book Fair (BCBF) itself and more than 220 additional events organized by exhibitors, both on site and in other parts of the city.
In a statement on the news of the numbers, Gianpiero Calzolari, chairman of BolognaFiere, said, “We are particularly satisfied with the success of this edition of the fair—a reward for the work carried out throughout the year and confirmation that Bologna stands at the center of the world publishing market.”
BCBF opened Monday with Angola, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Cameroon, Colombia, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Monaco, Moldova, Paraguay, the Philippines, Togo, and Uganda in place for the first time.
The show also drew praise, organizers say, for press and blog coverage with page views reportedly reaching more than 2 million over the past year, from more than 190 countries, and journalists from more than 40 countries attended the event.
Emphasis this evening is being put by the show’s producers on the fact that the combination of the core trade show and its “brand extension” parallel presentations—Bologna Book Plus and the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids—work often together as both promoters and showcases for content and its development across the length of the supply chain.
More coverage is to come from many of the news media that were in town for the week.
The 62nd edition of Bologna Children’s Book Fair is scheduled to take place from March 31 and April 3. Estonia will be the guest of honor market.
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