Ten years after being declared City of Literature by UNESCO in 2015, Barcelona has received yet another important recognition in that regard: the guest of honour at the 39th edition of the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL).

This is another significant milestone for the city, as FIL is one of the leading book fairs worldwide, the second largest for business turnover after the Frankfurt Book Fair. It is a meeting point for the cultural industry in the Spanish language, the most prominent cultural event in Ibero-America. Its literary festival, which is held during the nine days of the book fair, is the biggest in the world. Around 750 authors from 49 different countries come to participate, in addition to more than 2,000 publishers, and over 3,000 activities are organised. The presence of professionals is important with about 20,000 in attendance, but the participation of the public is possibly the most impressive: in 2024, it broke its own record with more than 900,000 visitors. Read more