Although it is not marked on the Work calendar As a public holiday, April 23 is a holiday for many. Every year this day is celebrated, not only in Spain, but in much of the world to promote the enjoyment of books and reading. Book Day has traditionally been celebrated on this date because it was believed to coincide with the death of great writers like William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes. It is popularly considered that both died on April 23, but technically the Spanish writer died on April 22 and was buried the following day, while the English writer died on April 23 of the Julian calendar, which is equivalent to May 3 of the calendar Gregorian.
Even so, this day coincides with the birth or death of other writers important ones such as Josep Pla, William Wordsworth, Manuel Mejía Vallejo or Vladimir Nabokov.
The proposal to celebrate it in Spain was from the Valencian writer Vicente Clavel Andrés. He proposed it to the Official Book Chamber in Barcelona in 1923 and it was approved three years later. He October 7, 1926 the first Book Day was celebrated and four years later it was definitively moved to April 23, coinciding with the pattern of Catalonia. It is tradition, for example, give a book and a rose for the day of Sant Jordi (or San Jorge), two key elements in the celebration of this day in Catalonia and Aragon.
It was not until 1995 when it became an international party. It was proposed to UNESCO by the International Unit of Readers, with the aim of promoting culture and the protection of intellectual property. From that moment on April 23 became International Book Day. Today it is celebrated by millions of people in more than one hundred countries.
The Book Capital of the World, an annual initiative
In addition to the many celebrations that take place in different parts of the world, UNESCO and international organizations representing the three main sectors of the book industry – publishers, booksellers and libraries – select a city as world book capital, with the in order to maintain the momentum of the celebrations of this day until April 23 of the following year.
In 2023, the World Book Capital is Accra, the capital of Ghana, a city that proposed an extensive program aimed at marginal groups with high levels of illiteracy, such as young people, street children, migrants, women or people with disabilities. In 2024 will be the French city of Strasbourg the world capital of the book, after UNESCO applauded his initiative to put an emphasis on reading in order to open the debate on the environment. These have been all the world book capitals, since UNESCO began to choose them, in 2001, with Madrid being the first world book capital:
- Accra, Ghana (2023)
- Guadalajara, Mexico (2022)
- Tbilisi, Georgia (2021)
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2020)
- Sharjah, Dubai (2019)
- Athens, Greece (2018)
- Conakry, Guinea (2017)
- Wroclaw, Poland (2016)
- Incheon, South Korea(2015)
- Port Harcourt, Nigeria (2014)
- Bangkok, Thailand (2013)
- Yerevan, Armenia (2012)
- Buenos Aires, Argentina (2011)
- Ljubljana, Slovenia (2010)
- Beirut, Lebanon (2009)
- Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2010)
- Bogota, Colombia (2007)
- Turin, Italy (2006)
- Montreal, Canada (2005)
- Antwerp, Belgium (2004)
- New Delhi, India (2003)
- Alexandria, Egypt (2002)
- Madrid, Spain (2001)
Source: Lasexta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
