Leipzig Book Fair wants to fight for democratic values

The Leipzig Book Fair sees itself as a center for living democracy. "As a book fair, we explicitly focus on diversity," said the new director Astrid Böhmisch on Wednesday before the start of Germany's most important literary show after the Frankfurt Book Fair. "Freedom, democracy and diversity cannot be taken for granted, but are values that we have to fight for again and again."

The fair, which runs from Thursday to Sunday, is the first under the 49-year-old's leadership. Last year, long-time trade fair boss Oliver Zille surprisingly retired.

Compared to the previous year, the trade fair recorded a slight increase with 2085 exhibitors from 40 countries. According to the information provided, advance sales also indicate a positive trend in visitor numbers. Last year, 274,000 people came to the exhibition grounds.

In addition, the Leipzig Reads reading festival attracts visitors with 2800 events at 300 locations throughout the city. The Manga-Comic-Con has been held at the exhibition grounds for 10 years and the Antiquarian Book Fair for 30 years.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) was expected to attend the opening in the evening. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has announced that he will be taking a tour on Thursday and will then discuss the state of democracy with authors Ingo Schulze and Anne Rabe.

The Netherlands and Flanders will be presenting themselves as the guest country at this year's fair under the motto "Everything but flat". The guests are planning around 100 events with 41 authors.