After Guadalajara (Mexico) for the year 2022, then Accra (Ghana), in 2023, the city of Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) could well be named “world book capital” in 2024. This would be a first in France.
Indeed, until now, no French city has obtained this label created in 2001, and awarded by Unesco every summer. Strasbourg submitted its application to the organization on April 15, and recalled that the designated city “is committed to promoting books and reading in all its forms and at all ages of life”.
“a long and intense relationship with books”
The municipality indicated in a press release relayed by AFP that “it was during his stay in Strasbourg – dated from 1434 to 1444 – that Gutenberg developed the typographic system which was to give birth to the printing press”. She also underlined “the vitality of the book sector” in the city, with in particular 40 publishing houses, and “many cultural events”.
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Jeanne Barseghian, the mayor of Strasbourg, for her part affirmed that this candidacy is “driven by the breath of history and is the fruit of a long and intense relationship with books”. For the time being, we do not know which are the competing cities. The capital of Alsace has planned a budget of 4.5 million euros for this operation.
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