Frankfurt Book Fair returns as force for international understanding

The Frankfurt Book Fair opened on Tuesday with a call for togetherness in times of crisis, reported dpa.

"Presence helps against polarization," director Jürgen Boos said at the start of the book show, which is taking place again without social restrictions after two years of pandemic-related disruption.

Mapping social developments and tensions, he said, is one of the core tasks of the book industry and thus also of the fair.

This is the only way to counteract a poisoned debate culture, strengthen democratic discourse and give diversity a stage, he said.

The 74th Frankfurt Book Fair is being officially opened on Tuesday. Some 4,000 exhibitors from 95 countries are reportedly registered.

Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, head of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, described it on Tuesday as a "cultural event for international understanding."

Numerous debates, lectures and readings this week are expected to focus on current political issues such as the war in Ukraine and the situation in Iran and Afghanistan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to be online at an event on Thursday, while his wife Olena Zelenska is expected to be present at an online discussion on Saturday via the internet.

Also announced as guests for the coming days are Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, actress Diane Kruger and numerous authors from all over the world.

At the opening on Tuesday afternoon, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Spanish royal couple King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are expected to be among the guests. Spain is this year's guest country.

The Fair ends on Sunday with the awarding of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade to the Ukrainian writer Serhiy Zhadan.