27 lakh people visited Kolkata Book Fair 2025
Kolkata: Twenty-seven lakh people visited the International Kolkata Book Fair 2025, an official of Publishers and Booksellers Guild said on Monday. The 12-day book fair was held from January 28 to February 9. Till Sunday (February 9) morning, the last day of the book fair, books worth Rs 25 crore were sold, Guild president Tridib Chatterjee said. He said the figure will be higher after the updated count of the sale of books till 9 pm on Sunday. "We will be able to arrive at the total sales figure in a day's time collating the sales figures from all 1,000 book stalls till the closing time," another guild official Apu Dey said. Chatterjee said that 27 lakh people visited the fair.
In 2024, 29 lakh people visited the book fair which was held for 14 days and books worth Rs 27 crore were sold. "If you take into account these factors about the fair having two lesser days, the 12 day figure is an all time high," Chatterjee said. West Bengal Education minister Bratya Basu said at the closing ceremony on Sunday night, the Frankfurt Bookfair might be known as the biggest in the world, but if one takes into account the number of visitors coming to the Kolkata book fair and the enthusiasm, vibes among the masses, Kolkata Book Fair will be rated as the biggest in Asia if not in the entire world. West Bengal Sports and Youth Affairs minister Aroop Biswas said at the closing ceremony on Sunday night, that the bookfair reaffirms the supremacy of printed books over and above the digital contents as "till this date every student is hooked to the smell of newly printed books and gifting books on certain occasions still remains a trend among a large section of people along with other gift items.
Municipal Affairs and Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim said his department will support any move to expand the space of the book fair ground at Central Park to adjacent areas in future editions. To a question, Chatterjee said while the exact date of the next Kolkata Book Fair has not yet been decided, "in all likelihood, it will be held during the same period of the end January-first week of February in 2026. We will announce the next dates within a few days."
