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City of Rio receives the official title of World Book Capital 2025
Published on 23/04/2025 - 14:48 | Updated on 24/04/2025 - 09:56
The city of Rio received the title of World Book Capital 2025 at an event at the Carlos Gomes Theater - Marcelo Piu/City Hall of Rio The City Hall, through the Municipal Department of Culture, celebrated, this Wednesday (23/4), the official start of the Rio World Book Capital 2025 program, with a musical show at the Carlos Gomes Theater. The title of World Book Capital was granted by UNESCO to Rio de Janeiro in recognition of the excellence of the reading promotion programs developed in the city. Due to this achievement, the city will have a broad agenda of events and initiatives aimed at formulating new public policies for books and reading.
During the show, Jeanne Barseghian, Mayor of Strasbourg, World Book Capital 2024, symbolically handed over the title to Mayor Eduardo Paes. The French city is recognized as one of the main hubs for children's literature in Europe.
– This title is very important, it has immense symbolic value. Rio is the first Portuguese-speaking city to assume this role. It has a whole history of being the capital of the Colony and the Empire. The city has the Royal Portuguese Cabinet, a treasure of Rio, the National Library, the Brazilian Academy of Letters, and great Brazilian writers based here. It is a year to celebrate reading, to create more reading habits. We will have the Book Biennial, the Jabuti Prize for the first time in the city, and throughout the year at BRT stations people will be able to borrow books and exchange them, in addition to the public policies of the Department of Education for the entire municipal school system. So it is a special year, Rio was the capital of the G20 last year and will be the capital of the BRICS this year – said Eduardo Paes.
The mayor of Rio also highlighted the importance of the commitment made by the city with the title received.
– What we need to be clear about is that a city of readers, where people have the habit of reading, is a more developed city, with more knowledge, and more respect for others. It has a great legacy to leave throughout the year. There will be a lot happening to celebrate reading, books, and Rio de Janeiro.
The event was also attended by the UNESCO Culture Coordinator, Isabel de Paula, representing the director and representative of UNESCO in Brazil, Marlova Jovchelovitch Noleto, the president of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, Merval Pereira, and the municipal secretary of Culture, Lucas Padilha.
– We are convinced that access to books and reading democratizes society. I am very happy today to be able to pass the baton to Rio. I hope this year brings as much joy to you as it has brought to us. I wish you a fantastic year as World Book Capital – said the Mayor of Strasbourg.
Produced and directed by Edson Erdmann, the musical show was conceived as a book, with a cover, preface, dedication and chapters that told the story of the Portuguese language, the importance of Rio de Janeiro as a center for the dissemination of literature and brought together quotes and references from more than 70 great Brazilian novelists and poets.
The event also revealed the works of the Literary Box of the Portuguese Language, formed on the 8th at the Rios da Palavra event, at the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, which marked the official start of the Rio de Janeiro World Book Capital agenda. The Literary Box contains a collection of classic and contemporary works selected by Portuguese-speaking countries such as Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea and East Timor.
Among the works inside the box were “Pure Matter of Dreams”, by Fernando Pessoa; “The Lusiads”, by Luís de Camões; and “The Maias”, by Eça de Queiroz.
The initiative symbolizes the Portuguese-speaking community’s support for Rio as the World Book Capital. Throughout the year, new Brazilian works will be added to the collection through competitions, festivals and awards. The idea is to incorporate this initiative into the official program of future UNESCO World Book Capitals, with Rio de Janeiro assuming a leading role in promoting Portuguese-language literature.
BRT also marks Rio as Book Capital 2025
Mobi-Rio has prepared a series of actions in the BRT system to celebrate Rio de Janeiro as the World Book Capital. All buses in the BRT fleet will run with the phrase “Rio World Book Capital” displayed on LED panels, spreading the message of appreciation for reading to the four corners of the city. In addition, the Deodoro, Gentileza, Curral Falso and Alvorada terminals will have bookshelves to encourage passengers to “swap” books. The initiative aims to encourage the population to share stories, experiences and knowledge through reading.
About Rio World Book Capital 2025
The Rio de Janeiro World Book Capital 2025 program also includes actions aimed at the economic development of the sector and the valorization of the book production chain. Since August 2024, the City Hall has invested around R$5,1 million in public notices aimed at holding literary fairs, training writers, promoting Brazilian literature and encouraging authors from Rio de Janeiro.
Rio de Janeiro is already home to key literary events, such as the Rio International Book Biennial, the Literary Fair of the Suburbs (FLUP), the Reader's Festival and the Passion of Reading Festival. The city is also home to nationally and internationally renowned institutions, such as the Royal Portuguese Reading Room, the National Library, the Brazilian Academy of Letters, the National Union of Book Publishers, the Rui Barbosa House, the City's General Archives and the Escrevivências House (Conceição Evaristo). Rio is also home to important agents in the publishing market and some of the country's largest publishers.
