Babell Literary Festival returns to Porto in 2028

The Babell Literary Festival is scheduled to return to Porto in 2028, taking place every two years and maintaining its funding model, announced on Wednesday by its commissioner, Rui Couceiro, at an international literary sector congress in Lisbon. The writer and editor was speaking at the second session of the international congress "What Now? International Congress of the Literary Sector in Times of Political Turmoil," integrated into the Days of Literature of Lisbon, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. After presenting the model, the experience, and the review of Festival Babell, which took place in June this year in Porto, Rui Couceiro was questioned by the moderator, Peter Florence, about its continuation. "Probably, we will hold it every two years. Probably, the next edition will be in 2028," replied Rui Couceiro, adding that the funding model of the first edition should be maintained, although with an unspecified "update." According to Couceiro, the first edition of Babell, which represented an investment exceeding three million euros, was funded almost entirely by the president of the Lello Bookstore Foundation, Pedro Pinto, who "decided he wanted to spend money," also benefiting from a small amount of public funding. "But most of it, almost everything, was directly funded by the bookstore owner," he added. The prospect of a second edition comes one day after the Lello Bookstore Foundation released the review of Babell in a statement where Pedro Pinto regretted that the event did not contribute to Porto's bid for World Book Capital 2028. "We would have liked this momentum to help with a bid for World Book Capital 2028, an opportunity we regret not having taken advantage of," stated Pedro Pinto. In his speech today, Rui Couceiro highlighted the model for accessing the literary sessions, which replaced ticket purchases with the acquisition of books in over 50 participating bookstores in Porto, allowing thousands of books to be sold, leading readers to discover bookstores, and helping some establishments cover expenses equivalent to a year's rent. The commissioner argued that this model, which did not involve paying commissions to the organization, should be experienced by other literary festivals, both in Portugal and abroad. Rui Couceiro also stated that the festival recorded an audience satisfaction rate of 95%, despite issues with simultaneous interpretation that occurred, particularly during the inaugural session with philosopher Byung-Chul Han. According to the review, the first edition of Babell, which took place between June 24 and 29, brought together more than 400,000 participants in various cultural activities, including concerts, exhibitions, and literary initiatives. Conversations with writers attracted more than 35,000 people, featuring authors such as Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Olga Tokarczuk, László Krasznahorkai, Julian Barnes, Javier Cercas, Lídia Jorge, Valter Hugo Mãe, and Gonçalo M. Tavares. According to a survey released by the organization, 71% of respondents who participated bought two or more books, while another study revealed that 95% expressed interest in attending a future edition. A study conducted by ISAG – European Business School and CICET-FCVC estimated the direct economic impact associated with the festival at 54.1 million euros, including 13.12 million euros in book expenses, based on extrapolating survey results to a universe of 405,000 participants.