The city of Athens has been announced from UNESCO as the World Book Capital for 2018. The proposed program includes meetings with writers, translators and illustrators, concerts, thematic exhibitions, poetry readings and workshops for publishing professionals. The aim of the program is to make books accessible to the city’s entire population, including migrants and refugees. Members of the Advisory Committee also praised Athens’ cultural infrastructure and its expertise in organizing international events.
Athens is the 18th city to become World Book Capital. It was preceded by Madrid (2001), Alexandria (2002), New Delhi (2003), Antwerp (2004), Montreal (2005), Turin (2006), Bogota (2007), Amsterdam (2008), Beirut (2009), Ljubljana (2010), Buenos Aires (2011), Yerevan (2012), Bangkok (2013), Port Harcourt (2014), Incheon (2015), Wroclaw (2016) and Conakry (2017).