Lebanon Prime Minister Najib Mikati inaugurated the 63rd Beirut International and Arab Book Fair which returned to the Lebanese capital after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the catastrophic port explosion in Beirut. Open to the public on 4 March, 2022, at the waterfront Seaside Arena, the book fair, attended by more than 200 publishing houses, will conclude on 12 March, 2022.
Prime Minister Mikati says in his opening speech, “Challenges do not frighten us, but rather increase our determination to confront and stand in the face of difficulties to solve them. Our meeting today in this particular place carries more than one message and meaning. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the huge blast near the port, the state of the country with its financial struggles, the event sends a message of hope that Beirut will regain its health and its position, and that all of Lebanon will rise.”
The Secretary of the Arab Cultural Club, Nermin Al-Khansa, gave a speech in which she indicated that “the club has returned with the Beirut International and Arab Book Fair to crown Beirut once again as the capital of culture, beauty, and creativity; the capital of opinion, free thought and openness; the capital of crafts, publishing, and books.”
Club President Salwa Baassiri adds, “Here is an exhibition that returns to us after a hiatus, but we are the ones who returned to it, revealing its importance in promoting Beirut’s cultural identity. And for the Arab Cultural Club to confirm that returning in this particular circumstance is a cultural and cognitive duty that is inseparable from the message that the club has dedicated itself to since its founding in 1944, just a year after Lebanon’s independence in 1943.”
The Seaside Arena was destroyed by the August 2020 port explosion which resulted in the area of the exhibition centre being reduced to less than half. Located in downtown Beirut, it is Lebanon’s leading multi-purpose facility and one of the largest and most modern complexes of its kind in the region.
