Beijing International Book Fair postponed until November

The Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) has been rescheduled again this year and is now due to take place in November. 

The fair was originally scheduled to take place this week, between 24th and 28th August at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing. The BIBF committee announced on 22nd August that this has now been rescheduled for 24th to 27th November at the same venue. 

Its statement said: “We would like to apologize for the inconvenience caused by the changes of the book fair, and express to you our sincere appreciation for your continuous understanding and support. We look forward to meeting you at BIBF!” 

The fair was also postponed last year, with the event cancelled the day before it was due to take place owing to the spread of coronavirus in the city, which caused difficulties for UK publishers due to take part. It did eventually take place from 14th to 18th September both in person and online. 

China has seen a number of localised lockdowns and mass testing campaigns in recent months under president Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid policy. This has resulted in the Shanghai Book Fair being postponed three times due to coronavirus. It was originally meant to take place in November 2021, and first pushed back to run from 20th to 22nd March this year, then postponed again for 22nd to 24th July. It has now been rescheduled to run from 18th to 20th November, meaning it has skipped a year. It will be held at its usual venue, the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Centre.