Digital World Book Day garnered over 100k views

Over 110,000 people have tuned into this year's World Book Day's Share a Story Live digital events programme over three days, far exceeding the 10,000 person attendance recorded for live events in previous years.

Across the UK, the charity recorded over 4,500 classrooms tuning in to events across Wednesday and Thursday, while the website saw 2.2 million views on the day (Thursday 4th March). Its free online resource packs for teachers reached 400k views this week, while the WBD audiobooks racked up almost 200,000 free downloads.

Nearly 250,000 people viewed the charity’s first ever official World Book Day song on YouTube by teacher-turned rapper MC Grammar, inspiring a wave of book-themed raps by pupils and teachers across the country, using
#WorldBookDay and specially commissioned emoji. The hashtag also trended on Twitter all day, with 2.5 million impressions over the week and 1.1 million impressions on World Book Day alone.

Commenting on the impact of the event, WBD c.e.o. Cassie Chadderton said: “In the context of the difficulties families have faced this year, and the educational and economic gaps now widened by the pandemic, we wanted this year’s World Book Day to celebrate the benefits of reading more clearly than ever, and to bring a moment of joy and hope to families across the country. We have been overwhelmed by the huge response and it’s been wonderful to see all the creative ways children, families and schools have been getting involved.”