Rio's 2025 Book Biennial will be revamped, featuring new attractions and even a literary Ferris wheel; discover the details

Interactions will include audio excerpts of literary classics specially selected for the occasion Riding a Ferris wheel is an experience that can evoke a range of sensations, from the thrill of ascending to the breathtaking views from the top. Now, imagine enjoying this experience accompanied by audio excerpts from classic literature, specially curated for the occasion. This blend of amusement park and literary experience is one of the highlights of the 2025 Book Biennial at Riocentro, which will feature expanded space, a new date, and other innovations. G20 Legacy: The Museum of Modern Art to reopen to the public on December 1st with exhibition and guided tours November 20: Understanding Black Consciousness Day, a national holiday in Brazil Each cabin of the “Reading in the Heights” Ferris wheel—an unprecedented literary attraction at the event—will be decorated with imagery related to the book whose excerpt passengers will hear, all without obstructing the scenic background view. Selfie opportunities are assured. Inside the venue, other attractions await book enthusiasts. A “Story Maze” with four entry points will allow visitors to gather literary information as they navigate their way out in a light and engaging manner. For those who enjoy trivia and challenges, an “escape room” will simulate literary settings, offering games that require solving puzzles and challenges put forth by participating publishers. — We observe that the trend is for audiences to seek experiences and activities. We conducted research with the Biennial's diverse audience, ranging from seniors to children. This led us to the Book Park concept — explains Tatiana Zaccaro, director of GL events Exhibitions and responsible for the Rio Book Biennial — The main goal of the event is to encourage reading. Much of what is consumed on social media and in audiovisual and gaming worlds is inspired by books. The idea is to bring this into the Biennial in a playful way, showing how powerful these stories are and that reading is not a chore but fun. We want to showcase the strength of books and stories to people. The Rio Book Biennial is renowned for its impressive statistics. The most recent edition in 2023, marking the event's 40th anniversary, recorded 5.5 million books sold, a record with an average of 9 copies per visitor. The expectation for 2025 is to attract around the same 600,000 attendees as last year, but with more space and entertainment available. The festival will occupy 120,000 square meters compared to 90,000 in the previous edition. Pavilion five of Riocentro will be among the spaces added. — This new model comes from a combination of factors. We've noticed that for many years the Biennial has evolved beyond just a book fair. We have strong school visitation and significant engagement from young audiences who seek different forms of interaction and events. We want to plant the seed of love for reading in these young people, so it's only natural to find new ways to communicate with these readers — notes Dante Cid, president of the National Syndicate of Book Publishers (Snel), one of the fair's organizers. The Escape Room in Rio Book Biennial 2025 Press Release The Book Biennial will carry even more weight next year, as starting April 23—coinciding with International Book Day—Rio will claim the title of World Book Capital, granted by UNESCO. — There will be numerous activities marking the city's designation as World Book Capital, with the Biennial being the crowning jewel and further expanded as a Book Park — asserts Dante Cid. Rio will succeed Strasbourg, France, in this role and will be the first Portuguese-speaking city to hold the distinction. — Our advisory committee recognized Rio's candidacy for highlighting the importance of its literary heritage and presenting a consistent plan for promoting and valuing reading and literary production, including the use of digital technologies and focusing on youth. Undoubtedly, the Biennial plays a significant role in this context as a crucial space for promoting the creative economy — says Isabel de Paula, UNESCO's Culture Coordinator in Brazil. Among the initiatives planned to mark Rio's year as World Book Capital is the creation of an inventory by the city government, listing all public and private reading and writing spaces in the city. The goal is to catalog and classify these locations to guide the development of public policies in the sector. The landscape will also be transformed: streets and public spaces will feature art installations inspired by the world of books, in a “book parade” similar to the “cow parade.” Investments are also planned for the Libraries of Tomorrow, including building renovations, accessibility improvements, and collection modernization. According to the municipal Department of Culture, seven of these facilities have already been completed this year in anticipation of the title Rio will receive in April 2025. Tomorrow, the first 20 community reading projects selected through a call for proposals will be formally announced, each receiving R$120,000. — The Biennial will be the most important event among many initiatives we will implement in this special year. It was presented as such in Rio's candidacy with UNESCO. In fact, the Biennial was an institutional partner from the outset of this candidacy — stated Marcelo Calero, municipal Secretary of Culture. For those eagerly awaiting the Biennial, there's good news: this year, the fair will take place earlier, in June (from the 13th to the 22nd), rather than in September as in 2023. The timing means the event's final days will coincide with the Corpus Christi holiday. The translation of this text into english was carried out by Project Irineu, O GLOBO's initiative to develop artificial intelligence tools. Here is the link to the original report.