Argentine superstar Lionel Messi’s visit will come just weeks before the start of the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair, which begins on January 22, 2026, with Argentina as the fair’s theme country.
The announcement was made on Monday at a press conference held in a five-star hotel in Kolkata. Present at the event were Sudhanshu Shekhar Dey, president of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild and Tridib Kumar Chatterjee, the Guild’s general secretary.
This year’s fair will take place at its now-familiar venue, Karunamoyee, Salt Lake and will continue from January 22 to February 3, 2026. The organisers shared that the previous edition of the fair saw a whopping footfall of 2.7 million visitors, with total book sales reaching ₹23 crore.
10 countries, 7 Indian states to set up pavilions
Great Britain, the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Spain, Peru, Colombia, Japan, and Thailand are all set to participate. From India, states such as Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh will have their own pavilions.
As always, there will be dedicated sections for little magazines and children’s books.
Interestingly, the organisers have already begun planning for the International Kolkata Book Fair's golden jubilee in 2027. They are curating a special photography exhibition and competition, featuring rare images from the first 20 years of the fair from 1976 to 1996.
Notably, the Kolkata Literature Festival (KLF) will take place on January 24 and 25.
