03-05-2025
Muscat International book Fair comes to a close
The 29th Muscat International Book Fair, held at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC) from April 24, concluded on a high note with a heavy number of visitors. It moved away from last year's global focus on artificial intelligence to celebrate cultural diversity as a pathway to unity.
The Book Fair, themed 'Cultural Diversity Enriches Our Civilisation', saw a significant turnout of nearly 300,000 visitors, including citizens and expatriates, recorded in the first 5 days of the fair, showing its great acceptability over the past few years.
The fair hosted a number of publishing houses from the region, with 674 of them from 35 countries displaying 681,041 titles, including 467,413 Arabic books, 213,610 foreign books, and 27,464 Omani works over the past 10 days.
It also featured around 52,205 new publications from 2024-2025, according to Shaikha al Mahruqi, Acting Director-General of International Media at the Ministry of Information.
Muscat International book Fair comes to a close
Muscat International book Fair comes to a close
'Through this Book Fair, we are conveying a vital message: embrace our differences and accept each other as we are. Last year, the topic of the Book Fair was AI, but this year, Oman is adopting a more practical approach and seeking to promote peace and unity through literature and cultural exchange,' Shaikha said.
Books on literature, history and science captivated the attention of visitors and publishers at the Book Fair, which also featured 211 cultural programmes and 155 activities specifically tailored for children.
Speaking to the Observer, Edmond Claude, a European visitor to the Fair, said that the two days he spent at the Fair were so useful that he was able to grab some English as well as Arabic titles before going home.
'I was able to buy some of the most sought-after titles from the fair in both English and Arabic. I have attended some of the best book fairs in the world, including the Sydney Book Fair and Sharjah Book Fair, and I find all three of them to be of little difference,' said Claude.
Muscat International book Fair comes to a close
Muscat International book Fair comes to a close
Another visitor to the fair, said, 'Every one of us who came on a visit to Oman wanted to witness the developments, and the Muscat International Book Fair was the right occasion to do so. The children's section for educational and entertaining activities, which help enhance young visitors' intellectual abilities, was something to be highlighted and the fair was wonderful and crowded.'
A cross-section of the visitors opined that the fair was 'highly diverse,' citing the presence of visitors from various nationalities. 'My visit was delightful, and I'll definitely come again,' Anita Rajan, a homemaker from Muscat, said.
