Frankfurt Book Fair featuring special guest Italy officially opened

The 76th Frankfurt Book Fair was officially opened on Tuesday evening.

The world's largest book fair is due to open its doors to trade visitors on Wednesday, and the reading public is also welcome at the weekend.

Around 4,000 exhibitors have come to Frankfurt. Meanwhile more than 1,000 authors and speakers at 650 events on 15 stages await this year's visitor.

"Books need freedom and democracy – just as democracy needs books," German Culture Commissioner Claudia Roth said at the opening ceremony on Tuesday evening.

"The book as a symbol of free, diverse and open thinking is once again under threat today," she added.

"In Ukraine, books are being burned by Russian aggressors who want to eradicate Ukrainian culture,’ Roth explained. "In Russia, Iran and China, books are banned and authors are suppressed, persecuted and imprisoned."

Books enable people to be responsible citizens, the German official added.

"They promote self-determination and successful coexistence in diversity and with respect and recognition of differences. We urgently need this, especially in these times of cultural struggle. Very urgently."

Italy is this year's guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli is on hand to represent Italy.

In the run-up to the festival, there was a dispute in Italy about the authors who were to represent the country in Frankfurt.

At the opening ceremony, Giuli said he would defend "the inviolable freedom of expression in every form" – even if it led to dissent, "even if it could harm the government" to which he belonged.

Boris Rhein, premier of the state of Hesse where Frankfurt is located, praised the writer Roberto Saviano, who is critical of the right-wing government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Mafia investigator Giovanni Falcone as role models.

Saviano's latest book is about Falcone. According to Rhein, the greatest danger for democracy is what he called "this damned indifference." Neither Falcone nor Saviano are indifferent, he said.

This year's Frankfurt Book Fair is due to end on Sunday with the award of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade to US historian and journalist Anne Applebaum.