The Amar Ekushey Boimela (Book Fair) 2026 will begin tomorrow (February 26). Prime Minister (PM) Tarique Rahman will inaugurate the fair at 2:00 pm on the opening day.
The announcement was made by Selim Reza, member secretary of the Book Fair Organising Committee, at a press conference on Tuesday.
According to him, the fair will remain open from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm on regular days, except for holidays. No visitors will be allowed to enter the fair premises after 8:30 pm. On holidays, the fair will remain open until 9:00 pm.
On Fridays and Saturdays, a "Children's Hour" will be observed from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. This year, 63 stalls dedicated to children's books have been set up at the centre of Suhrawardy Udyan.
A total of 549 stalls will be set up this year. Of these, 81 stalls will be located on the Bangla Academy premises, while 468 stalls will be set up at Suhrawardy Udyan. In addition, 87 stalls will be placed at the Little Magazine Corner near the open stage inside the park.
There will be four entry gates to the fair. Special arrangements for Tarawih prayers have been made in consideration of Ramadan. Books will be sold at a 25 per cent discount this year. Cultural programmes will be held daily from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
Bangla Academy Director General Professor Azam said due to the delay in allocating stalls, construction work has not yet been fully completed. However, most stalls would be ready by February 26.
BSS adds, PM Tarique Rahman is expected to distribute the 'Ekushey Padak 2026' at a ceremony tomorrow (Thursday). The award distribution ceremony will be held at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital at 11:00 am.
The recipients are: Farida Akhtar Babita (Film), Professor Md Abdus Sattar (Fine Arts), Marina Tabassum (Architecture), Ayub Bachchu (Music), Arthy Ahmed (Dance), Islam Uddin Palakar (Palagan), Shafik Rehman (Journalism), Professor Dr Mahbubul Alam Majumdar (Education), Tejosh Haldar Josh (Sculpture), and Warfaze (Music Band).
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