Three months ahead of the start of the 46th Cairo International Book Fair, the General Egyptian Book Organisation (GEBO) gave a press conference to announce new events in this year's round. GEBO head Ahmed Megahed announced that the fair will be held on 28 January, a week later than originally scheduled, to give Egyptians the chance to celebrate the anniversary of the 25 January revolution without having to suspending the fair's activities for two days. It will go on until 12 February. “The country's stable security conditions are a promising sign that foreign and Arab publishers will not be discouraged from participate in this year's round,” Megahed told reporters, adding that the area where the fair is held would be extended to accommodate more visitors. The Ministry of Culture is also to possess a new plot of land as permanent fair grounds to be available as of next year. Justifying the choice of Saudi Arabia as the guest of honour, Megahed said that Saudi Arabia has had the highest number of publishers, and the largest pavilion in the fair for a number of years regardless of its political and economic backing of Egypt after 30 June 2013. To date neither the logo nor the theme of the fair has been chosen, but a number of lectures on the Arabic language and its role in bridging the distances separating Arab nations has been organised. Arabic calligraphy is therefore a likely candidate for the logo. “There are several suggestions for the main title and logo of the fair but the last decision has yet to be made by the fair's committee,” Megahed said, calling on Egyptian and Saudi intellectuals to make suggestions. Megahed affirmed that the fair will have adequate security, citing the last two years of turmoil, when it was held as scheduled without any security disturbances, as evidence that GEBO is well capable of securing the event. He added that private security companies will this year be aiding the police. In answer to a question from Al-Ahram Weekly, Megahed said no country will be prohibited from participating in the fair, which is open to any country that will apply and pay the pavilion fee. For his part the Saudi minister of education's aide present at the press conference, Salem bin Mohamed Al-Malek, described his country's guest of honour presentation as “a great challenge” that he is confident Saudi Arabia can live up to. Al-Malek was cagey about the details of the programme, saying he would rather “keep it as a surprise”, but alluded to honouring Egyptian intellectuals. “The old friendship between Egypt and the Saudi Arabia has very strong roots,” he said. Saudi Arabia's Cultural Attache Khaled Al-Wehebi, who cited the timing of the press conference itself as evidence of interest in this year's round, promised that the Saudi contribution would be completely different this year.
