Brazil’s Rio Book Biennial 2022 will require proof of vaccination at Riocentro

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Rio Book Biennial of 2022 will be held between December 3 and 12, according to an announcement by the event’s organizers on August 11.

It will have a hybrid format: some activities will take place at Riocentro, in Barra da Tijuca, while the others will be online and streamed through a digital platform launched in January this year.

In a statement released yesterday, the organization stressed that it intends to comply with all safety protocols against Covid-19.

“The goal is for the Biennial to take place when the whole population of Rio de Janeiro age 12 and older is immunized, according to the Rio City Hall’s planning.” However, the statement stresses that “the country’s largest cultural and literary event will only take place if the appropriate conditions are in place.”

Famous for its lines and crowds of readers, the Biennial will host half of its usual audience, in two shifts, from 9 AM to 3 PM and 4 PM to 10 PM. During the one-hour break, the area will be “completely cleaned.”

The Biennial will cover a total area of 100,000m², of which 48,000m² is outdoors. Only people wearing masks and with proof of vaccination will be allowed access.

The last edition of the Rio Book Biennial, in 2019, was marked by censorship attempts. Then-mayor Marcelo Crivella ordered police officers to collect copies of a graphic novel that featured two boys kissing on the cover. Crivella claimed that the book carried “sexual content for minors.” The Biennial audience reacted to the mayor’s stance with protests.