The Hay Literary Festival has entered into a special collaboration with the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest, in the framework of which they will celebrate the best books from the countries entering the Eurovision Song Contest.
Applications for the best books are left to the public, reports the British The Guardian.
Hay Festival, Welsh title Gŵyl Y Gelli, held annually in Hay-on-Wye in Wales. It lasts about ten days in May and June. Since it was designed by Norman in 1988, Rhoda and Peter Florence, has become an important and massively attended festival in the British cultural space.
So far, the festival has been held in thirty locations around the world – from the historic city Cartagena in Colombia to cities in Peru, Mexico, Spain and the USA. “Last year, the festival earned 1.5 million online visits and exceeded one million views events online, while its social media following has grown to 330,000, making it one of the most high-profile literary events in the world.” described on the Eurovision website.
The Eurovision Book Contest, hosted by Hay, will announce the winners in June. At the festival’s round table, books representing the 37 countries that participate in the popular music competition every year will be discussed. People are also asked to submit titles from favorite works of fiction from any eligible country to the Hay Festival. Submissions can be from any genre and language, but must be first released in the years since the start of Eurovision, which is from 1956 onwards.
The commission will discuss the final selection of books at the event on June 2Everyone who nominates a favorite book will be entered into a draw for book prizes and a free subscription to the Hay festival digital content archive Player, the organizers announced. The final selection of one book from each country will be made by an expert committee, and the result will be “ambitious reading list” books that will “inspired, taught and entertained”. The committee will discuss the selection at an event on June 2, and digital content about the selected books will be available during the festival.
Director of the Hay Festival Julie Finch he says the goal of the competition “to celebrate the role of literature in creating understanding and empathy around the world”. “At the heart of it is diversity and democracy, where anyone, anywhere can submit a book proposal,” Finch added. “This is a democratic process, it is not a process that we curated, so let’s accept it. This freedom of voice and choices are crucial and more like the more we can open ourselves up to an audience that way, the more likely people will read, write, enjoy, listen, perform… and really, that’s what it’s all about.”
Martin Österdahlexecutive producer of the Eurovision Song Contest, said that the competition “always focused on storytelling and showcasing the best talent from across Europe and beyond”.
As is known, this year’s Eurovision ended with the victory of the Ukrainian band Kalush Orkestra, but the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) due to the situation in Ukraine decided that next year’s competition will be hosted by the runner-up country, the United Kingdom.
The Eurovision caravan will thus occupy its home town at the beginning of May next year The Beatles, Liverpool. Slovenia is also among the 37 countries that have confirmed their participation. She will be represented by members of the band Joker Out.
Source: Rtvslo
