Mongolia’s capital holds annual book festival to promote reading culture amid COVID-19 pandemic

The 27th annual Ulan Bator Book Festival is set to be held in the capital of Mongolia to promote reading culture, especially among children and young people, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The three-day festival starting on Friday will be held both online and offline for the first time, attracting around 500 authors, publishing houses, organizations as well as thousands of readers.

Co-organized by the city's cultural department and nongovernmental organization Nomiin Soyolt Yertunts (World of Book Culture) under the auspices of the country's education ministry, the festival will include a wide range of activities such as meetings between authors and book lovers, book exhibitions and the launch of new books.

As of Saturday, Mongolia has confirmed 193 COVID-19 infections, including four foreign nationals. 

All the cases are imported ones, mostly from Russia, with no local transmissions or deaths.