Lit.cologne 2025: Record visit and unforgettable moments!

Lit.cologne 2025: Record visit and unforgettable moments!

The Cologne Literature Festival lit.cologne has recorded a record visit this year and enjoys an unprecedented interest of readers and enthusiasts. Over 200 events attracted a total of 118,000 visitors, according to the organizers, the "most successful festival edition of all time". The occupancy during the festival was exceptionally high at 96 percent, and over 150 programs were sold out. These numbers impressively show how much the literary scene and the culture in the region have gained in importance after the end of pandemic. NOZ reports that the festival ended this Sunday evening. It was the 25th edition of the festival that will take place again in the coming year from March 10th to 22nd, 2024.

known guests such as musicians Herbert Grönemeyer, actor Hans Sigl, bestselling author Caroline Wahl and ex-foreign minister Joschka Fischer delighted the audience with their appearances and readings, which contributed significantly to the high number of visitors. The Lit.Kid.cologne children's and youth program, which was visited by 30,000 people, is also particularly remarkable. This initiative enables young readers to actively deal with literature and promotes interest in books in early childhood.

A look back at the last festival edition

In the previous year, at the event Lit.cologne 2023, which took place for the 23rd time, a visitor record was already set up, which has now been exceeded again. Report-K reports that of the diversity of events and the top-class guests such as the author Bret Easton Ellis in the cultural church of Cologne was also noticeable in 2023.

The continuously increasing number of visitors underline the relevance of the festival in the literary landscape of Germany. The success of lit.cologne is also a sign that interest in readings, discussions and new literary works is unbroken. The question remains all the more exciting as to what further surprises and program highlights the next festival will have in 2024.