The BCBF website attracted 2 million views. There were 200,000 unique users signed in, of which 61% were from outside Italy. More than 51,000 users registered for the BCBF’s online services.
Tucked away in the final paragraph of an 800 word review of the 59th Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Publishers Weekly, those that made it that far would have learned of some stunning numbers from Bologna’s digital elements. But most industry observers could be forgiven for thinking there was no digital element to Bologna 2022.
Amid all the backslapping about being back in-person after three years, there were some impressive numbers for the physical event this year.
Over 21,000 people made it for real, along with 1,070 exhibitors from 90 countries. And while that 21,000 was about 25% lower than the pre-pandemic events it is unquestionably good news for Bologna and for the industry.
Maybe next year we will see a return to attendance levels we have come to expect at Bologna.
But the pandemic happened, and is still happening, and the digital genie can’t be put back in the bottle, as evidenced by the hush-hush digital numbers emerging from the 2022 Bologna fair that so many industry commentators have elected to ignore.
For those who might have attended the Bologna fair this year but chose not to because of understandable concerns about Covid-19’s refusal to go away the obvious Plan B was to take advantage of the digital elements of the Bologna fair, which the organisers quietly but sensibly kept in place after the success of the pandemic-period virtual fairs.
But as the numbers make clear, the fair’s digital elements attracted far more than just the regulars who this year chose not to attend in person.
The BCBF website attracted 2 million views. There were 200,000 unique users signed in, of which 61% were from outside Italy. More than 51,000 users registered for the BCBF’s online services.
In total there was a 10% increase in unique users compared with 2021, and 100% more than in 2019 when the previous last in-person event was held.
Bologna’s social media presence was also impressive, with the BCBF reporting that the Facebook community amounted to 65,300, Instagram 73,000. Twitter 15,000 and LinkedIn 7,000.
The press release notes that more than 40 video productions, including integral recordings and direct streams, were created for online remote use and 2,500 unique users followed the direct streams, and further that Open Up – The BCBF Skill Box attracted over 1,100 professionals that took part in “masterclasses, online conferences, training courses and special initiatives organised online in the last 3 months”.
