November the 5th, 2021 - The much loved Interliber, which has always been traditionally held at the Zagreb Fair (Zagrebacki Velesajam), is finally back after being banned under coronavirus-induced epidemiological measures. The Zagreb Fair also played and still plays host to those coming to be vaccinated against the novel virus. What does Interliber 2021 have in store?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, this year's 43rd International Book Fair, Interliber 2021, will be held from November the 9th to 14th at the Zagreb Fair, as was announced on Wednesday by the president of the Association of Publishers and Bookstores (ZNK), Slavko Kozina.

The three pavilions will be filled by about 230 exhibitors from 14 countries for Interliber 2021, to which many book worms are looking forward. Kozina pointed out that two years without the fair would have set the entire book and publishing industry backwards, and he assessed that the current situation is significantly better than it was four years ago, when there was a big problem with the collapse of the Croatian publishing and bookstore network.

He also mentioned that the number of points where you can buy books has been reduced at Interliber 2021, as a small number of publishers gave up on the idea of showing up physically.

Assistant Director of the Zagreb Fair, Zoran Usuric, emphasised that admission to the fair for Interliber 2021 will be free of charge and possible only upon presentation of a valid Covid certificate proving the holder's vaccination status, recovery, or a valid negative PCR test result (no older than 72 hours), or a negative rapid antigen test result (no older than 48 hours).

Entrance to Interliber 2021 at the Zagreb Fair will be possible at the box office at the South Entrance with the presentation of the aforementioned Covid certificate, and visitors will receive a disposable bracelet and a ticket with which they'll pass through mechanical barriers and enter the space itself.

The wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing will be mandatory on the premises for the duration of the fair.

For more on events in Zagreb and across the rest of the country, check out our lifestyle section.

November the 1st, 2021 - If you want to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus at the Zagreb Fair (Zagrebacki Velesajam), which is something that has been on offer since the beginning of the Croatian vaccine rollout, the City of Zagreb has some important news for you.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Zagreb City Administration announced on Friday that mass vaccination against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, at the Zagreb Fair will be transferred to the other two pavilions from Tuesday the 2nd of November.

"Vaccination against coronavirus with some of the available and approved vaccines from November the 2nd, 2021, will be possible at the vaccination point at the Zagreb Fair in Pavilions 8a and 9, instead of the current Pavilion 6," reads the notice issued by the city administration.

The Zagreb Fair can be visited for those wishing to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 08:00 to 12:00, and then on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 14:30 pm to 19:00.

On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, the first dose of vaccination and the second dose of vaccination with all available types of vaccines and will be normally continued, and on Mondays and Wednesdays, the third dose will be being administered to immunocompromised persons and those with underlying chronic diseases which make them more vulnerable to a worse clinical picture should they contract the disease.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including border and travel rules, as well as the locations of vaccination points and testing centres, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and select your preferred language.

As Darko Bicak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 18th of August, 2020, Autumn is the traditional time of large fair exhibitions at the Zagreb Fair (Zagrebacki Velesajam), and when it comes to just what will happen with the numerous planned events due to the situation with the coronavirus pandemic, no one knows, not even those in charge.

Poslovni Dnevnik didn't receive a concrete answer to their inquiry about the Zagreb Fair's business plans due to the coronavirus drama, which could worsen in the autumn. Unofficially, it has been learned that something more precise will be known at the beginning of September, but that everything will depend on the epidemiological situation. For now, the Zagreb Fsir is obviously continuing according to plan.

For this year, as many as eleven fair events are planned. While most of them are intended for a small circle of people, some of them are mega-popular fair exhibitions that are also a kind of 'tradition' for the Zagreb Fair. Although the Zagreb Auto Show took first place for a long time, its one-time revival a few years ago, after a ong break, fell somewhat flat in comparison to past glory.

However, for years now, the Interliber book fair has been a regular and well-attended book fair, which has become a kind of social and cultural event of the year in Zagreb and in Croatia as a whole. As tickets aren't sold for this fair, it is difficult to estimate just exactly how many visitors there typically are, but the numbers go up to 150 thousand.

Specifically, last year, 300 exhibitors were presented during the six days of the book sales exhibition, and the Zagreb Fair estimates that more than 130,000 people visited Interliber. Interliber should take place from November the 10th to the 15th, and there is no information about its fate, and it seems that everything will depend on the epidemiological situation and the measures and recommendations of the National Civil Protection Headquarters.

Last year, 481 exhibitors from 28 countries exhibited at Ambienta, and the Zagreb Fair placed particular emphasis on the growth of business visitors by 15 percent when compared to 2018.

The first announced fair is the International Dental Fair Dentax which is announced for September the 24th. As this is a specialised fair which brings together a very narrow circle of professional visitors, its holding in accordance with very strict epidemiological measures might even be conceivable. For a slightly wider audience, the next beauty and hairstyles fair is “Beauty & Hair Expo Zagreb” which should last from the 25th to the 27th of September.

What follows is a popular exhibition of furniture, interior design and its accompanying industry, Ambienta, from the 14th to the 18th of October. Last year, 481 exhibitors from 28 countries exhibited at Ambienta, and it was visited by 21,259 visitors. Last year, the Zagreb Fair especially pointed out that they were happy with the growth of business visitors by 15 percent when compared to the year before. The Art Fair Zagreb art fair is also planned this year.

There should be several more fairs held at the Zagreb Fair before 2020 draws to a close. Additionally, three fairs for 2021 have already been announced.

Back in June, the Global Framework for the reopening of trade fairs and B2B events after the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic was presented, prepared by the Global Fair Industry Association (UFI), which states that after the blockade due to the crisis, trade fairs must only open under tightly controlled conditions.

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