World Book Day was first created in 1995 by UNESCO and was initially known as ‘World Book & Copyright Day’. The initial aim of the day was to promote reading, publishing, and copyright, encouraging a lifetime love of reading and literature. Now, over 30 years later, World Book Day is a national event celebrated in the UK and Ireland on March 5th and globally on April 23rd.
The international World Book Day date, April 23rd was chosen as it was the day that William Shakespeare died, to honour his death and legacy. The day was launched in the UK by Prime Minister Tony Blair at the globe theatre in1998.
Today, over 100 countries all over the world recognise and celebrate World Book Day, making this event the longest celebration of reading ever. The event specifically targets young people, with the aim of helping them understand the joy of reading and increase engagement with reading.
Bolton School encouraged students to dress up as their favourite book characters on this day to help celebrate their love of reading. Students from across the divisions dressed up as Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games, the Little Miss characters, and Shrek.
Additionally, both the Boys’ Division and Girls’ Division held World Book Day events in each division’s Great Hall to make an interactive and exciting event for students. The Girls Division event was led by Ashriya Fernando and Nishan Sharma led the Boys Division event.
The event had many stalls containing fun book themed games and activities for students, some of these included a book giveaway, guess the book based on its quotes and emojis, a photobooth with props, create your own story, and a cake stall. This resulted in over 100 books being given away in the Girls’ Division and was overall a huge success for all.
World Book Day is a great opportunity for everyone to express their love for literature and enjoy the wonders of reading. Celebrated across over 100 countries, it is a highly anticipated event every year, and we strongly recommend you join in with the festivities next year!
Written by Elizabeth & Mischa