New Babell literary festival brings Nobel Prize winners to Porto

Babell, Porto‘s newest literary festival, gets underway today (June 24), bringing Nobel Prize-winning authors, internationally acclaimed writers and a packed programme of cultural events to the city.

The inaugural edition of Babell, backed by an investment of more than €3 million from the Livraria Lello Foundation, runs until Monday (June 29) and aims to place books and reading at the centre of public life.

Among the headline guests are Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk, winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, and Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, who received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature. The festival will also welcome internationally renowned writers including Salman Rushdie, Julian Barnes, Margaret Atwood, Javier Cercas and Portugal’s Lídia Jorge.

The festival opens on Wednesday with the inauguration of the Jardim do Pensamento (Garden of Thought) in Leça do Balio, Matosinhos, at 3.30pm, attended by philosopher Byung-Chul Han, followed by an opening lecture by writer and essayist Alberto Manguel at Porto’s Rivoli Municipal Theatre.

Speaking to Lusa ahead of the launch, festival curator Rui Couceiro said the event’s central ambition is to make books and reading part of everyday public life.

“What will happen at Babell is, above all, to place books and reading at the heart of public life,” he said.

Festival sessions will take place primarily in Praça Gomes Teixeira, known locally as Leões, and will be accessible to visitors who purchased a “book-ticket” through one of dozens of participating bookshops.

Portuguese-language literature will also feature prominently throughout the programme, with appearances from authors including Gonçalo M. Tavares, Valter Hugo Mãe, Dulce Maria Cardoso, Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida, João de Melo, Milton Hatoum and Ana Paula Tavares.

Beyond literature, the festival includes concerts, exhibitions, workshops, performances, film screenings and activities for children and families.

Music will also play a major role, with performances by Portuguese artists GNR, Pedro Abrunhosa and Rui Veloso scheduled for Avenida dos Aliados on Thursday evening, followed by concerts from Bárbara Bandeira and Carminho on Friday.

More information can be found on the event’s website.

Michael Bruxo

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.