Slovenia is the guest of honor at the 75th Frankfurt Book Fair 2023, which starts today and continues through Sunday, October 22. This is an excellent setting and opportunity to present the European Capital of Culture 2025, which was also chosen by the European Commission because of the excellent cross-border cooperation between the two cities Nova Gorica and Gorizia. Thus, among others, the mayors of Nova Gorica and Gorica, Samo Turel and Rodolfo Ziberna, will close the fair under the banner of cross-border hospitality, in the spirit of the upcoming European Capital of Culture GO! 2025.

Slovenia will pass the "cultural baton" to Italy with the symbolic handover of the word parchment, hand in hand, as is already customary, in the spirit of cross-border cooperation in the preparation of the European Capital of Culture, where they work together on a daily basis in the common cross-border area of Nova Gorica and Gorizia. At the closing ceremony of handing over the Slovenian Guest of Honor parchment to Italy in the Satovje Pavilion, the two mayors will also present wines from the cross-border area, co-organized by the Public Book Agency.

The handover ceremony is the closing event of the Guest of Honor Pavilion and includes the presentation of this year's Guest of Honor. Each year, the "guest scroll," an art object specially designed for the Frankfurt Fair, receives a new literary text engraved by the next Guest of Honor and is presented to the representative of the country that will be the next Guest of Honor. This year, after a literary conversation with Slovenian writer Dušan Jelinčič and Italian writer Ilaria Tuti, the guest scroll will be presented to the representative of Italy, next year's Guest of Honor.  Katja Stergar, director of the Slovenian Book Agency, will also speak at the event.

The Frankfurt Book Fair and this year's strong focus on Slovenia as the guest of honor is an excellent opportunity to promote the European Capital of Culture, a title that Nova Gorica will hold in 2025 in partnership with Gorizia. For this reason, representatives of both municipalities, the European Group for Territorial Cooperation EGTC GO, and the public institute GO! 2025 are traveling to Frankfurt this weekend, with the mayors of both Gorica leading the way.