Lisbon Literary Festival 5L Returns with a Twist
The Lisbon 5L Literary Festival is set to return in May 2025, but this time it will be without an external artistic director. The Lisbon City Hall (CML) has decided to take the reins of the festival, which aims to promote the Portuguese language, literature, books, bookstores, and reading. This year's theme will be "Culture and Innovation", and the festival will take place at the Fábrica de Unicórnios in the Creative Hub of Beato.
In response to inquiries regarding the artistic director position, which was supposed to be filled last year, the CML stated that the upcoming edition will be directed by the municipality through its Municipal Library Network.
Originally planned for 2024, the festival was announced but later canceled just days before its scheduled date, with the format being "rethought" and postponed to the following year. Since its inception in 2020, the artistic director was the late José Pinho, a well-known bookseller who passed away on May 30, 2023. Due to legal constraints regarding his public appointment, a new director could not be appointed immediately.
Despite earlier promises to open a competition for a new director in June 2024, this has not yet materialized. As of May 3, 2024, the festival's Instagram indicated that the 5L Festival will occur from May 1 to 5, 2025, with plans for a public competition for its artistic direction forthcoming. However, the CML has not provided any explanations regarding the delay in this process.
Festival's Origins and Future Plans
The idea for a literary festival in Lisbon originated from a proposal by the Communist Party in 2018, spearheaded by then-councilor João Ferreira and writer Ana Margarida de Carvalho. The CML approved the initiative and held a public competition resulting in José Pinho being appointed as director for three years. The festival's name, 5L, signifies Language, Literature, Books, Bookstores, and Reading.
Lisbon's Mayor Carlos Moedas has reassured that the festival will not be canceled, emphasizing that it will go on with a focus on culture and innovation, managed by the municipality's cultural department with various curators involved.
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