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Madrid Book Fair loses visitors despite selling 9.6 million
This year, the Madrid Book Fair has closed with a colder feeling than usual, and not precisely because of the weather. The major literary event at El Retiro brought together 730,000 unique visitors and reached 9.6 million euros in sales, important figures but below those recorded in recent editions.
The decline was noticeable in the stalls, the walkways and the park’s daily rhythm. The fair remains one of Madrid’s major cultural moments, but this year it had to compete with a city saturated with plans, major events and spells of heat that made it harder to get to El Retiro.
The comparison with previous years shows the change. In 2025, attendance exceeded one million visitors and turnover reached 10.1 million euros. A year earlier, in 2024, sales had reached 10.8 million. The fall, therefore, is not just an impression held by booksellers and regular readers.
Organisers estimate that total attendance could be around 820,000 visitors if children not detected by measurement systems are included. Even so, the difference remains clear and confirms that this year’s edition has had less pull on the streets.
Among the factors cited are the visit by Pope Leo XIV, several huge concerts, the perception that it was difficult to get around the centre and high temperatures. The heat weighed particularly heavily in the middle of the day, when many families and readers chose to postpone or directly cancel their visit.
The change in opening hours also had an impact. The fair closed at 21:00, an hour earlier than in 2025, reducing the margin in a city where many cultural plans work better towards the end of the afternoon. The final day, moreover, was marked by a weather warning just as attendance was beginning to recover.
In total, 587,014 copies were sold. Names such as Maitena, Ian Gibson, David Uclés, Siri Hustvedt, Julia Navarro, Mavi Doñate, Sara Barquinero, Fernando Aramburu, Peridis, Rosario Villajos and Luis García Montero passed through the stalls, maintaining the literary appeal of an event that still brings together authors, publishers, bookshops and readers.
The Book Fair is not merely a sum of sales and signings. For Madrid, it works as a cultural thermometer: it shows when the city feels like strolling, buying books, queuing for an author or making El Retiro an afternoon plan. This year that thermometer registered less intensity, but it also left a clear warning: even the most beloved events need to adapt to heat, mobility and an increasingly competitive urban agenda.