I am writing on behalf of the Livraria Lello Foundation to invite you to attend the opening of BABELL on
24 June 2026, in Porto, Portugal.
BABELL is an international cultural initiative taking place in Porto, throughout June 2026,
aligned with the European understanding of culture as a driver of territorial cohesion, democratic life, and social development.
The opening will coincide with the inauguration of a new public garden offered to the city
by the Livraria Lello Foundation, the largest public garden of private initiative created in Portugal in the last 100 years.
The space is designed by Álvaro Siza Vieira, Pritzker Prize–winning architect, with landscape
architecture by Sidónio Pardal, and will be inaugurated with a keynote conference by the internationally renowned philosopher Byung-Chul Han.
This opening will take place on St. John’s Day (São João), the most important civic celebration
in Porto, in a symbolic location between a major business hub and the Monastery of Leça do Balio, a classified national monument and headquarters of the Livraria Lello Foundation.
BABELL unfolds entirely in public space, across streets and squares of the city, all within
a 15-minute walking distance, with free public transport for audiences.
The event brings together leading international writers and thinkers, such as Nobel Prize
laureate Olga Tokarczuk, alongside Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood, all confirmed, and has a distinctive feature: access to the programme is ensured through the purchase of books at Porto’s independent and second-hand bookshops, reinforcing reading as a
civic and territorial act.
Promoted by Livraria Lello, through its Foundation, with the support of the Porto City Council,
BABELL is an expression of cultural responsibility grounded in the belief that investing in culture and reading is one of the most effective ways to strengthen territories and democracy, especially in times marked by war, polarisation, and division.
Your presence at the opening of BABELL would represent a strong and meaningful European
signal in support of culture as a strategic public good.
We would be pleased to provide further information and adapt the programme to your availability.