Dhaka Lit Fest: Free entry for children under 12

Book lovers who will attend the upcoming Dhaka Lit Fest will have to pay for admission, unlike the previous nine editions of the event.

Book lovers who will attend the upcoming Dhaka Lit Fest will have to pay for admission, unlike the previous nine editions of the event, but entry is still free for children under the age of 12.
General admissions will cost Tk500 for a day and Tk1,500 for four days.
Students will get a discount and have to pay Tk200 for one day and Tk500 for four days.
The organizers will also sell VIP tickets – Tk3,000 for a day and Tk10,000 for four days.
Asked why a ticket system had been introduced, DLF Director Kazi Anis Ahmed said: “People have to buy tickets for all international festivals across the world.”
“We kept admission free till the ninth edition [of DLF]... We buy tickets for music festivals or any event that has foreign stars. Why not for a literature event?
“Many internationally renowned writers, journalists and publishers, including Nobel- and Booker Prize-winning authors will come to DLF. Sarah Gilbert, who co-developed the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, will also attend the event. The airfare alone for many of them is Tk5 lakh,” he explained.
“We ask readers for this support to reduce dependence on corporations and make Dhaka Lit Fest more sustainable in the current economic situation,” Kazi Anis Ahmed added.
hsan Akbar, another director of DLF, said one would have to pay £50 to attend a single session by these authors in London.
“Many festivals abroad require separate session tickets to be bought on top of the main ticket. Here [at DLF] all the sessions of internationally celebrated writers can be attended with one ticket. Keeping that in mind, I think our ticket prices are reasonable.”
DLF Director Sadaf Saaz said tickets would go on sale soon, adding that they would also be available to buy at the entrance of the festival venue.
It was the first time in 10 editions that DLF had introduced a ticket system, she said, adding that once inside the venue, everyone would have equal access to all events and there would be no division.
“Five hundred twenty-five speakers and 100 performers will be there at some 175 sessions in four days. Access to various events including panel discussions, one-to-one discussions, musical performances and film screenings will be available on a first-come, first-served basis,” she said.
After being cancelled for three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 10th edition of DLF will be held on the Bangla Academy premises from January 5-8.
Around 30,000 people participated in the ninth Dhaka Lit Fest, held in 2019.
Two of the biggest attractions of the upcoming DLF are Nobel winners Orhan Pamuk and Abdulrazak Gurnah.