The official hashtag for this year’s Sharjah International Book Fair, SIBF, #SIBF16, has received more than 700 million impressions during the first five days of the fair, with the tag becoming a popular trend through social media sites that include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.

SIBF 2016’s total exposure using hashtag #SIBF16 over the course of the fair’s opening five days were 642 posts on all social media sites, with 118 Instagram stories, 169 Snapchat stories, 259 Twitter posts and 96 Facebook posts.

Khoula Al Mujaini, Head of Marketing at Sharjah Book Authority, the fair organisers, stressed that this high level of engagement and interaction with the fair through social media reflects its huge popularity among book-lovers and readers from the UAE, the wider region and the world. She highlighted how visitors to the fair are posting SIBF news, activities and events, with photos of their favourite books a popular subject matter.

SIBF’s management team expect the #SIBF16 number of views to exceed one billion by the end of the fair, due to its spectrum of activities relating to literature, culture, science and entertainment. Included in the 11-day schedule is a Children's Activities programme, a Cultural Activities programme, a Cultural Cafe and a Cookery Corner. An array of additional competitions, entertainment performances, seminars, presentations and workshops are taking place every day throughout the fair, with its special guests including writers, intellectuals, literary personalities, media celebrities and book industry figures. SIBF 2016 concludes on Saturday, 12th November.