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The 34th International Book Fair of Havana will take place from August 10 to 16, 2026, according to an official announcement released four months after the event was abruptly suspended amid the worst energy crisis the island has faced in decades.
The Cuban Institute of the Book (ICL) and the Cuban Chamber of the Book made the announcement at the International Press Center in Havana, also confirming a change of venue: the fair will leave the historic San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress to move to the Estación Cultural de Línea y 18.
The edition will be dedicated to the centenary of Fidel Castro, within the framework of the so-called "Year of the Commander's Centenary" proclaimed by the regime, and will have Russia as the guest of honor, reflecting Havana's political and energy dependence on Moscow.
The Organizing Committee itself acknowledged that the event will take place "in extremely complex and difficult times," an admission that contrasts with the official narrative of cultural resistance.
The fair was postponed on February 7, 2026, just five days before its scheduled opening on the 12th of that month, when the regime implemented emergency measures due to the energy crisis: fuel restrictions, a reduction in national trains, and limitations on worker transportation.
At that time, the ICL attributed the suspension to an "extraordinary situation" caused, according to the official narrative, by the "genocidal blockade imposed by the Government of the United States against Cuba and its new escalation of aggressions to economically suffocate our people."
Four months later, the energy situation is even more serious. The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, admitted in May that Cuba had "absolutely no fuel oil, nor absolutely any diesel".
Electricity deficits exceeded 2,100 MW on several days in May, with blackouts lasting up to 24 hours daily in various provinces.
This Saturday, on the eve of the announcement of the new date, the Electric Union reported a capacity of only 1,090 MW against a demand of 2,557 MW, with a projected nighttime impact of 1,990 MW nationwide.
This Sunday, in addition, the Felton power plant went offline from the National Electric System, further worsening the electrical collapse during one of the worst moments of the year for the grid.
Between December 2025 and the end of April 2026, Cuba received only one fuel shipment when it needs eight monthly to sustain its economy. Russia sent an emergency shipment of 100,000 tons of crude oil at the end of March, enough to cover barely seven to ten days of consumption.
The 34th edition will also honor the work of the poet and literary critic Marylin Bobes and the philosopher José Bell Lara, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences and professor at the University of Havana.
ECLAC projects a contraction of the Cuban GDP of 6.5% for 2026, while the Economist Intelligence Unit estimates a decline of 7.2%, figures that set the context in which the regime intends to celebrate one of its most emblematic cultural events.
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