World Book Day ( UK and Ireland ) - wikipedia World Book Day ( UK and Ireland ) World Book Day is a charity event held annually in the United Kingdom and Ireland on the first Thursday in March. It is the local manifestation of World Book and Copyright Day ( also known as International Day of the Book or World Book Days ) organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and copyright. On World Book Day, every child in full - time education in the UK is given a voucher to be spent on books. The Day was first celebrated in 1995 in the United Kingdom. The original, global World Book Day event is generally observed on 23 April - it was changed in the UK to avoid clashes with Easter school holidays and with St George 's Day. Conversely, a separate event World Book Night organized by independent charity The Reading Agency is held on 23 April. Contents 1 History 2 Administration 3 See also 4 References History The United Kingdom 's own version of World Book Day began in 1998, launched by Prime Minister Tony Blair at the Globe Theatre in London. Several million schoolchildren in the UK were given a special £ 1 World Book Day Book Token ( € 1.50 in Ireland ) which could be redeemed against any book in any UK bookshop. A specially created WBD anthology priced at £ 1 ( € 1.50 in Ireland ) was also published. All World Book Day point of sale and the £ 1 book carried the special World Book Day logo to help unify the initiative through all outlets. Since then, World Book Day UK has followed a similar pattern, gradually growing each year to encompass more initiatives, such as Spread The Word, Quick Reads Initiative and Books for Hospitals. Every year, the number of children receiving a World Book Day Book Token has increased. In 2000, instead of a single £ 1 special anthology, four separate £ 1 books were published, covering a wider age - range. Since then, each year has seen a new set of special £ 1 books published. In 2006, World Book Day began its support of and association with the Quick Reads initiative for adult emergent readers. In 2007, World Book Day celebrated its 10th anniversary with the publication of 10 £ 1 books. Since then every child in full - time education in the UK and Ireland is entitled to receive a £ 1 World Book day Book token every year. They can swap their WBD token for one of specially - produced £ 1 WBD books or they can get £ 1 off a full - price book or audio book priced £ 2.99 or more. Administration World Book Day is a registered charity. It does not raise funds for itself but does support Book Aid International and Readathon as its nominated charities, encouraging schools to hold special fundraising events for children less fortunate than themselves. World Book Day is not funded by the British Government although the Quick Reads element does receive support from ACE, DIUS and NIACE. The funding for World Book Day activities comes principally from the major sponsor, National Book Tokens and the UK book trade ( publishers and booksellers ). See also List of World Book Day books References Jump up ^ Quick Reads website Jump up ^ Charity Commission Jump up ^ Book Aid International website Jump up ^ National Book Tokens website Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Book_Day_(UK_and_Ireland)&oldid=825297659 '' Categories : Programmes of the Government of the United Kingdom Reading ( process ) March observances 1995 establishments in the United Kingdom Recurring events established in 1995 Annual events in Ireland Annual events in the United Kingdom Charity events in the United Kingdom Thursday observances Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September 2012 Holidays and observances by scheduling ( nth weekday of the month ) Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 12 February 2018, at 16 : 23. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when did world book day start in the uk
Answer: 1995