In 1922, James Joyce's landmark novel Ulysses was published in Paris, since it wouldn't have passed censorship rules in his native Ireland. Every 16 June, Joyce fans pay homage to the book, which takes place over one day on 16 June, by dressing in period costume and acting out scenes from the novel.
Ulysses was published by Sylvia Beach, who owned the Shakespeare and Co bookshop in Paris, so fittingly there are a number of events in the French capital, and at the bookshop for Bloomsday 2022, the centenary year. The book follows Harold Bloom's peregrinations through Dublin, a (then-) modern-day Ulysses on his odyssey.
A picnic lunch in period dress will take place at the Irish Cultural Centre from 12.30 to 2.30, with members of the Paris Bloomsbury Group acting out scenes for the picnickers. The group will then move on to Shakespeare and Co from 3 to 6 p.m. to join in a public reading, where anyone who wishes can read a passage.
The Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco will host events for adults and children on the day before Bloomsday, 15 June. From 1.45 p.m. there will be dramatic readings from the book during a walk. At 4 p.m. there will be a reading of Joyce's book Le Chat et le Diable for children.
The Irish Foreign Ministry has released this video of people around the world reading from the book in different languages. (Yes, that is Stephen Fry!)