Press Release 27th March 2026

Austrian Reading Day 2026 at BILLA: Musician Cosmó reads to students at the BILLA PLUS Gerngross

BILLA places great importance on supporting children and young people and does so through numerous partnerships and initiatives. For example, the grocery retailer participated for the first time this year in Austrian Reading Day on March 26.

Three people stand smiling in front of a brightly lit yellow "BILLA" sign. The person in the center holds a book and wears a green sweater with black patterns. The two individuals on either side are dressed in business attire.

(from left to right): Hamed Mohseni (BILLA Sales Director), musician Cosmó, and Anna Pöttler (Head of Event Management and Managing Director of echo event) present the storybook, which was specially compiled for the event. / Copyright: BILLA AG / Robert Harson, Reproduction for PR purposes free of charge

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BILLA participated in Austrian Reading Day for the first time and was the only food retailer represented this year

Celebrity Reader: On March 26, 2026, musician Cosmó read to a school class at the Marktküche in the BILLA PLUS at the Gerngross department store from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

BILLA places great importance on supporting children and young people and does so through numerous partnerships and initiatives. This year, for the first time, the grocery retailer took part in Austrian Reading Day on March 26. For the event, the BILLA PLUS market kitchen at the Gerngross department store on Mariahilfer Straße in Vienna was transformed into a reading room: From 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., musician Cosmó—who is best known for his song “Tanzschein”—read to a school class there. The reading book was compiled by echomedia buchverlag specifically for the event and contains various short stories for children and young people aged five, ten, and fourteen and older. On-site, the children were treated to free snacks from the BILLA private-label assortment.

Hamed Mohseni, BILLA Sales Director: “Reading is one of the fundamental skills of everyday life. Austrian Reading Aloud Day is a wonderful opportunity to highlight the importance of reading and to celebrate the joy of it together. At BILLA, we place great importance on supporting children and young people, and we are delighted that we were able to welcome musician Cosmó, a prominent reader, to our Market Kitchen for this event.”

Cosmó: “Reading skills are incredibly important. A good feel for language is especially helpful when it comes to songwriting, because it allows me to bring stories to life, create imagery, and express emotions. I also enjoy reading in my free time, so I’m thrilled to be part of this year’s Austrian Reading Aloud Day and to dive into literary worlds with the schoolchildren.”

Since 2018, Austrian Reading Aloud Day has invited people from all walks of life and age groups to read aloud once a year. The initiative helps promote a culture of reading in Austria, while also helping to strengthen reading skills and combat illiteracy.