Paris in July 2026 - the evolution story

 Some 15 years ago (I think it was 2010) Paris in July, a blogging event, was born out of a friendship and conversations about all things we love about Paris. Karen and I were keen to invest time into reading, celebrating and enjoying all things French for the month of July, and to share this with the blogging community.  Interestingly, I recently asked an AI tool to define the period of blogging around 2009 - and it noted that the birth of blogging was early 1990's, by 1999 - 2003, blogging tools began to improve and blogging was becoming a tool for sharing thoughts, reflections and reviews more publicly. When Karen and I were ready to go live, blogging was reaching it's 'golden era' (as defined by media scholars and historians). During the early 2000s we noticed mainstream adoption, professional blogs, niche expertise, RSS readers flourish, blogs influence politics and journalism. This was following by the social media transition, and now, blogging occurs in a variety or formats on many platforms, and is using AI to build content. 

However, Paris in July, has always been an authentic space for individuals to continue to share their love of all things Paris/France and the French culture. 

I'm super excited to see that Words and Peace continues to host the event now in 2026!  Emma has been a regular contributor for many many years, and it's a delight to see it lives on.  Everyone has phases in life that come and go, and for me, I needed to step back from blogging to manage my personal, professional and academic pursuits in recent years. But when you have a virtual community around you, and you share the vision for something, it's easy to ask for help, and easy to trust the change over. Thank you Emma. 

I was thinking about all the contributors, all the posts, and the community that Paris in July developed, and asked AI to provide some commentary for me.. Here's a few insights: 

• The annual Paris in July blogging event hosted by Thyme for Tea has become one of the longest-running themed community events in the book-blogging world. What began around 2010 has grown into a remarkably durable international community centred on a shared affection for France, Paris, and French culture.
• The event has never been about attracting hundreds of bloggers; instead it has cultivated a loyal core of returning participants, with new bloggers joining each year.
• Across the life of the event, there have probably been 80–100 distinct bloggers participating, although many returned year after year. Regular contributors include blogs such as Bellezza, Books as Food, Brona's Books, The Marmalade Gypsy, Readerbuzz, The Reading Life, A Bookish Way of Life, Mae's Food Blog, The Content Reader, and Words and Peace, among many others
• Over roughly fifteen years it has likely featured well over a thousand individual blog posts from around 80–100 different bloggers.
•  Its enduring appeal lies not in competition or volume but in its welcoming, eclectic spirit and the friendships that developed through many Julys of shared enthusiasm for France.
• In summary - AI noted -  Paris in July is a notable example of a long-lived niche blogging event. While it has never been massive in scale, it has achieved something arguably more valuable: a sustained, international community of readers, travellers, cooks and Francophiles who return each July to celebrate French culture together.

With that, I wonder what the next evolution of Paris in July will be? Will you be continuing, via the new home over at Words and Peace? Don't forget to sign in with the widget Emma provides - because, as in the past, it's being able to follow and link with our fellow francophiles that makes this month and Paris in July the event it has always been... 

I'll be involved this year as a participant. I think I have the time and energy to pop in, visit other bloggers, and contribute some original content on one of my favourite subjects - Paris! 

I'm super keen to invite any of our regular contributors to share some reflections on what it's been like to be involved in this annual event..  why dont you share your memories in a post, or just in the comments below?  As noted by AI, this is one of the longest running community blogging events...... lets support Emma, and keep it alive.