Hay Festival has unveiled the full programme for its 36th spring edition in Hay-on-Wye, with more than 500 in-person events over 11 days, 25 May-4 June 2023.
Hay Festival is the world’s leading festival of ideas, bringing readers and writers together in sustainable events to inspire, examine and entertain on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. This year’s programme launches the best new fiction and non-fiction, while offering insights and debate around significant global issues. Award-winning writers, policy makers, pioneers and innovators take part from around the world, offering big thinking and bold ideas.
Events offer something for all, beginning with the free Programme for Schools followed by HAYDAYS and #HAYYA events for families, encouraging young readers to get creative throughout the half-term.
Late nights at the Festival are given over to great music, comedy and entertainment, while a host of free pop-up activities and performances around the site keeps audience entertained between events. Providing exciting new platforms to discover fresh ideas, Hay Festival invites audiences to imagine the world as it is and as it might be. It is a catalyst for change and action, open and accessible to all.
Speaking about the programme launch, Hay Festival CEO Julie Finch said: “This Hay Festival edition is a beacon, an international symbol of hope for the collective, creative imagination and a better future. Our latest programme offers ‘11 days of different’ in the Brecon Beacons National Park, creating a space where great minds won’t always think alike, and where imaginations are free to roam. During the day our conversations will grapple and engage with the world around us, seeking solutions to some of the biggest challenges of our times while inspiring the next generation of world-changers. And in the evening we’ll laugh, dance and exchange stories in a place like nowhere else. Join us.”
Michelle McLeod, Sponsorship Manager at Baillie Gifford, said: “Hay Festival never fails to bring together the brightest minds to discuss some of the biggest challenges of our times, along with the very best writers in fiction, non-fiction and poetry. It is a celebration of the written and spoken word, with a wide-range of events for every taste and for all the family. It’s 11 days of entertainment, new perceptions and inspiration.
Hay Festival 2023 is supported by lead sponsors Baillie Gifford and Visit Wales.
Tickets are on sale now to Friends of Hay Festival via the website or on 01497 822 629. Public booking opens at noon this Friday 17 March.
