The line-up for Hay Festival 2024 has been announced today.
The 37th spring edition of the event will take place over 11 days between May 23 and June 2 in Hay-on-Wye.
This year’s festival will feature more than 600 in-person events.
Acting royalty Judi Dench, former Prime Minister Theresa May, and presenter and former footballer Gary Lineker are among a catalogue of headline names revealed today for the programme.
Some of the headline artists announced today include:
Authors: Amor Towles, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Colm Tóibín, Cressida Cowell, David Mitchell, Jeff Kinney, Jhumpa Lahiri, David Nicholls, Elif Shafak, Holly Jackson, Alex Wharton, Jacqueline Wilson, Sunjeev Sahota, Manon Steffan Ros, Marian Keyes, Michael Morpurgo and Oliver Jeffers.
Historians: Alice Roberts, Greg Jenner and Tom Holland
Politicians: Theresa May, Andy Burnham, Julia Gillard and Rory Stewart
Musicians: Bonnie Tyler, Charlotte Church, Geri Halliwell-Horner, James Blunt, Jools Holland, Robert Macfarlane and Johnny Flynn
Journalists: James O’Brien, Caitlin Moran and Elizabeth Day
Actors: Dame Judi Dench, Miriam Margolyes, Stephen Fry, Sir Lenny Henry and Toby Jones
Poets: Hanan Issa, Simon Armitage, Jackie Kay, Lemn Sissay, Hollie McNish, Michael Rosen and Joseph Coelho
Comedians: Jon Richardson, Nish Kumar, Julian Clary, Ruby Wax and Sara Pascoe
Launching the best new fiction and non-fiction, while offering insights and debate around significant global issues, the programme sees writers, policy makers, pioneers and innovators take part from around the world, offering big thinking and bold ideas.
Events begin with the free schools programme on May 23 and 24, and including a vibrant strand for families throughout.
New projects woven across the Festival include The Platform for new creatives, the daily News Review offering analysis of the latest events, the first-ever Hay Festival Sports Day, and Hay Festival Green, prompting innovative solutions to the climate crisis.
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 sessions.
Events will take place across eight stages in the redesigned free-to-enter Festival site at Dairy Meadows – which also offers a range of spaces for audiences to explore and enjoy, including the Bookshop, Wild Garden, Make & Take Tent, a host of exhibitors and market stalls, cafés and restaurants. The new Family Garden is a space where young readers can kick-start their creative journeys.
There will also be plenty to get involved with in and around Hay-on-Wye, including performances all week at St Mary’s Church.
Hay Festival Global CEO Julie Finch said: “In a year when more voters than ever in history will head to the polls, as at least 64 countries hold their elections, we present a programme to bring people together, respectfully exploring different perspectives and the power of storytelling to unite us.
“With new venues on our free-to-enter Festival site and diverse new projects throughout the programme, this is a festival for everyone. Join us in a world of different ideas.”
Tickets are on sale now to Hay Festival Members, Patrons and Benefactors. General sale begins at noon this Friday, March 15.
For more information and to purchase tickets visit the Hay Festival website.