Imagine the world

The seventh Hay Festival Segovia took place 25–30 September 2012, a thrilling week of exhibitions, conversations and performances that broke box office records and celebrated creativity, resilience and hope in the face of economic anxiety.

International writers Nicole Kraus, Aleksandar Hemon, Karl Ove Knausgard, Evelio Rosero, Khaled Khalifa, Dragomán György, Ian Gibson, Philippa Gregory, David Safier, Eduardo Sacheri and Andrew Miller discussed imagining the world with Spanish stars Juan José Millás, Javier Moro, Matilde Asensi and Elvira Lindo.

One of the great highlights was an interview with the superstar designer and creator of the Olympic Cauldron Thomas Heatherwick, who headlined the design element of the festival alongside a fabulous AHEC project to recreate the famous Roman Aqueduct with wooden blocks passed hand-to-hand by the people of the town. Read more below...

2012 programme PDF Photos 2012 Blog 2012

Anthony Beevor launched his magisterial history of the Second World War, and journalists Jon Lee Anderson, Ricardo Ravelo, Ramón Lobo and Javier Martín brought news of the world.

The Mexican film star Diego Luna gave a reading of the poem ‘Howl' accompanied by music by Jaime Lopez. The great EU expert from the LSE, Iain Begg raised spirits with an inspiring and encouraging analysis of Spain's economic future, reminding us that until very recently Spain was Europe's most dynamic economy. The festival ended on a high note with a discussion and peformance with Antonio Muñoz, Josep Pons and the music of Cuarteto Aventi.

The philosophical train journey organised by the AXA Foundation in collaboration with the transport company Renfe was in 2012 dedicated to India. Taking audiences to attend the Voices of Liberty debate with Raja Mohan, Antonio Garrigues and Javier Moreno, followed by the Satyajit Ray exhibition, it was an inspiring voyage of discovery and reflection on different perspectives of Indian society.

2012 Artists

The best international artists celebrate literature, science, journalism, cinema, music, visual arts and much more.
Visual Arts Programme

We ran an exciting programme of visual arts exhibitions in 2012.

Find out more...

Hay Festival Writers’ Blog

Read our Hay Festival Writers’ blog for their impressions of Hay Festival Segovia 2012.

Find out more...
2012 Photos

Hay Festival Segovia 2012 in pictures.

View the photos...