The 2008 festival is now over, this website will be updated over the next couple of weeks.
Our twenty-first birthday is a chance to mature our commitment
to being local and global, to champion great creative writing in all
media, to respect the blessing of this staggeringly beautiful natural
environment, to deepen our engagement with the most passionately
held beliefs that fuel conflict around the world, and to throw ourselves headlong into the pursuit of a really good time.
LATEST NEWS
JOHN BOLTON ON TORTURE AND EXTREME RENDITION
When asked about Water Boarding, torture and Extreme Rendition President Bush's Ambassador to the UN (2005--06), perhaps surprisingly, says he hasn't given much thought to the matters and therefore can't comment on it.
Click here to watch a clip from the event...
APOLOGIES
Apologies; the following events (427 & 461) "For You" have been cancelled. We will endeavor to refund you as soon as possible or visit us at the box office for an instant refund.
We apologise for any inconvenience.
Jimmy Carter on Bush and War Crimes
When pressed by Philippe Sands...on Bush's recent admission that he had authorized interrogation procedures widely seen as amounting to torture, Carter replied that he was sure Bush would be able to live a peaceful, 'productive life - in our country'" after he leaves the White House. Sands later said that he had "understood that to be 'clear confirmation' that, while Bush would face no challenge in his own country, 'what happened outside the country was another matter entirely.'"
Click here to watch the clip from this years festival...
OVERFLOW CAR PARKING
The car parks around the site are filling up, however we have extensive car parks over the river at Clyro Court. From there a shuttle bus will ferry you to and from the festival site in Hay.
LISTEN AGAIN
Events from the 2008 festival are now avaliable in our audio archive. Events already online include: Jimmy Carter talking to Philippe Sands, Cherie Booth, Joseph Stiglitz and many more.
Click here to view the full list...
HAY 21
Whenever we survey the audience, one of the things that is always most strongly registered is how much Haygoers value discovering new voices. People have cherished that they came to the festival to hear John Updike or Margaret Atwood, and have lucked into hearing unknown new writers like Arundhati Roy, DBC Pierre and Yann Martel.
For our 21st birthday, we’d like to propose 21 writers appearing at Hay who may not be so familiar, but who we think are remarkable. Some are first time writers, some are huge stars in other languages. They’re all cracking reads.
Click here for the Hay 21 list...
WIN A YEARS FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO SKY HD!
To celebrate the first filming of "What the Dickens?" one person who buys a ticket over the website will win a years free subscription to Sky HD, so they can enjoy Sky Arts all year.
Click here to buy tickets...
SETH LAKEMAN FREEBIES!
Seth Lakeman plays the Barclays Wealth Stage at 9.30pm on Friday 30th May. The West Country born singer and songwriter, credited with bringing folk music to a whole new audience, is known for his powerful live performances and for giving traditional folk music a contemporary feel. His eagerly anticipated new album, Poor Man's Heaven is released on 30th June and perfectly captures the raw, rhythmic energy of his live shows.
You can download a taster of the new album from www.sethlakeman.co.uk/liveep The free live EP features 5 live tracks, including 3 from the new album, which you can download to your computer or burn onto a CD.
GOOD ENERGY
We are delighted to have signed up with Good Energy who will provide our mains electricity to the Festival site. Good Energy are the only 100% renewable electricity supplier in the UK. For each customer that signs up (by following this link to www.good-energy.co.uk/hay), Good Energy will donate £5 to Hay Festival's Education Charity for sustainable education initiatives and £5 to projects for low-carbon development in some of the world's poorest countries through Concern Universal.
TENTS AND EXTRA EVENTS
The tents are up and we'd like to let you know about a special extra event:
Friday 30 May, 7pm, £5
PETER MORGAN - Frost/Nixon
The award-winning screenwriter (The Queen, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Last King of Scotland) gives an exclusive preview of clips of his forthcoming film FROST/NIXON directed by Ron Howard, and talks about his work to Francine Stock.
This event replaces the Alan Bennet event who has sadly had to cancel due to ill heath.
Book your tickets here...
FULL PROGRAMME UNVEILED
President Jimmy Carter, Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis, Jamie Oliver, John Irving, Jeremy Clarkson and Jools Holland, all competing for your attention.
Where else but Hay-on-Wye, the sleepy town in the Welsh borders that becomes, for two weeks each year, one of the world's biggest celebrations of all things bookish?
Book your tickets here...