Hay Festival 2019 Programme

From the genetics of insects and groundbreaking x-ray technology to measuring the world’s forests with lasers, three Royal Society Research Fellows discuss their work at the forefront of science with neuroscientist and broadcaster Hannah Critchlow.

A conversation with two very experienced and acclaimed writers venturing for the first time into fiction. Loudon’s My House is Falling Down is a vivid and compelling novel about a modern love triangle that asks some provocative questions: what happens when you tell the whole truth in marriage? Is it still infidelity if nobody lies? Can you really love two people at once? Rahim’s Asghar and Zahra is a funny, sympathetic and very human novel about the first year of a marriage, and the difficulties of reconciling the sometimes conflicting demands of family, religion and society. 

New Stand-Up from the beloved GBBO and QI superstar. 

Sandi is a Danish/British writer and presenter.   She has been working on British TV and radio for nearly four decades and in 2014 was made an Officer of the British Empire for her services to broadcasting.   She has written over 25 books including fact and fiction. Her latest novel ‘The End of the Sky’ was published in 2017 and her new stage musical, an adaptation of ‘Treasure Island’,  will open in December 2018 Sandi is the co-founder of Britain’s newest political force, the Women’s Equality Party.

Presented by Fane Productions

Sandi will also be appearing in the Woodland Trust event on Tuesday morning at 10am, for which there are tickets available - event 166

The pre-eminent primatologist offers a whirlwind tour of new ideas and findings about animal emotions, based on his renowned studies of the social and emotional lives of chimpanzees and bonobos. De Waal discusses facial expressions, animal sentience and consciousness, the emotional side of human politics, and the illusion of free will. He distinguishes between emotions and feelings, all the while emphasising the continuity between our species and other species. And he makes the radical proposal that emotions are like organs: we haven’t a single organ that other animals don’t have, and the same is true for our emotions. Chaired by Rosie Boycott.

After more than a hundred years of the internal combustion engine, a new automotive technology has arrived. Cleaner, quieter and fun to drive, electric cars are here, and they are here to stay. But how do we get from 2.6% of new car sales in 2018 to the numbers we need to make a real difference to air pollution, and climate change? The Government has set ambitious targets for the uptake of electric vehicles. If we are to meet them, a change in the way people drive and think about the technology is required. Join Jesse Norman, Future of Mobility Minister and local Hereford MP, and Mike Hawes, Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers, as well as panellists from the motor and energy industries, to discuss this transition. Chaired by TV presenter and author Kate Humble.

It’s twenty years since the Welsh Assembly opened its doors for the first time, instituted in a referendum with a marginal majority on a low turnout, but backed with a formidable soundtrack of contemporary rock music. The Institute of Welsh Affairs brings together politicians and cultural figures to reflect on how ‘Cool Cymru’ helped create an atmosphere for a ‘Yes’ vote, and on what has and hasn’t been achieved in the two decades since 1999. David Melding has been a Conservative Assembly Member since 1999. Bethan Elfyn joined BBC Radio 1 and has now been a champion of new Welsh music for over two decades. Rachel Trezise won the first Dylan Thomas Prize and has become one of the leading writers of prose and plays in post-devolution Wales. Writer Rhian E Jones’s article on the relationship between politics and culture at the time of Cool Cymru appears in the latest issue of the welsh agenda. Dylan Moore is the editor of the welsh agenda and the current Cymrawd Rhyngwladol Cymru Greadigol Hay Festival / Hay Festival Creative Wales International Fellow.

Jo Whiley presents her BBC Radio 2 evening show live from Hay. She’ll be joined live on stage by special guests from across the Festival alongside her usual handpicked selection of great music.

One of Britain’s most experienced and versatile pianists appears at Hay Festival for the first time with the world première of a cycle of Preludes and Fugues by Howard Skempton, a composer loved for his accessible but highly individual and beautifully crafted miniatures. Alongside some iconic romantic repertoire from Liszt, Mendelssohn and Chopin, Howard also plays a selection of piano love songs that he commissioned for his hugely successful album Sixteen Contemporary Love Songs. William Howard and Howard Skempton will introduce the repertoire in conversation with Clemency Burton-Hill, commencing the concert at 7.30pm.

Book your table for dinner in The Grove festival restaurant and receive a complimentary drink* with each ticket.

The comfortable and relaxed restaurant offers friendly and professional table service and an exciting menu of locally-sourced fresh and seasonal food, expertly crafted by our passionate kitchen team. Click here to see a sample of the menu.

We also offer delicious vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free choices, desserts and local cheeses. Complement your meal with a choice of local craft beers, artisan gins and quality wines from our fully stocked bar. A selection of Fairtrade coffees and teas is also available.

Your reservation will be held for your arrival between 7pm and 8pm and our staff will be ready to warmly welcome you.

If you have any special dietary requirements please contact us in advance on 01453 708336 or email thegrove@bigeventcatering.co.uk

 *A 125ml glass of house wine, 500ml bottle of beer, lager or cider or a soft drink.


The Grove also offers delicious afternoon teas, including optional Bollinger Champagne, and a sumptuous array of delicate finger sandwiches and homemade cakes. Please call ahead to book for afternoon tea on 01453 708336. £25 per person.

Baloji is an artist in motion, a musician, poet, film director, a man of images and ideas. He’s in motion like the inhabitants of Avenue Kaniama in Lubumbashi. In motion like the synthetic Afrobeats he produces, the fruit of an unlikely alliance between rockrumba and futurist funk. In perpetual motion, like his limbs on stage as he fronts the Kaniama Show band, leading them in a sensual voodoo trance. 137 Avenue Kaniama is Baloji’s third album. Baloji means ‘man of science’ in Swahili, but during the colonial period that meaning shifted as a result of Christian evangelisation, to signify ‘man of the occult sciences’ and then ‘sorcerer’. He is full of wonders. His live shows are spectacular, joyful celebrations.

In June 1969 police raided New York gay bar the Stonewall Inn. Matt Todd’s book Pride charts the events of that night, the days and nights of rioting that followed, the ensuing organisation of local members of the community – and the fifty years since in which activists and ordinary people have dedicated their lives to reversing the global position. Todd, the former editor of Attitude and author of Straight Jacket, is joined by transgender star Paris Lees and YouTuber Calum McSwiggan to celebrate the milestones in the fight for equality, from the victories of early activists to the gradual acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in politics, sport and the media, and the passing of legislation barring discrimination.

The Welsh publishing house throws a poetry party featuring four new collections from supremely talented poets. Costa Award-winning Jonathan Edwards reads from Gen – a book of sharp yet beautifully warm and humane poems. The title refers to people of Edwards’ generation and his recognition of the preoccupations of the age group that he shares. Catherine Fisher’s first collection for twenty years is The Bramble King, which includes poems on imaginary planets and princes, on the summer solstice, on drawing, on a glass shop – and a clockwork crow (title of her Blue Peter Award-shortlisted children’s book). Rhiannon Hooson’s beautifully resonant first collection The Other City was shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year. Elizabeth Parker’s In Her Shambles is a fantastic debut of spikey, provocative, declamatory and wonderfully energetic poems. All four poets contribute to Seren's new Poems from The Borders anthology published in celebration of the English/Welsh Marches.

Wake up and re-energise with our morning yoga class. Iyengar yoga is characterised by precision, alignment and attention to detail and is an inclusive and accessible yoga practice. Mats are provided; wear comfortable clothing; all abilities welcome. More info at wyevalleyiyengaryoga.com.

On a walk in the some of the most spectacular mountainscape, the geopark expert for Brecon Beacons National Park will share some of the geological wonders of the National Park and the stories behind the landscape of the Black Mountains between Hay and the Usk Valley. The walk will be abouut 3.7 miles long, with a 250 metre ascent.

Please wear appropriate footwear. Numbers are limited. There will be a bus journey to and from the walk location; return to Festival site by 12.30pm.

The challenges and opportunities facing our woods and forests are many and varied, from climate change to rewilding, from greenbelt development to urban woods. We have to focus on increasing tree plantings but cannot ignore the threats facing our ancient woodland. “Ten thousand oaks of 100 years old are not a substitute for one 500-year-old oak” – Oliver Rackham. Tree experts George Peterken and Archie Miles discuss the state of the woodland with Natalie Buttriss, Director of Woodland Trust Wales, and Woodland Trust Ambassador Sandi Toksvig.

In June 1916 Field Marshal Lord Kitchener set sail from Orkney on a secret mission to bolster the Russian war effort. Just a mile off land and in the teeth of a force 9 gale, HMS Hampshire suffered a huge explosion, sinking in little more than fifteen minutes. Kitchener’s body was never found. Remembered today as the face of the famous First World War recruitment drive, at the height of his career Kitchener was fêted as Britain’s greatest military hero since Wellington, though he was considered by many to be arrogant, secretive and high-handed. From the moment his death was announced, rumours of a conspiracy began to flourish, with the finger pointed variously at the Bolsheviks, Irish nationalist saboteurs and the British government. Laws is an historian and served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Chaired by Sarfraz Manzoor.

Focusing on republican politics in ancient Rome, the speeches of Cicero and parallels between ancient and modern political speech, Van der Blom explores what the study of ancient rhetoric contributes to current debates about political communication. Van der Blom is Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Birmingham, founding director of the Network for Oratory and Politics and the leader of a research project into the crisis of speech in modern British politics.

Simon Mundie presents the Radio 4 podcast Don’t Tell Me the Score, which explores what sport tells us about life – looking at themes including tribalism, emotional intelligence and resilience, as well as subjects such as nutrition and sleep. Simon also presents the sport on the Today programme, and on Radio 1, and is a roving reporter for BBC TV at Wimbledon.