New Events

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Event 386

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

BBC Radio 4: Saturday Live

Venue: Marquee
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BBC Radio 4’s Saturday morning show with Nikki Bedi and Huw Stephens brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people, live from Hay.

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Event 402

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

SKY ARTS MEETS… FATS TIMBO

In conversation with Simon Savidge

Venue: Sky Arts Studio
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TikTok comedian, podcaster, and now author, Fats Timbo will be joining host Simon Savidge for a sit down interview to be broadcast on Sky Arts. They will discuss her new book Main Character Energy, which outlines her 10 Commandments for how to live your life by harnessing your inner superpower!
This event will be recorded for Sky Arts. As this event is a TV recording some seats may have restricted views and limited sound levels. Please arrive ten minutes early in order to be seated. We will be unable to accommodate latecomers.

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Event 400

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

The Shamima Begum Story

Series 2 of I’m Not Monster

Venue: Marquee
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At just 15, Shamima Begum ran away from her London home with two school friends to join the Islamic State group in war torn Syria. Four years later she was the only one of the girls to emerge from the ashes of the so-called caliphate. She was pregnant with her third child and desperate to come home, but the British government took away her citizenship to stop her coming back, saying she was a threat to national security.

From a detention camp in Syria, she’s given investigative journalist Josh Baker what she says is her full account of everything that happened. He’s been following her story since the day she left in 2015 and spent more than a year retracting her journey and interrogating her account. Along with producers Sara Obeidat and Joe Kent, he’s pieced together where she went, who she met and what she did while she was with IS to try and find out the truth behind Shamima Begum’s story.

Now the team behind the BBCs most awarded podcast series come together to discuss their investigation and answer your questions about one of the biggest and one of the biggest stories in Britain.
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Event 403

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

SKY ARTS MEETS… RICHARD E GRANT

In conversation with Simon Savidge

Venue: Sky Arts Studio
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Award winning actor, director, diarist and author Richard E Grant joins host Simon Savidge for a sit down interview to be broadcast on Sky Arts. They will discuss Richard’s new book A Pocketful of Happiness, an inspirational memoir that records the recent illness and death of Joan, his wife of 40 years and the challenge she left him - to find a ‘Pocketful of Happiness’ in life every day. He will also be discussing his previous books, a childhood in Swaziland and his breakout film role - Withnail and I.
This event will be recorded for Sky Arts. As this event is a TV recording some seats may have restricted views and limited sound levels. Please arrive ten minutes early in order to be seated. We will be unable to accommodate latecomers.
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Event 395

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

Cantorion Y Gelli Choir

Venue: Wild Garden
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Enjoy this half-hour open air performance between events. Welsh Language choir Cantorion Y Gelli is returning to the festival by popular demand. Led by Gemma Duggan, the experienced local choristers - a mix of Welsh learners and native speakers - are looking forward to competing in the next Eisteddfod. Enjoy a musical treat with this lively group.
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Event 407

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

BBC Radio 4: Beyond Belief

Do we have a desire for God?

Venue: Marquee
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In his latest book, “The God Desire”, David Baddiel suggests that we do - we have a need to believe in a higher being. And that is why, he says, he’s been led to a kind of “reluctant atheism”.

Aleem Maqbool spoke to David Baddiel about his faith and the journey that led to this point.

Beyond Belief is the Radio 4 show that takes a personal story and explores what this tells us about the way faith shapes our world. In this special episode, recorded at The Hay Festival, BBC Religion Editor, Aleem Maqbool, brings together a panel of writers, poets and thinkers to discuss one of the biggest questions of our existence. Why do humans believe in God? Is it something that is hard-wired into human nature? Is the fear of oblivion a driving force in religious belief? Or is it all just a product of our imagination?

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Event 393

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

Johan Rockström, Mike Rann,and Helen Clarkson

Communicating Climate Change for Action not Apathy

Venue: The Hive
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One of the biggest challenges in tackling the climate emergency is not technical, we know what we need to do - it is in how the necessary change is communicated. How do we communicate the seriousness of the situation and avoid the pitfalls of despair and despondency. What are the key issues and how does the messaging need to change depending on the audiences?

Johan Rockström is an internationally recognised scientist for his work on global sustainability. He helped lead a team of scientists that presented the planetary boundaries framework, first published in 2009 and updated in 2015.

Mike Rann is chair of the Climate Group and former Premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was also Climate Change Minister, the first in Australia.

Helen Clarkson is the CEO of the Climate Group and previously, was at Forum for the Future, playing a key role, supporting the UK Presidency of the 2021 COP26.

In conversation with Nik Gowing, Founder and Co-Director of Thinking the Unthinkable and a main presenter for the BBC’s international 24-hour news channel BBC World News 1996-2014.
Johan Rockström will be appearing virtually.
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Event 404

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

SKY ARTS MEETS... BARBARA KINGSOLVER

In conversation with Simon Savidge

Venue: Sky Arts Studio
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Pulitzer Prize winning author Barbara Kingsolver joins host Simon Savidge for a sit down interview to be broadcast on Sky Arts. She will talk about her latest novel - Demon Copperhead - which has been longlisted for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction, and she and Simon will delve into her hugely impressive back catalogue of titles which include The Lacuna, The Poisonwood Bible, Unsheltered and Flight Behaviour.
This event will be recorded for Sky Arts. As this event is a TV recording some seats may have restricted views and limited sound levels. Please arrive ten minutes early in order to be seated. We will be unable to accommodate latecomers.
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Event 409

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

Hay Festival Writers at Work Live

Venue: Writers at Work Tent
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Sit back, relax and enjoy new work from 10 of Wales' most exciting creative talents in this special event of short readings. Hay Festival Writers at Work is a professional development opportunity for Welsh writers, run in partnership with Literature Wales, funded by Arts Council of Wales. This year's cohort of future award-winners includes Connor Allen, Sophie Buchaillard, Brennig Davies, Nia Davies, Gwenllian Ellis, Louise Mumford, Taz Rahman, Francesca Reece, Anthony Shapland and Emma Smith-Barton.
Free – drop in

Event 410

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

Hay Festival Writers at Work Live

Venue: Writers at Work Tent
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Sit back, relax and enjoy new work from 10 of Wales' most exciting creative talents in this special event of short readings. Hay Festival Writers at Work is a professional development opportunity for Welsh writers, run in partnership with Literature Wales, funded by Arts Council of Wales. This year's cohort of future award-winners includes Connor Allen, Sophie Buchaillard, Brennig Davies, Nia Davies, Gwenllian Ellis, Louise Mumford, Taz Rahman, Francesca Reece, Anthony Shapland and Emma Smith-Barton.
Free – drop in

Event 389

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

Jeremy Bowen in conversation with Frank Gardner

THE MAKING OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST

Venue: Baillie Gifford Stage
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The BBC’s International Editor has covered the Middle East since 1989 and is uniquely placed to explain its complex past and troubled present. In his new book, he meets ordinary men and women on the front line, their leaders, whether brutal or benign, and explores the power games that have so often wreaked devastation on civilian populations as those leaders, whatever their motives, jostle for political, religious and economic control. With his deep understanding of the political, cultural and religious differences between countries as diverse as Erdoğan’s Turkey, Assad's Syria and Netanyahu's Israel, he offers readers an authoritative guide to the modern Middle East.

Bowen talks to BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner.

This is a repeat event due to popular demand.
Price: £12.00

Event 392

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

Lyse Doucet, David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell in conversation with Bronwen Maddox

DEMOCRACY, POLITICS AND HOPE

Venue: Baillie Gifford Stage
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Democracy rests on a vision of social change and human development, and visions need aspiration and hope to materialise. While we live in a time of social discontent with how democracy and governance work, we are witnessing the explosion of a multiplicity of civil society movements worldwide. Discussing the future of democracy and the relationship between hope and democratic politics are: Lyse Doucet, BBC's Chief International Correspondent, historian and broadcaster David Olusoga, and Sarah Churchwell, Professor of American Literature and Public Understanding of the Humanities at the University of London. Bronwen Maddox is CEO of think tank Chatham House.

Price: £12.00

Event 399

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

Catherine Chanter, Nicola Garrard and Carly Reagon

THE LUCY CAVENDISH FICTION PRIZE: HOW TO GET YOUR WORK PUBLISHED

Venue: Marquee
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Are you longing to see your novel in print but don't know where to start? Find out about the whole process from draft through to finding an agent and publisher from previous nominees and winners of the prestigious Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, renowned for helping undiscovered female writers launch their literary careers. A panel of shortlisted authors who went on to secure publishing deals share insider information and advice on how to get off the starting block. Catherine Chanter, author of The Well, was the winner in 2013, Nicola Garrard, 29 Locks, and Carly Reagon, The Toll House, were both shortlised in 2019.
Free – no ticket required

Event 382

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

James Shapiro talks to Sarah Churchwell

BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION: WINNER OF WINNERS AWARD

Venue: Llwyfan Cymru – Wales Stage
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The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction is the UK’s premier non-fiction book prize. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, a Winner of Winners Award was announced to recognise the outstanding work of the previous 24 prize-winners. This one-off award, crowning the best work of non-fiction from the past 25 years, goes to James Shapiro, winner in 2006. His book 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare follows the playwright as he invests in the new Globe theatre and writes four of his most famous plays – Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It and Hamlet. Joining us digitally, Shapiro talks to historian and writer Sarah Churchwell (in person).

Price: £12.00

Event 413

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

Remembering Martin Amis

Venue: Marquee
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Hay Festival authors celebrate the life and work of the era-defining novelist who died aged 73 on 19 May 2023. Described as a once-in-a-generation talent, his work encompassed fiction, memoirs, essays and journalism over a stellar 50-year career. "Amis’s acrobatic wit defied both gravity and solemnity” – Guardian
Free – drop in
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Event 408

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

Jesse Norman talks to Francine Stock

THE WINDING STAIR

Venue: The Hive
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MP Jesse Norman’s witty historical novel The Winding Stair is the story of the rivalry between scholar Francis Bacon and Edward Coke, already acclaimed as the greatest lawyer of his generation. As Queen Elizabeth I is dying and James I waiting to accede, Bacon and Coke are locked in a bitter struggle for influence and power in the palaces, parliaments and royal courts. Norman, the MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire and currently Minister of State in the Department for Transport, discusses combining history and fiction to create a tale of political machinations.
Price: £10.00

Event 387

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

Emily So

Elements of a Catastrophe

Venue: The Hive
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The Magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck on 6 February 2023 in southern Turkey close to the Syrian border and was followed by powerful aftershocks. More than 50,000 people lost their lives in the region as buildings collapsed. Research is now being carried out by Turkish teams and other structural engineers with the aim of learning lessons from the earthquake and finding ways to improve the design of buildings and the construction process to make them more resilient. The successes of the buildings that are still intact and perform perfectly well are as important as the neighbouring buildings that have collapsed. Hear from one of those leading the research – Emily So, Professor of Architectural Engineering at Cambridge University, a chartered civil engineer and Director of the Cambridge University Centre for Risk in the Built Environment (CURBE).

Price: £10.00

Event 394

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

Tim Smit talks to John Elkington

If Capitalism is Broken - What’s the Fix?

Venue: Baillie Gifford Stage
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Even leading capitalists admit that capitalism is broken. Green Swans is a manifesto for system change designed to serve people, planet, and prosperity. In his twentieth book, John Elkington—dubbed the “Godfather of Sustainability”—explores new forms of capitalism fit for the twenty-first century.
If Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s “Black Swans” are problems that take us exponentially toward breakdown, then “Green Swans” are solutions that take us exponentially toward breakthrough. The success—and survival—of humanity now depends on how we rein in the first and accelerate the second.
Tim Smit, the co-founder of The Eden Project and The Lost Gardens of Heligan is not a run-of-the mill chief executive. As a capitalist Tim has been searching for mechanisms that enable business to be a genuine driver of wealth through nesting a wide range of stakeholders’ interests alongside our own in a circular system. Today there are 20 ‘New Edens’ being built worldwide, all with the same mission–to restore wild sites, nurture communities and bring once dilapidated environments back to life.

Price: £12.00

Event 391

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

Oleksandra Matviichuk in conversation with Charlotte Higgins

Venue: Llwyfan Cymru – Wales Stage
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Oleksandra Matviichuk is a human rights lawyer, activist and director of the Centre for Civil Liberties in Ukraine, winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize together with the Russian human rights organisation, Memorial, and Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski. Matviichuk and the Centre have fought for democracy in Ukraine since 2007 and are now part of a ground-breaking international effort to ensure accountability for war crimes. In her acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, she reminded the world that, “We don’t have to be Ukrainians to support Ukraine. It is enough just to be humans.” She talks to the Guardian’s chief culture writer.

Price: £12.00

Event 384

Events taking place live 25 May–4 June 2023

BBC Radio Wales: The Review Show

Venue: Marquee
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Gary Raymond and guest critics review their pick of Hay Festival content.

Free – no ticket required

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