Hay Festival 2026

What’s life as a modern soldier really like? In this frank, funny and surprising insight, Iraq war veteran Owain Mulligan takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of how he accidentally enlisted. As a member of the Territorial Army, Mulligan hoped to swap teaching in a tough school for service in Iraq. When the job in headquarters he’d been expecting didn’t materialise, he instead found himself in Basra in 2006, during one of the most violent periods of the conflict, facing danger not just from militias, but also from faulty equipment and a chain of command that seemed determined to get him killed. He talks to broadcaster Jules Husdon.

Witness the most famous burning down of a stable in world drama. To celebrate its 75th birthday, the cast and production team of the world's longest running drama recreate the most listened to event in the programme’s history, with a script in hand performance of the 1955 episode telling of the death of Grace Fairbrother. This will be followed by a discussion for The Archers Podcast, led by Emma Freud, of the lasting significance of Grace’s death.

Calling all aspiring scientists! Don’t miss out on the world-changing scientific theories and concepts in this encounter with some of the most inspiring figures from science. Space scientist and teacher Dr Sheila Kanani MBE, author of This Book Will Make You a Scientist, presents science heroes from aerospace engineer Ritu Karidhal to physicist Isaac Newton.

Whether you want to measure the speed of light like Albert Einstein or communicate with chimpanzees like Jane Goodall, this event will draw out your inner scientist as you explore their big, bold ideas and how they invented, created or discovered remarkable things.

An opportunity to get crafting! Activities differ every day, including everything from print-making to junk modelling with recycled materials. Get messy and creative in these interactive sessions delivered by artists and discover that your imagination is the only limit.

Book for the session and you can drop in at any point during the 1.5 hour duration. Accompanying adults: please stay in attendance at all times, but you do not require a ticket.

Gisèle Pelicot made headlines around the world when she waived her right to anonymity in the trial accusing her husband and 50 men of sexually assaulting her for nearly a decade. The case contributed to the national debate on sexual violence in France, which led to a change in the legal definition of rape.

Here Pelicot speaks to renowned barrister Baroness Helena Kennedy about her memoir A Hymn to Life, and how she came back from an extraordinary betrayal and embraced life with a renewed passion.

This event features simultaneous interpretation from French into English.

Peel back the layers of history and learn the stories of misunderstood, ignored and forgotten women in this discussion with writers Elodie Harper and Janina Ramirez. The pair speak to journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed about finding and writing about the stories of real women from centuries past.

Harper’s latest novel is Boudicca’s Daughter, in which she imagines the life of Solina, daughter to the legendary warrior and queen. Harper, who worked as a reporter at ITV News, is also the best-selling author of the Wolf Den trilogy.

Historian Ramirez’s Legenda looks at how the lives of women including Joan of Arc and Lady Godiva have been misrepresented by those keen to craft national identities. She explores the real stories behind the legends. Ramirez is an Oxford University academic, author of Femina, and a regular guest presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Front Row.

Plankton are the silent heroes of our planet. They produce about half the Earth’s oxygen and are the foundation for all sea life. In this first appearance discussing his new book, Vincent Doumeizel brings plankton to life, revealing how the smallest life forms can have the biggest impact. He uncovers the hidden connections between the microscopic life in the ocean and the survival of our planet.

A seaweed expert, director of the Food Programme at the Lloyd’s Register Foundation and senior adviser on the oceans to the United Nations Global Compact, Doumeizel’s work has made significant advancements to global nutrition security.

Changes to the law, shifts in culture and greater freedoms can make it seem like the gay rights movement in the West has succeeded beyond its wildest dreams. But, argues academic Ronan McCrea in his book The End of the Gay Rights Revolution, there are threats to the movement’s victories, from political developments to migration patterns.

McCrea, who is professor of constitutional and European law at University College London, discusses the challenges ahead, why the gay rights movement is ill-equipped to deal with them, and what comes next, with human rights lawyer Philippe Sands.

Be in the audience for the BBC's daily news podcast, diving into the day's biggest news stories so you're never out of your depth.

Step into the world of the paranormal with Danny Robins, creator of the hit BBC podcast and TV series Uncanny. Find out whether you’re Team Believer or Team Sceptic as Danny shares stories of life as a paranormal detective and introduces some fascinating theories behind what ghosts really are.

There’ll be scientific explanations, thrilling historic happenings and truly jaw-dropping discoveries on this adventure into some of the greatest ghost stories ever! With a ‘live investigation’ reading of a real-life ghost story, a chance to ask Danny your questions, and live drawing along with illustrator Ellen Walker, it’s a ghoul’s paradise.

Are Shakespeare’s words still relevant to young people in Wales today? Join actor Owain Gwynn and Theatr Cymru to explore Shakespeare’s words through movement at this interactive bilingual workshop for young people. An informal showing of the participants’ work will be held at 2.45pm. Led by actor Owain Gwynn and Gwawr Pritchard, Theatr Cymru’s Participation Co-ordinator.

Ydy geiriau Shakespeare yn dal yn berthnasol i bobl ifanc yng Nghymru heddiw? Ymunwch â’r actor Owain Gwynn a Theatr Cymru i archwilio geiriau Shakespeare drwy gwaith symud mewn gweithdy dwyieithog rhyngweithiol i bobl ifanc 12 oed a hŷn. Bydd dangosiad anffurfiol o waith y plant yn digwydd am 2.45pm. Arweinir gan yr actor Owain Gwynn a Gwawr Pritchard, Cydlynydd Cyfranogi Theatr Cymru.

Come on a walk through the beautiful surrounds of Hay-on-Wye, led by guides from the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. During the walk we’ll discuss the impact of the climate emergency on national parks.

Hay-on-Wye is located within 520 square miles of beautiful countryside that makes up the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The National Park is driving change to bring about a sustainable future, meeting our needs within planetary boundaries. Their Hay Festival series of walks take you into the town’s local environment while offering the opportunity to learn more about the Park’s work and its treasured landscape.

Step inside Hay Castle during Hay Festival 2026 and explore a place shaped by power, survival and reinvention. Led by an expert volunteer guide, this tour traces 800 years of life inside the castle – from medieval plots and royal whispers to its rescue, restoration and reimagining as a place for ideas today. You’ll move through rooms, stairways and towers, hearing stories of the people who lived, schemed, dreamed and partied here. Along the way, take in sweeping views across the Wye Valley – a reminder that this is a border castle, built to watch and be watched.

Guided tours run daily at 11am and 2pm. Tour price includes entry into the Castle for a year including the current exhibition: BorderLands.

Enjoy this 20-minute open-air performance between events. Got 2 Sing Choir perform uplifting songs from top of the charts to golden oldies, with plenty of fun and laughter.

Join Booker Prize-winning author Douglas Stuart for an unforgettable conversation about his deeply moving new novel, John of John. With the intensity and raw truth that made Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo modern classics, Stuart dissects masculinity, the search for love, and the profound peril of family secrets. A must-attend event for readers who crave fiction that speaks straight to the heart. Stuart speaks to writer and broadcaster Richard Coles.

The climate crisis is accelerating. Inequality is deepening. Public trust is crumbling. Ahead of the release of her new book, the visionary economist Professor Mariana Mazzucato presents a new theory of the common good – a rigorous reimagining of economics and a manifesto for a future economy that serves people and the planet. She talks to editor-in-chief of The Economist Zanny Minton Beddoes.

In partnership with The Economist.

Experience evocative storytelling that bridges page and screen, in this screening of BAFTA-nominated actor Christopher Eccleston’s narration of Barry Hines’ seminal 1968 novel A Kestrel for a Knave (later filmed as Kes).

The groundbreaking and much celebrated novel follows a young working-class boy troubled at home and at school, who finds and trains a kestrel whom he names ‘Kes’. Eccleston brings to life this coming-of-age classic, which explores poverty, isolation and youth.

The Read is a series of outstanding performance readings of iconic British novels. Each episode offers a richly immersive celebration of literature.

How can ancient cultures open up our senses and help us dream of a better collective future? Bringing together ideas, traditions and perspectives from indigenous cultures, Brazilian anthropologist Hanna Limulja considers how dreaming is a form of indigenous resistance and hope while Bolivian writer Liliana Colanzi reflects on how environmental devastation and neoliberal violence threaten to create a dreamless future. They talk to British Library curator Polly Russell.

In You Glow in the Dark, Colanzi imagines eerie, post-nuclear futures where survival and postcolonial revolution are the norm, while Limulja’s work focuses on how dreams have been part of the territorial and cultural struggle of the Yanomami people.

Join the mythologist Natalie Haynes, author of Divine Might, Pandora’s Jar and No Friend to This House as well as a reformed comedian who is a little bit obsessive about Ancient Greek and Rome. Today, for BBC Radio 4, she stands up in the name of a great figure from the ancient world. Expect life-enhancing knowledge and entertaining stories from a millennium or so ago.

Hugh Bonneville, known for his acclaimed acting in roles from Downton Abbey to Paddington, discusses his hilarious first children’s book with comedian Iszi Lawrence. His hero Rory Sparkes is at primary school in South East London – just as Hugh himself was.

Rory is a boy with a head full of dreams. He might become a strongman and travel the world with the circus. Or he might try to make it as a cowboy – that would be a fan-tas-tic second best. But as Rory plots to make his dreams come true, everything spirals out of control. Will his plans ever work out?