Hay Festival 2020 Earlybirds

Join the Telegraph's Chess Correspondent and International Master Malcolm Pein and Chess trainer from Chess in Schools and Communities for a chess extravaganza especially for children who are either new to chess or have played before.

Sessions will include simultaneous exhibitions, players can play against the master, Yes2Chess internet chess matches, and a giant outdoor chess set. 

6-15 years

duration 45 mins

Free but ticketed

Hay on Earth is our ongoing sustainability project. It is part of a programme of managing and mitigating our environmental impacts, both here in rural Hay and as we stage more festivals internationally. The project has now been running for eight years. Please join us.

Full day ticket allows entry to all 5 sessions. Events 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Just how critical is plant conservation to our long-term survival? Plants under threat of extinction could be tomorrow’s fuels, foods or health cures. The Director of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden explains what we can all do to prevent this loss. Chaired by Louise Gray.

Join the Telegraph's Chess Correspondent and International Master Malcolm Pein and Chess trainer from Chess in Schools and Communities for a chess extravaganza especially for children who are either new to chess or have played before.

Sessions will include simultaneous exhibitions, players can play against the master, Yes2Chess internet chess matches, and a giant outdoor chess set. 

6-15 years

duration 45 mins

Free but ticketed

With ever-pressing demands on our farmers to produce more good quality food at reasonable prices, is more factory farming the answer? The Vice-President of the NFU and the author of Farmaggedon debate with rural affairs commentator Rob Yorke.

Join the Telegraph's Chess Correspondent and International Master Malcolm Pein and Chess trainer from Chess in Schools and Communities for a chess extravaganza especially for children who are either new to chess or have played before.

Sessions will include simultaneous exhibitions, players can play against the master, Yes2Chess internet chess matches, and a giant outdoor chess set. 

6-15 years

duration 45 mins

Free but ticketed

Agricultural research has for decades been driven by large multinational companies. The Soil Association’s Duchy Originals Future Farming Programme puts farmers in the driving seat. SA Director Helen Browning explains the thinking behind it and introduces a local Field Lab, where local Brecon farmers Kate and Kevin Thomas are teaming up with Bristol University researcher Eric Morgan to solve a knotty problem.

Join the Telegraph's Chess Correspondent and International Master Malcolm Pein and Chess trainer from Chess in Schools and Communities for a chess extravaganza especially for children who are either new to chess or have played before.

Sessions will include simultaneous exhibitions, players can play against the master, Yes2Chess internet chess matches, and a giant outdoor chess set. 

6-15 years

duration 45 mins

Free but ticketed

Environmental consultant Patrick Dyke has been working on environmental issues for more than twenty years, and dioxin has been a recurring theme. One of the most toxic pollutants known to man, dioxin touches almost every aspect of life and human activity and is found everywhere in the world. The process of understanding and addressing dioxin gives insights that should help us deal with problems from food production to geo-engineering. Chaired by the festival’s Sustainability Director.

Join the Telegraph's Chess Correspondent and International Master Malcolm Pein and Chess trainer from Chess in Schools and Communities for a chess extravaganza especially for children who are either new to chess or have played before.

Sessions will include simultaneous exhibitions, players can play against the master, Yes2Chess internet chess matches, and a giant outdoor chess set. 

6-15 years

duration 45 mins

Free but ticketed

What is food security and how self-sufficient should we aim to be? How does our diet influence supermarkets and farmers? The UK Champion for Global Food Security and the Groceries Code Adjudicator talk to Rob Yorke.

Up and coming local bands and solo artists battle it out to be crowned Best Band. An evening of live, original music where audience and judges get to decide who is worthy of the crown. Hosted by BBC Radio Wales' Bethan Elfyn.

Tour led by architectural historian Richard Suggett of the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales.

Hay stories, chat and music, in the company of the classical singer and broadcaster Shan Cothi. Broadcast live, Monday to Friday 10am–12pm.

Join the Telegraph's Chess Correspondent and International Master Malcolm Pein and Chess trainer from Chess in Schools and Communities for a chess extravaganza especially for children who are either new to chess or have played before.

Sessions will include simultaneous exhibitions, Yes2Chess internet chess matches, and a giant outdoor chess set. 

6-15 years

duration 45 mins

Free but ticketed

An opportunity to try your hand at traditional craft skills with a three-hour workshop in which you will develop hand woodworking skills with an expert craftsperson. During the workshop you will mark out, construct and assemble a rustic oak stool to take home with you at the end of the session; all without the use of modern power tools or measuring devices. The design is marked out using the same principles of daisy wheel geometry used to build the great medieval cathedrals and the Tithe Barn at Cressing Temple.
Suitable for all abilities and ages, 12+ years

Join the Telegraph's Chess Correspondent and International Master Malcolm Pein and Chess trainer from Chess in Schools and Communities for a chess extravaganza especially for children who are either new to chess or have played before.

Sessions will include simultaneous exhibitions, Yes2Chess internet chess matches, and a giant outdoor chess set. 

6-15 years

duration 45 mins

Free but ticketed

Carmarthen-born opera star Wynne Evans with music, chat and behind-the-scenes stories from the world of showbiz. Broadcast live, Fridays 1pm–4pm.

Join the Telegraph's Chess Correspondent and International Master Malcolm Pein and Chess trainer from Chess in Schools and Communities for a chess extravaganza especially for children who are either new to chess or have played before.

Sessions will include simultaneous exhibitions, Yes2Chess internet chess matches, and a giant outdoor chess set. 

6-15 years

duration 45 mins

Free but ticketed