Hay Festival 2026 Early Birds

Main Programme

Events for Families

THU

MAY

Starts at	Global Stage	Discovery Stage	Meadow Stage	Spring Stage	Exchange Marquee	Creative Hub	Make & Take Hub	St Mary’s Church	Family Garden Marquee	Garden Kitchen	Meeting Point on Festival Site	MUBI Cinema
07:00


07:15


07:30						07:30 283. Start Your Day with Yoga A Movement and Breathwork Class


07:45


08:00


08:15


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08:45


09:00


09:15


09:30


09:45


10:00	10:00 284. Amol Rajan and Guests Speaking Up for Success: Hay Festival Exclusive	10:00 285. Nicholas Crane talks to Nicola Cutcher The Path More Travelled: The Secret History of Britain’s Footpaths	10:00 F47. David Litchfield The Bear and the Piano Show	10:00 F48. Olaf Falafel The Far Out Five: Snot Jelly Island	10:00 286. Nha Thuyên with MontenegroFisher, Wanda O’Connor and Lowri Hedd Vaughan An International Poetry Performance: Rising and Sinking Like Mountains in Streams		10:00 MT19. Make & Take Crafting Friday Morning Session			10:00 288. Magical World of Tea: Sip, Savour & Blend Hay Festival 2026 x Bird & Blend Tea Co.	10:00 289. Wayfaring Walk 15: Treescapes of the National Park With Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Guides	10:00 287. Short Film Screenings


10:15


10:30


10:45


11:00


11:15


11:30		11:30 292. Saira Hameed talks to Sara Pascoe Signals: The Inside Story of Our Hormones	11:30 293. Imani Erriu, Hazel McBride and Rachel Winterbottom Romantasy Rules	11:30 F49. The Inclusive Books for Children Award Winners Inclusive Storytelling	11:30 F50. Kiran Millwood Hargrave The Ship of Strays				11:30 W13. Simurgh: Flights of Imagination Arts Workshop With the University of Worcester


11:45


12:00							12:00 MT20. Make & Take Crafting Friday Lunchtime Session


12:15


12:30


12:45


13:00	13:00 294. AC Grayling For the People: Fighting Authoritarianism, Saving Democracy	13:00 F51. Cressida Cowell How to Train Your Dragon School: Fight of the Flamestrike	13:00 295. James Marriott talks to Georgina Godwin The End of Reading and the Dawn of a Post-Literate Society	13:00 F52. Anna Fiteni The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire	13:00 296. Claire Fuller talks to Alex Clark Hunger and Thirst				13:00 W14. Simurgh: Flights of Imagination Arts Workshop With the University of Worcester		13:00 297. Colin Grant, Suzanne Harrington, Eric Ngalle Charles and Amanda Vilanova What We Leave We Carry: Voices of Migration to Britain


13:15


13:30


13:45


14:00											14:00 298. Wayfaring Walk 16: Treescapes of the National Park With Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Guides


14:15


14:30	14:30 299. Emma Thompson in conversation with Elizabeth Day My Life in Books: Hay Festival Exclusive	14:30 300. Ocean Vuong The Emperor of Gladness: Unexpected Friendship and Healing	14:30 301. Frank Cottrell-Boyce talks to Tom Gatti A British Childhood: How Our Children Live Now	14:30 F53. Creative Industry Insights: Paterson Joseph talks to Cariad Lloyd	14:30 F54. Jim Smith My Big Fat Smelly Poo Diary 5: The Phantom Pooper		14:30 MT21. Make & Take Crafting Friday Afternoon Session	14:30 303. Catrin Finch Notes to Self				14:30 302. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with Reece Shearsmith Book to Screen: The Read


14:45


15:00									15:00 W15. Now You See Me: Printed Portraits Workshop With the University of Worcester


15:15


15:30


15:45


16:00	16:00 304. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Matters of Taste: High Fibre Heroes	16:00 305. Nicola Sturgeon talks to Decca Aitkenhead Frankly: The Future for Scotland	16:00 306. Cristina Bendek and Shon Faye talk to Georgina Godwin Literary Pairs: From Colombia to the UK	16:00 F55. Bea Fitzgerald A Beautiful Evil	16:00 307. Liam Higginson talks to Claire Fuller Debut Discoveries: The Hill in the Dark Grove							16:00 308. Let The Right One In Book to Screen: Film Screening


16:15


16:30


16:45


17:00


17:15


17:30	17:30 309. Amol Rajan with Emma Thompson, Larry Lamb, Paterson Joseph and Guests Speaking Up for Success: A Spoken Word Gala	17:30 310. Damien Lewis SAS Great Escapes	17:30 311. Samantha Shannon and Saara El-Arifi in conversation Among the Burning Flowers: The Seduction of Fantasy Fiction	17:30 312. Jarred McGinnis talks to Colin Grant The Eccles Institute & Hay Festival Global Writer’s Award Winner	17:30 313. Gwen Adshead talks to Catherine Loveday Unspeakable: Stories of Survival and Transformation After Trauma


17:45


18:00


18:15


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18:45


19:00	19:00 314. Greg Davies talks to Jay Hunt Barrel of Laughs: Life and Times of the Welsh Legend	19:00 315. Francesca Albanese and Eyal Weizman Landscape as Power: A Unique View of Conflict in the Middle East	19:00 316. Rhys James talks to Cariad Lloyd Barrel of Laughs: You’ll Like It When You Get There – A Life Lived Reluctantly	19:00 317. Charlotte Cross and Mairi Kidd Gothic Greats: Retelling Horror Classics	19:00 318. An Evening with Larry Lamb	19:00 319. The Platform		19:00 321. Folklore Late: Joey Batey and Madeleine Hyland It’s Not a Cult & The Amazing Devil: Book Talk and Live Music				19:00 320. Surprise Screening Book to Screen: Film Screening


19:15


19:30


19:45


20:00


20:15


20:30		20:30 322. Ben Gazur talks to Toby Lichtig A Short History of the World in 50 Tyrants		20:30 323. Joelle Taylor Maryville	20:30 324. Patrick McGuinness and Angharad Price talk to Dylan Moore Building Bridges: Welsh Writing and Europe


20:45


21:00	21:00 325. Austentatious Live: Improvised Jane Austen		21:00 326. Gwenno Live at Hay Festival


21:15


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22:00