Festival season is fast approaching. For many this will mean disrupted sleep in tents, limited access to showers, and toilets which are three or four uses away from being classed as actual biohazards. You may wish to join in the fun without having to spend four days in muddy shoes and sweaty clothes, and have resigned yourself to the fact that this is simply not possible. But fret not! Hay Festival may just be the one for you.
Hay Festival is an annual celebration of arts, literature, and philosophy. It may not have Dua Lipa headlining, but it does promise a week of chats about books and art, stand-up comedians, wellness, and overall good vibes. Here’s everything you need to know about what’s happening in Hay this year.
When is Hay Festival 2024?
The event lasts a whopping week and a half, beginning on Thursday May 23 and ending on Sunday June 2. This isn’t a camping festival, so if you’re not local you’ll need to sort out somewhere to stay. The festival site opens every morning at 8.30am and closes half an hour after the final event of the day. You can check the programme online or in person to find out the exact closing time for each day.
Where is it?
Hay is in Hay-on-Wye, which is one of those pretty little towns that’s sort of nowhere. Right on the English border in east Wales, it’s about an hour and a half from the nearest cities Cardiff and Bristol. Hay-on-Wye is quite a small village, and other than the festival it’s mainly known for having loads of bookshops.
Hay Festival’s main ground is about a 10-minute walk from the centre of the village, so there’s plenty time to explore both while you’re there.
The festival has a complete guide on getting to Hay, and staying there, on their website here.
Do you need tickets for Hay on Wye or can you just turn up?
You don’t need tickets to get onto the festival site. Onsite you’ll find loads of food and drink vendors, musicians playing mini sets, a huge bookshop, and a dedicated area for families with young children to play. However, if you want to go to any events you’ll need to book ahead of time, which can be done online or at the in-person box-office on the grounds.
What’s 2024’s programme looking like?
As usual, there’s some great speakers lined up for this year.
Some of the biggest names in attendance include Stephen Fry, Miriam Margolyes, Gary Lineker, Nish Kumar, Jools Holland and even Dame Judi Dench. There’s also some pretty significant faces in the world of politics on the slate, including The Rest is Politics co-host Rory Steward, Caroline Lucas, and even one of the several ex-Prime Ministers in recent years, Theresa May.
You can browse the whole programme on the Hay website here.
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