FRY FOR HAY
STEPHEN Fry, Graham Norton and Sandi Toksvig will take the stage to share their thoughts on the world’s bigger questions at this year’s Hay Festival.
The 30th annual event invites writers and thinkers from around the world to share their ideas and expertise on everything from science and technology to art and film.
The programme of 800 events also includes music shows from Brian May, Will Young and Amy MacDonald, and comedy from Eddie Izzard, Mark Watson, Marcus Brigstocke and Shappi Khorsandi.
The 10-day event in Hay-on-Wye will see broadcaster Fry share his philosophy on how to bring about a better world as part of the festival’s central 30 Reformations programme.
Norton, Sir Tony Robinson, Sheila Hancock, Ken Loach and new Great British Bake Off presenter Toksvig will also lead conversation events.
Meanwhile, artist Tracey Emin and writer Germaine Greer will join discussions investigating the latest topics in art, technology, history and health.
Emin will be in conversation with GQ editor Dylan Jones, while chess player Garry Kasparov will discuss with event founder Peter Florence the watershed moment he was beaten by a computer.
Also on the bill will be 2016 Man Booker Prize winner Paul Beatty, who will be chatting about his biting satire The Sellout.
Veteran comic Sir Ken Dodd will be among the live performers at the festival, bringing his Happiness Show to the Tata Tent.
Former Pop Idol winner Will Young will also entertain fans with a jazz session – months after dropping out of the last series of Strictly Come Dancing for personal reasons.
Seven-piece band Fat Freddy’s Drop will also be appearing at the festival, with the New Zealanders due to entertain fans on the Bank Holiday Monday.
Some lucky visitors to the festival, which runs from May 25 to June 4, will be treated to a Letters Live event with surprise guests.
The format is back for a fourth year after sellout performances featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, Louise Brealey, Mark Strong, Olivia Colman, Toby Jones and Jude Law.
It has rapidly established itself as a dynamic new format for presenting memorable letters to a live audience.
There will also be a range of activities aimed at families and younger visitors, including an appearance from acclaimed children’s author Jacqueline Wilson.
The festival’s director, Peter Florence, said: “For 30 years Hay Festival has brought readers and writers together to share stories and ideas, to imagine the world – to tell our truths and renew our lives.
“We’ve seen the world move from paper to the digital realm, we’ve witnessed boundaries and languages shift, and vast migrations of people and money.
“We love stories and we love to throw a party.”
Last year Sir Tom Jones was one of the biggest names to appear at Hay – speaking just weeks after the death of his beloved wife Linda.
The singer, who welled up several times, told the crowd: “She was a determined woman. I felt very lucky to have her. We fell in love, not in lust, from a young age. We knew that it would be forever – for as long as we were alive.”
Tickets for Hay Festival will be available online from Thursday.