Hay Festival

The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, often called the Hay Festival (Welsh: Gŵyl Y Gelli), is a big yearly event that takes place in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales. It lasts for ten days, usually from May to June. The festival started in 1988 when Norman, Rhoda, and Peter Florence had the idea to create it.

Many famous people enjoy the Hay Festival. In 2001, Bill Clinton compared it to Woodstock, calling it "The Woodstock of the mind." Tony Benn even said it means more to him than Christmas does.

The Hay Festival has become very important in British culture. Sessions from the festival have been recorded for TV and radio shows like The Readers' and Writers' Roadshow and The One Show. Almost all of the BBC's national radio channels, except BBC Radio 1, have broadcast from the festival. From 2010 to 2013, Sky Arts also showed highlights, and then the BBC took over coverage in 2014.

History

The Hay Festival began in 1988, created by Peter Florence and his parents, Rhoda and Norman. The town of Hay-on-Wye was already famous for its many bookshops, earning the nickname "The Town of Books." The festival started in different places around the town, including a local school, but in 2005, it moved to one main spot just south of the town.

Over the years, the festival has grown to include music and film showings. A special part just for children, called "Hay Fever," happens at the same time as the main festival. In 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was held online instead of in person.

Awards for the festival

The Hay Festival was honored as one of 11 winners from Wales for The Queen's Awards for Enterprise in 2009. That year’s festival featured many famous people, including writers like Carol Ann Duffy, David Simon, and Stephen Fry, scientists such as Martin Rees, economists like Anthony Giddens, and comedians including Dylan Moran. Other speakers included important figures like Desmond Tutu.

Eccles Centre & Hay Festival Writer's Award

Main article: Eccles Centre & Hay Festival Writer's Award

The Eccles Centre & Hay Festival Writer's Award is given each year to two writers. This award helps them work on a new book, which can be about fiction or non-fiction and must relate to the Americas. The award is supported by the British Library's Eccles Centre for American Studies. Each winner gets £20,000, given in four parts over the year. They also get to stay and research at the Eccles Centre and can share their work at Hay Festival events in the UK and other places.

Abu Dhabi controversies

Some big groups that help protect people's rights and famous writers spoke out against the way free speech was treated in Abu Dhabi during the 2020 Abu Dhabi Hay Festival. They were worried about how people were being treated in the United Arab Emirates, especially a person named Ahmed Mansoor who was put in prison for ten years.

The leader of the festival, Caroline Michel, decided the festival would not return to Abu Dhabi. This was because one of the festival’s workers said she had been treated badly by an important person in the UAE. She felt that the festival did not support her well when she told them what happened, and it was very hard for her.

Criticism of Festival

In 2009, a bookseller named Paul Harris expressed concerns about the Hay Festival. He felt the festival was too big and taking away business from local bookshops. Harris believed the festival was taking too much attention away from the town's usual activities.

In May 2024, some speakers decided not to attend the festival because they disagreed with one of the sponsors. This led the festival to pause that sponsorship for a while.

International editions and forums

The Hay Festival has expanded and is now held in many places around the world. Some of these locations include Arequipa, Jericó, Cartagena, Querétaro, and Segovia.

There are also smaller events called "forums" that take place over one or two days. These forums happen in places such as Dallas, Moquegua, Panama City, Medellín, Sevilla, Ayacucho, and Santiago de Chile.