Hay Festival

Everyone should visit Hay Festival at least once in their lives. Celebrities, books, live talks, workshops, quirky stalls and great food are all set against a stunning rural backdrop. You’re bound to find something at Hay Festival that’s right up your street.  

Hay-on-Wye Literary Festival began in 1987 in the UK Town of Books. The concept was the brainchild of the Florence family who remained at it’s helm for decades. The first festival was niche and took place all over the town in pub back rooms and tents in gardens.  

But once established the festival quickly grew. Authors and thinkers were joined by scientists, comedians, politicians, and performers.  By the 2000’s the festival was on a single site just on the outskirts of the town.  

Now the festival has gone global, holding events in the US, Latin America and Europe. There’s also the Hay Festival Winter Weekend in November. The event also attracts big sponsors such as The Guardian, The Telegraph and the TaTa group.

Read our blog to find out more about Hay-on-Wye.

Hay Festival accommodation

Because Hay Book Festival takes place during the May half-term week (Hay Festival 2026 dates are the 21^st-31^st May), you need to book accommodation or touring/tenting sites early at Discover Parks 

We have touring, tenting and motorhome pitches across three parks. Plus, there’s a variety of self-catering holiday accommodation.  Importantly, all our parks are just about half an hour’s drive from Hay so it’s an ideal base for festival goers.

A Hay Festival regular 

I’m lucky enough to have been to Hay Festival on numerous occasions in my previous working life. Having a press pass gives you access to pretty much anywhere! You could dip in and out of various tents and marquees gathering info and soaking up the ambiance for your 2-way ‘colour’ pieces.  

Back in the day when I was a baby broadcaster, you lugged around a uher – a vintage reel to reel tape recorder – as you grabbed your 5 minutes with the famous. Always checking to make sure you’d pressed record!  

In those early days, celebrities were famous writers and thinkers of the time. Salman Rushdie, Doris Lessing, Ian Mckewan and Margaret Attwood were all regulars. And although that’s still the backbone of the festival, you now get a much broader ‘pop culture’ celebrity.  

Not only do the guests now have a wider cultural appeal, but the ‘side bar’ has also changed. There’s a cultural village feel, with artisan food and drink producers, eco charities, and innovation tents. There are street food providers, picnic areas with deckchairs to flop into to down a prosecco or two or thumb through your latest book purchase.  

Children swap screens for books

Always held during the May half-term week (it’s the 21^st-31^st May in 2026), Hay Festival is also a great place to take the children. Hay Fever is the festival’s offering for young people and has massively improved in the last two decades. The Programme for Schools sees KS2/3/4 students able to attend events for free. These events are also live streamed to capture a much wider audience.   

If you’re taking children as part of a family group then there are lots of author readings and signings, arts and crafts workshops, theatre and music shows.  

I queued for hours with my daughter when she was about 8, to get her Tracy Beaker book signed by Jaqueline Wilson. To the author’s credit she had a few words for each child and a look of sympathy for parents! But that’s another thing about Hay – it’s a friendly festival.  I’d advise taking snacks if you’re going to wait in line for a book signing though! 

Celebrities up close

One of the attractions of a visit to the Hay Festival is the wide range of people you can see in one day, and the intimacy of some of the venues.  

Tickets are unnumbered, and seating is on a first come first served basis. This means that long queues can form for the most popular events – so get there early and be patient! 

Over the years I’ve been to events in big tents like the Pavillion and the Global stage as well as much smaller venues.  The cross section of celebrity is like nowhere else. Tom Jones, Dara O’Briain, Phil Wang, Jacqueline Wilson, Julian Clary, Andrew Marr, Jo Brand, Jo Caulfield, Jane Garvey & Fi Glover, Phil Rickman, Barbare Erskine – and the list goes on. 

Hay Festival 2026 – get planning

The first thing to do is book your car park on the website. This is for both blue badge parking and the large festival car park in aid of Macmillan. Both are a short walk from the festival entrance.  From the main car parks and festival site, it’s about a 20-minute stroll into town along Brecon Road. You’ll find various other car parks along this road, they’re cheaper than the festival ones, but fill up pretty quickly.   

As with all large events these days, you’ll have your bags searched at the festival entrance. But there’s loads of lanes to join, so there’s never a holdup. I’d advise getting a map of the site as it can be quite overwhelming if it’s first visit.  

The festival is largely undercover, with proper walkways. But wear comfortable shoes as you’d be surprised how far you’ll walk! 

If you’ve got tickets to see a ‘big name’ then get there early and find out where they’re performing. The entrances to the performance spaces are off the main concourses, and you’ll see A-boards with event and time details.  

In the middle of the walkways is a large open space filled with deckchairs and seating. This is where you can take a break, refuel and watch the world go by. Very good for celeb spotting!  

Really important – there are lots of loos! And they’re generally very clean despite the huge footfall.  

Book early

The earlybird programme for the Hay Festival 2026 was released in early December 2025. 

This release teasers about 45 events. The rest of the 600 plus events will be launched in March 2026.  

2026 confirmed artists include: Lyce Ducet, Maggie O’Farrell, Bear Grylls, Michael Morpurgo, Michael McIntyre, Sara Pascoe and David Olusoga.  

General bookings have already opened – so you’ll need to get in quick! Keep an eye on the festival socials and sign up for the newsletter, so you’re ready for the March releases.