Once a year, Nobel Prize winners, world leaders, Hollywood greats, pop stars and thousands of like-minded bibliophiles convene in a quiet corner of Wales for what is one of the biggest, most beloved events in the UK’s literary calendar. Bill Clinton once called the ‘Woodstock of the mind’ and now, National Geographic has named the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts one of the greatest book fests in the world.
Since it began in 1988, the annual 10-day event has attracted the likes of Dua Lipa, Stormzy, Hilary Clinton, Helena Bonham Carter and Elton John, as well as world-renowned authors like Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Elif Shafak, Hilary Mantel and Kazuo Ishiguro. Beyond all the book talk, the Hay Festival programme also includes cooking workshops, comedy shows and musical performances and tours of local landmarks.
The festival’s location makes a lot of sense. Hay-on-Wye is a place obsessed with books year-round. A man called Richard Booth turned up in the 1960s and began filling its empty buildings with second-hand books and soon it was dubbed the world’s first book town.
There are now more than 20 book shops that fill its streets, including Gay On Wye (for LGBTQ+ lit), Murder and Mayhem (for fans of the crime and horror genre) and Richard Booth’s sprawling three floor shop, which sells almost every kind of new and secondhand book you could possible want.
Next year’s Hay Festival is being held from May 21-May 26. Obviously, this isn’t the kind of festival where you have to slum it in a tent, relying on anti-bac wipes and supermarket snacks. If you’re planning to get tickets for Hay Festival 2026, Nat Geo recommends booking in a room at the Swan at Hay or at Llangoed Hall, a nearby stately home. We’ll see you there.
ICYMI: Four of the best theme parks in the world are in the UK.
Plus: This is the best thing to do in the UK in 2025, according to TripAdvisor.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country