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Hay Festival 2026
Hay Festival's flagship spring edition in Hay-on-Wye, with more than 600 events across eleven days.
- Dates
- 21–31 May 2026
- Where
- Hay-on-Wye, Wales
- Type
- Festival
- Organiser
- Hay Festival
Hay Festival is one of the best-known literary festivals in Britain, held each spring in Hay-on-Wye on the edge of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The same organisation runs festivals in other countries through the year.
The 2026 edition ran from 21 to 31 May on the festival site at Dairy Meadows, with more than 600 events launching new fiction and non-fiction alongside debate, entertainment and events for all ages. The organisers linked the programme to the UK Government's National Year of Reading and arranged it around themed days.
It suits readers who like to plan a few days around a dense programme, families, and writers and small publishers curious about how new books are introduced to a large reading public.
Sources: Hay Festival: 2026 flagship edition preview; Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye.
Organised by Hay Festival. Tingle Press lists it as an event worth your time and is not the organiser. Check the organiser's website for final details.