Hay Festival: Bernie Sanders and Graham Norton among line-up - BBC News

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[font color="navy"font size="3"]Former US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is one of the big names lined up for the 30th Hay Festival.[/font]

The renowned arts and literature festival will host 800 events, including music from Brian May, Will Young and Amy MacDonald. It runs from 25 May to 4 June in the Powys town of Hay-on-Wye. The full programme to mark the 30th anniversary of the 10-day festival was announced on Tuesday, two days before tickets go on sale on Thursday.

Sanders, the Vermont Senator who was beaten to the Democratic presidential nomination by Hillary Clinton, will be at Hay along with other names from the political world, including former Home Secretary Alan Johnson. Broadcaster Stephen Fry will be one of those attending to share his philosophy on how to bring about a better world as part of the festival's central 30 Reformations programme. Actors Sir Tony Robinson, Charlotte Rampling, Michael Sheen and Sheila Hancock will appear, along with director Ken Loach. Comedy will be provided by Izzard, as well as Mark Watson, Marcus Brigstocke and Shappi Khorsandi. Meanwhile, artist Tracey Emin and writer Germaine Greer will join discussions investigating the latest topics in art, technology, history and health, and authors will include Helen Fielding and Ian Rankin.

There will also be a range of activities aimed at families and younger visitors, including appearances from acclaimed children's authors Jacqueline Wilson and Julia Donaldson. Festival director Peter Florence said it would celebrate 30 years of bringing readers and writers together "to share stories and ideas, to imagine the world - to tell our truths and renew our lives".

The border town of Hay-on-Wye, well known for its second hand book shops, has hosted the annual literary event since the spring of 1987. Its birthday in May is being marked by "crowd sourcing" a list of the world's most essential books. Thirty schools will also plant trees over 30 acres (12 hectares) in a partnership with conservation charity, The Woodland Trust.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-39481579

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1. Hay 2017 to host stars from Stephen Fry to Bernie Sanders

Excerpt:

Sanders, the outspoken critic of Donald Trump and longest serving independent in US congressional history, will speak at the festival – held in and around the small town of Hay-on-Wye on the Welsh border – about what will happen next in the US.

Festival director Peter Florence said that he hoped Sanders would “galvanise young people like he did in America” in his campaign to be the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate. He added: “The way he’s working to interrogate every stupid bill in the Senate is heroic and essential. He’s a model opposition leader.”

Other political figures making an appearance at Hay include Varoufakis – appearing for the second year in a row – who will make the plea for reform in the European Union. Calderón, who positioned Mexico as a leader in the fight against climate change during his time as president, will take part in a debate about climate. Former home secretary Alan Johnson and Labour MP Jess Philips, whose memoir Everywoman was published in February, will also appear.

Other notable public figures attending include artist Tracey Emin, Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, philosopher Peter Singer, comedians Eddie Izzard and Sandy Toksvig, Pussy Riot co-founder Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Queen guitarist Brian May. Award-winning director Ken Loach will deliver the annual Raymond Williams lecture, while Welsh actor Michael Sheen will give the Aneurin Bevan lecture, always delivered by a prominent member of the Labour movement. Sheen recently revealed that he hoped to focus more on political activism.

The Hay festival will run 25 May to 4 June. Tickets go on general sale 6 April.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/04/hay-2017-to-host-stars-from-stephen-fry-to-bernie-sanders