Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye 2024 closed Sunday, June 2 with a message of hope after more than 700 events brought thousands of writers and readers together over 11 days. Event highlights can be enjoyed on Hay Festival Anytime now at hayfestival.org/anytime for an annual subscription of £20 per year.  Held in the booktown of Hay-on-Wye on the edge of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, this year’s programme launched the best new fiction and non-fiction books, while offering insights and debate around significant global issues, world class comedy and music, and a vibrant programme of pop-up events, workshops, and activities for all ages.  With footfall up six per cent on 2023 and ticket sales up eight per cent, many first-time festival goers travelled from all over the world to experience the Festival site and events. Headline artists included authors Amor Towles, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Colm Tóibín, David Mitchell, Jeff Kinney, Jhumpa Lahiri, David Nicholls, Elif Shafak, Holly Jackson, Alex Wharton, Jacqueline Wilson, Manon Steffan Ros, and Marian Keyes; historians Alice Roberts, Greg Jenner and Tom Holland; politicians Theresa May, Julia Gillard and Rory Stewart; musicians Bonnie Tyler, Geri Halliwell-Horner, James Blunt, Jools Holland, Jasmine Jethwa, Robert Macfarlane and Johnny Flynn; journalists James O’Brien, Caitlin Moran and Elizabeth Day; footballer and broadcaster Gary Lineker; actors Dame Judi Dench, Miriam Margolyes, Stephen Fry, Sir Lenny Henry and Toby Jones; artist Es Devlin; poets Hanan Issa, Simon Armitage, Jackie Kay, Lemn Sissay, Hollie McNish, Michael Rosen and Joseph Coelho; comedians Jon Richardson, Julian Clary, Ruby Wax and Sara Pascoe; Nobel Prize-winning activist Maria Ressa; and many more…  Nearly 20,000 free tickets were issued to schools (primary and secondary) taking part in the programme in person, while more than 8,500 pupils took part digitally.  Free content was made available across the UK and further afield as libraries took part in streaming free events via The British Library and the Living Knowledge Network; BBC shows came live from the site; and the @hayfestival TikTok channel earned millions of views over the 11 days.  Hay Festival Global CEO Julie Finch said:  “At a time of intense polarity, the past 11 days have showed us all how essential festivals are in bringing people together. On stage and off, we have crossed borders to navigate some of the biggest issues of our times with nuance and expertise. Our increased footfall shows that demand for these spaces has never been higher and we thank all our artists, partners, sponsors, Members, patrons and benefactors for making it happen. As we look ahead to another 12 months of Hay Festival Global activities around the world, we step forward with renewed hope and energy for the future.” Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye 2024 bestsellers OVERALL  1. RORY STEWART – Politics on the Edge 2. BETTANY HUGHES – Seven Wonders of the Ancient World 3. COLM TOIBIN – Long Island 4. JAMES O'BRIEN – How they Broke Britain 5. GEORGE MONBIOT – Invisible Doctrine 6. ANNE ENRIGHT – The Wren, The Wren 7. HUGH FEARNELY-WHITTINGSTALL – How To Eat 30 Plants a Week 8. TIM SPECTOR – Food for Life 9. WES STREETING – One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up 10. JULIA GILLARD – Women and Leadership 11. JAMES BLUNT – Loosely Based on a Made Up Story 12. SARA PASCOE – Weirdo 13. ELIZABETH DAY – Friendaholic 14. CLIVE MYRIE – Everything is Everything 15. CAROLINE LUCAS – Another England 16. CAITLIN MORAN – What About Men? 17. DAVID NICHOLLS – You Are Here 18. HAMZA YASSIN – Be a Birder 19. ALICE ROBERTS – Crypt 20. LEMN SISSAY – Let the Light Pour In CHILDREN'S 1. JEFF KINNEY – No Brainer 2. HOLLY JACKSON – Reappearance of rachel price 3. ASHLEY HICKSON-LOVENCE – Wild East 4. M G LEONARD – Feather 5. LAURA BATES – Sisters of Sword and Shadow 6. RANGER HAMZA – Ranger Hamza's Eco Quest 7. KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE – In The Shadow of the Wolf Queen 8. JACQUELINE WILSON – The Girl Who Wasn't There 9. KATHERINE RUNDELL – Impossible Creatures 10. JEFF KINNEY – Diper Overlode New projects woven across the Festival included The Platform for new creatives, the daily News Review analysis of the latest events, the first-ever Hay Festival Sports Day, and Hay Festival Green, prompting innovative solutions to the climate crisis. Hay Festival Medals were awarded to a quintet of changemakers, including Laura Bates (Non-Fiction), Gary Lineker (Broadcast Journalism), Judi Dench (Drama), Lemn Sissay (Poetry) and Huw Stephens (Music). Late nights at the Festival were given over to great music, comedy and entertainment, while a host of free pop-up activities and performances around the site kept audiences entertained between sessions.  Events took place across eight stages in the redesigned free-to-enter Festival site at Dairy Meadows – which also offered a range of spaces for audiences to explore and enjoy, including the Bookshop, Wild Garden, Make & Take Tent, a host of exhibitors and market stalls, cafés and restaurants, and the new Family Garden where young readers kick-started their creative journeys – as well as in and around Hay-on-Wye, including performances at St Mary’s Church.  Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye 2024 was supported by lead sponsors the Welsh Government, Arts Council England and Arts Council Wales, lead media partner the BBC and digital media partner TikTok.