HowTheLightGetsIn Hay Festival

HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2024 comes back to the idyllic embankment of the River Wye for a magical week of reflecting, debating and dancing with the world’s leading thinkers and performers.

“There is a crack in everything…that’s how the light gets in”. So goes the Leonard Cohen song from which our festival gets its name. And HowTheLightGetsIn brings its own special form of magic to everyone. There is no other place on the planet where you can spend your days meeting the world’s leading thinkers and discovering the most cutting-edge ideas, before partying and dancing late into the night.

At HowTheLightGetsIn Hay 2024 you can join a debate about the nature of the universe with the world’s top scientists, laugh until your sides hurt with the UK’s best comedians, dance at our famous disco tent to the finest beats or dine with our speakers at Inner Circle events.

HowTheLightGetsIn is not just another festival. There’s something special in the air. It’s alive with ideas in every field of endeavour. The programme has many names you will recognise but HowTheLightGetsIn is not about status or celebrity. We are about ideas and wonder and creating a space where everyone’s imagination can flourish. Find the bands you’ve never heard of, discover ground-breaking ideas that have yet to make their mark, contribute yourself and your thoughts, and magic will come your way.

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