Dubbed the 'Woodstock of the mind' by Bill Clinton, The Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts began in 1988, and has since grown to enormous size, staging literary festivals all over the world. The British edition is still the most popular, with novelists, musicians, comedians, poets, actors, directors and other notable figures coming together for a programme of lectures, interviews, readings and other performances. The Hay Festival now attracts up to 50,000 people every year, and is known for a fantastic selection of second-hand bookstores and good food at a number of restaurants in Hay-on-Wye. The festival has grown to a size that the town cannot accommodate it, and is held nearby. There are regular buses from town to the festival site.

Venue: Hay-on-Wye

Date: 31 May to 10 June 2012

Website: www.hayfestival.com