HAY Festival has booked another world exclusive.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu will be the second Nobel Peace Laureate to visit the border town in two years – following former US President Jimmy Carter’s appearance last May.

As one of the most recognisable faces with one of the most recognisable names in the world, the bishop will bring further kudos and prestige to the festival and reaffirm Hay-on-Wye’s place on the global literary map.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu will co-host the Archbishops’ lunch with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, in the town and, later the same day, talk to Peter Florence at the Hay Festival.

The lunch on May 28 will also see the presentation of this year’s 2009 Michael Ramsey Prize to the author of a theological work that is judged to contribute most towards advancing theology and making a lasting contribution to the faith and life of the church.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu is the South African cleric who rose to worldwide prominence during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his quest for a non-violent end to apartheid, only the second South African to receive the award.

The 77-year-old archbishop also became the first black general secretary of the South African Council of Churches in 1979.

He was asked by Nelson Mandela to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate apartheid-era crimes, in the course of which he said that he was “appalled at the evil we have uncovered. Listening to all the pain and anguish, you take it into yourself in many ways ... maybe one day you will sit down when you think of all those things and you will cry,” he said.

His policy of forgiveness and reconciliation has become an international example of conflict resolution and a trusted method of post-conflict reconstruction.

He spoke strongly and internationally, pushing for non-violent change and economic sanctions against South Africa In response, the South African government revoked his passport.

Bishop Desmond was elected the first black Anglican bishop of Johannesburg a month after winning the Nobel Peace Prize and continues to pursue an active international ministry for peace.

“He’s one of the only universally admired human beings,” says Peter Florence, who secured Bishop Desmond’s appearance with the help of Dr Williams.

Other highlights of the 2009 Hay Festival programme already finalised include appearances by Hugh Masekela, Tony Curtis, Alan Bennett and former children’s laureate Michael Morpurgo.

Meanwhile,the man who put Hay-on-Wye on the international radar more than 40 years ago this week blasted the “celebrity culture” behind Hay Festival and issued calls for it to be nationalised.

Self-styled “King of Hay”, Richard Booth, told the Hereford Times he wanted to see “democracy in the age of globalism” after claiming big money sponsors and appearances from the likes of Bill Clinton had pushed the event to a different level of popularity in recent years.

Mr Booth, who has helped launch second-hand book towns across the world since making Hay one of the first in the 1960s, said the festival was now at odds with the town’s grass-roots, second-hand book culture which, he said, was actually a much poorer economy.

“Private enthusiasm is more important than institutional enthusiasm,” he expl-ained, “We want a marriage between new books and second-hand ones.”

The 70-year-old said “trickle tourism” – annual, year-round visits from less wealthy second-hand book buyers – was being affected as Hay’s popularity continued to soar and accommodation and other prices went with it.

He said the only way forward now was for local book sellers to join forces with other second-hand book towns in Wales and beyond, and he was due to discuss alternative strategies with shop owners in Hay yesterday (Wednesday).

“We have to adapt to the international world, there are trillions of places around to re-publicise the second-hand book – we will see the rise of the second-hand book and a renaissance of the tourist industry,” he said.