With its fantastic mix of the thought provoking and the outright entertaining, Hay Festival offers a dizzying choice! We've cherry picked a baker's dozen ...

Thursday, May 23
1. Stacey Dooley talks to Imogen Walford
One of Britain's most loved documentary presenters and investigative reporters, Stacey Dooley's life took an unexpected turn when she travelled to India in 2007 for the BBC 3 series, Blood Sweat at T-Shirts. On her return she began campaigning against child labour, organising events to raise money for charities and raise awareness. In the course of her documentary making she has covered a variety of topics, from sex trafficking in Cambodia to Yazidi women fight back. On the Front Line with Women who Fight Back draws on her encounters with these brave women, using their experiences as a vehicle to explore issues at the centre of female experience and what it is to be women in the world today. Stacey and her partner Kevin Clifton were the winners of BBC TV's Strictly Come Dancing in 2018.

Friday, May 23
2. The Waterboys in concert
A spectacular two-part show, featuring the already classic seven-piece lineup debuted in 2018, who will play a long and generous set in two halves, comprising brilliant new material and the best of their recent and vintage works. Many of their songs, including Fisherman's Blues, The Whole of the Moon and How Long Will I Love You have become modern classics and they remain of of the most unmissable live acts.

Friday, May 24
3. Jo Brand talks to Stephanie Merrit - Born Lippy - How to do Female
Once upon a (very, very) long time ago, Jo Brand was what you might describe as 'a nice little girl'. Of course, that was efore the values of cynicism, misogyny and the societal expectation that she would be thin, feminine and demure sent her off down Arsey Avenue. Now she's considerably further along life's inevitable bloody 'journey' and f***** up enough times to feel confident she has no wisdom to offer anyone. But who cares? She's going to do it anyway.

Saturday, May 25
4. Happy Ever After: Escaping the Myth of the Perfect Life with Paul Dolan
Happiness expert Paul Dolan draws on a variety of studies ranging over wellbeing, inequality and discrimination to bust the common myths about our sources of happiness. He shows that there can be many unexpected paths to lasting fulfilment. By freeing ourselves from the mythi of the perfect life, we might each find a life worth living.

Saturday, May 25
5. Brexit Britain: The State of the Union - Keir Starmer talks to Philippe Sands
What happens now@ What's the deal with Europe, America, Ireland, Scotland. The Shadow Brexit Secretary is on the spot ...

Saturday, May 25
6. LadsLadsLads with Sara Pasco
Always honest, always regretting it later, Sara opens her heart and mouth again to share the adventures of the last year. Following a sell out UK tour, the multi award winning comedian and star of Live at the Apollo, Mock the Week, QI and Taskmaster brings her show to Hay Festival. "Whipsmart ... winningly funny," The Guardian.

Sunday, May 26
7. Lauren Child in conversation with Frank Cottrell-Boyce
UK Waterstones Children's Laureate Lauren Child explores the magic of illustration and writing and the importance of daydreaming, and introduces her latest books How to Raise Your Grown Ups - Hubert Horatio and Mary Poppins.

Sunday, May 26
8. Mythos - Stephen Fry
The actor and writer tells stories fro his two books Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold and Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures.

Monday, May 27
9. Great Dane - Sandi Toksvig Live!
The Danish/British writer and presenter has been working on British TV and radio for nearly four decades, and in 2014 was made an Officer of the British Empire for her services to broadcastng. She has written more than 25 books, including fact and fiction and her new stage musical, an adaptation of Treasure Island opened in December last year. She is also the co-founder of the Women's Equality Party.

Tuesday, May 28
10. Hay Castle and Hay Lordship: Discover and Dating the Buildings of a Medieval Frontier Society with Richard Suggett
The historian will focus on the development of the castle, the discovery of the 15th century houses of the lordship’s tenants and new ways of dating medieval timberwork, including the extraordinary castle gages. Suggett is Senior Investigator for the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments for Wales.

Wednesday, May 29
11. A Bottle of Happiness A Hereford College of Arts production
A joyous and resonant story about the gift of sharing, written by Pippa Goodhart and illustrated by Ehsan Abdollahi. Performing Arts Music and Contemporary Design Craft students from HCA have teamed up with Tiny Owl Publishing and Claire Coache from Open Sky to bring the story to life on stage as a playful, uplifting an creative performance accompanied by original music.

Wednesday, May 29
12. There is no Planet B: A handbook for the make or break years.
What is most pressing, what are the knock-on effects of our actions and what should we do first? Do we all need to become vegetarians? How can we fly in a low-carbon world? Should we frack? How can we take control of technology? Does it all come down to population? And, given the global nature of the challenges we now face, what on Earth can any of us do? Fortunately the environmental thinker Mike Berners Lee has crunched the numbers and plotted a course of action that is practical and even enjoyable.

Thurday, May 30
13. The Gipsy Kings, featuring Andre Reyes
The legendary salsa, pop and flamenco outfit hail from the south France and first captured the world's imagination in 1987 with the release of their self-titled album Gipsy Kings. They have continue their momentum, selling close to twenty million albums and become a live phenomenon, known for their energetic sets featuring infectious Latin rhythms and virtuoso guitar playing.