Hay Festival Digital earned more than 210,000 event streams in its opening weekend as book lovers from more than 63 countries tuned in to hear from writers and performers in intimate events beamed from living rooms, kitchen tables, studies, and sheds. Highlights from the opening, available to view on Hay Player:  hayfestival.org/hayplayer Key-note lectures from novelist Elif Shafak, Welsh poet Mererid Hopwood, journalist Afua Hirsch, and former CMO Sally Davies; An exclusive preview of Stephen Fry’s upcoming Troy, an exclusive film…

Hay Festival Digital sees more than 100 award-winning writers, global policy makers, historians, pioneers and innovators take part, celebrating the best new fiction and non-fiction, and interrogating some of the biggest issues of our time, from Covid-19 and world health, to the climate crisis and our future, under the theme of #ImagineTheWorld. Live sessions will be streamed via Crowdcast, offering registered users the opportunity to interactive with fellow audience members and pose their questions to speakers.  Festivalgoers can explore the…