Hay Festival tickets generally cost between £5 and £40 per event, with free entry to the festival grounds. The event takes place annually in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, usually spanning 10 days from May to June, with the 2025 event scheduled for May 22–June 1. A 5% booking fee (min £3, max £10) applies to online orders, although in-person purchases are fee-exempt.
Entry to the festival site is free: you just buy tickets for the events you fancy. Tickets start from £5, although there are some free events and workshops.
You don't need a ticket to enter the festival site, but you will need to book individual tickets for each event you would like to attend. We have events that run from 9am in the morning right through the day.
Yes, very. There's a great kids' programme and lots of events with broad family appeal, and a whole section of the festival is devoted to toddlers and parents. A children's festival, HAYDAYS, runs alongside the main event, featuring iconic authors and workshops.
Basically, there's no real dress code, but if you're at a literary festival chances are you won't be teetering around in high heels and a short, low-cut dress looking for the dancefloor. That would be another festival entirely.
HAY-ON-WYE 📚 Discover the "World's First BOOK TOWN" 🏴 things to do, where to eat & hidden gems
Should I let my 17 year old go to the reading festival?
We welcome all ages to the festival. However, there are entry restrictions for under 16s and we do advise not bringing young children. Anyone 15 and under must be accompanied by a ticket holder over 18 years old at all times.
The Festival Canteen offers an abundance of delicious street food to keep you energised. Our focus is on sustainable catering, with plenty of plant-based and gluten-free options. There are child-friendly portions and prices at all Festival food stands.
I would also recommend taking some time to explore Hay on Wye itself aside from the festival- it's such a beautiful town that you'd be doing both of you a disservice if you didn't have a look around!
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And Tom Holland is live at Hay Festival 2025 with us to discuss his *bestselling* book on Tuesday 27 May – one of our earlybird events already on sale – book now at the link in our bio. And stay tuned for the full programme out Tuesday 11 March. #HayFestival #HayFestival2025.
The Festival Village sits just outside the booktown of Hay-on-Wye, the site is free to enter and open to all to explore at your leisure. Events are individually priced with plenty of free pop-up performances each day.
We have a limited number of Blue badge hard-standing spaces available at our festival site (HR3 5PJ). Parking can be booked in advance. The cost is £9 for the whole day, with unlimited entry and exit. There is no overnight parking available.
Festival food stall costs range from a fixed basic price plus VAT or a percentage (around 20%) of your net takings, depending on which is greater. Basic fixed prices can range from £300 to over £10,000. These costs will have to be paid in full before the event.
The Hay Festival is a leading international celebration of literature, arts, and culture. Through its unique festivals in Wales and around the world, it brings together diverse voices in the literature sector to debate, create, inspire and entertain.
Do 12 year olds need a ticket for Reading festival?
Under 13s (12 years and under) are admitted free but must be accompanied by a paying ticket-holder over 18 at all times. Price displayed is per accommodation not per person, each person staying in your accommodation must have a weekend camping ticket booked separately.
Older audiences are also embracing festivals. Overall, 66% of festival-goers are aged over 35 with Millennials (38%) and Gen X (24%) making up the largest groups. Nearly four in ten (38%) now attend with younger relatives, and 29% with older family members.
The best small UK festivals offer unique vibes, from music-focused gems like 2000trees, End of the Road, and Truck Festival (indie/alternative) to family-friendly options like Shambala, Green Man, and Deer Shed, plus niche events such as Knockengorroch (Celtic) and Purbeck Valley Folk Festival (folk/roots), focusing on diverse lineups, community, and unique settings rather than huge crowds.
Reading, Leeds and Creamfields in third to fifth place each had a capacity of between ** and ** thousand, while the Isle of Wight festival was able to accommodate ** thousand guests, slightly over a quarter that of Glastonbury.
