York Festival of Ideas
Welcome to York Festival of Ideas
York Festival of Ideas will return from 31 May to 13 June with a diverse programme of over 200 mostly free events designed to educate, entertain and inspire. Join us for talks by world-class speakers, performances, exhibitions, guided walks, family activities, workshops and much more. And with topics ranging from art to archaeology, history to health and politics to psychology, the Festival promises something for all ages and interests.
Look out for the programme, presented under the theme of Making Waves, going live on Friday 2 May. And in the meantime, why not sign up to our mailing list to be among the first to hear about our exciting 2025 events?
Michael Morpurgo Celebration Day
Michael Morpurgo is one of Britain’s best loved writers for children with sales of over 35 million copies.
To mark Michael’s eighth appearance at York Festival of Ideas – and his first as Patron – we’re designating Tuesday 3 June as Michael Morpurgo Celebration Day! We hope you’ll join us and embrace the opportunity to celebrate the acclaimed author’s amazing power as a writer, communicator and advocate of the arts.
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'Such a festival. Such a welcome. To be able to perform, to tell my story with my friends in one of the great buildings of the world [York Minster], and to do it as part of a festival that enables everyone to come who wants to come, I found hugely inspiring. I love the idea of a festival of ideas that is free at the point of delivery. In an ideal world that is how it should always be. Long may this festival continue and may I be invited back from time to time to enjoy the place, the people and the idea.’
Sir Michael Morpurgo
'I love the Festival - it's such a great way to learn about things that you don't always come across in your day to day, and the range of events and speakers is brilliant. It's particularly great being a free resource.'
Feedback from a 2024 Festival attendee