York Festival of Ideas
Welcome to York Festival of Ideas
Taking place for two weeks each June, York Festival of Ideas presents a diverse programme of over 200 mostly free in-person and online events designed to educate, entertain and inspire. Led by the University of York and made possible by the generous support of our sponsors, the Festival features world-class speakers, performances, exhibitions, tours, family-friendly activities, and much more. One of the largest free festivals of its kind in the UK, it promises something for all ages and interests with topics ranging from art to archaeology, history to health and politics to psychology. The Festival's Patron is the acclaimed children's author Michael Morpurgo.
York Festival of Ideas 2025 took place from 31 May until 13 June. Many of the events were recorded and can be viewed on the York Ideas YouTube page. Why not sign up to our mailing list to be among the first to hear about our exciting 2026 events?
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“I am hugely honoured to be invited to become Patron of York Festival of Ideas. Over the years, having the opportunity to perform and share my stories as part of a festival that enables everyone to come who wants to come, has been incredibly inspiring. York Festival of Ideas’ commitment to making ideas accessible to all by offering free events is something I would love to see happen more often. I strongly believe that there should be no barriers to ideas.'
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