Everything you need to know about the 2017 Hay Festival

It's the 30th anniversary of the Hay Festival - the annual literary extravaganza which sees the great and the good share their stories with the public. Here we pick our top ten must-see people from this year’s line-up, and offer some facts and figures about the 'Woodstock of the mind'.

10 people we can't wait to see

As part of Hay's 30th anniversary 'Reformations' series, the writer and tech-geek re-imagines the internet and asks how the mantra 'This is for Everyone' can play now in a digital sphere of social media, hacking and global connectivity.

When: 20:30, Saturday 27 May

How to watch: Live on the BBC's Hay website; clips and full session available afterwards via the BBC's Hay website and BBC iPlayer.

Feel the Bern! The longest-serving independent US Senator sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2016 and only narrowly lost out to Hillary Clinton. On the way he won millions of votes and just as many new fans. At Hay he will deliver the Eric Hobsbawm Lecture.

When: 19:00, Saturday 3 June

How to watch: Clips and full session available afterwards via the BBC's Hay website and BBC iPlayer.

Honouring the bicentenary of the Jane Austen's death, Worsley tells the story of the novelist's life and shows us how and why she lived as she did, examining the places and spaces that mattered to her. It wasn’t all country houses and ballrooms, but a life that was often a painful struggle.

When: 19:00, Saturday 27 May

How to watch: Clips available afterwards on the BBC's Hay website

The Olympic diving star shares what he’s learned about how to stay fit, healthy and positive. His secrets include delicious food, workouts anyone can do (he promises!) and invaluable motivational and lifestyle tips. He talks to the award-winning sports writer Carolyn Hitt.

When: 17:30, Saturday 27 May

How to watch: Live on the BBC's Hay website; clips and full session available afterwards via the BBC's Hay website and BBC iPlayer.

The actor reminisces in an intimate self-portrait, with stories and photographs from her long career – from classic movies Georgy Girl,The Night Porter, and The Sense of an Ending to hit TV drama Broadchurch. Hosted by Sarfraz Manzoor.

When: 16:00, Saturday 27 May

How to watch: Live on the BBC's Hay website; clips and full session available afterwards.

Twenty years ago, Kasparov, the greatest chess player in the world, was defeated by the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue. Talking to Stephen Fry, he describes a watershed moment in the history of technology: machine intelligence could beat human intellect.

When: 16:00, Sunday 28 May

How to watch: Live on the BBC's Hay website; clips and full session available afterwards.

In discussion with Stephen Fry, Gaiman discusses the enduring tales and myths of Northern and Mediterranean Europe, and his newly published book, Norse Mythology, that reaches back to the source stories that inspired Tolkien, Marvel comics and many others.

When: 14:30, Monday 29 May

How to watch: Live on the BBC's Hay website; clips and full session available afterwards.

Once one of the 'enfant terribles' pack of British artists during the 1980s and 90s, Turner Prize-nominated artist Tracey Emin's candid and confessional work ranges from painting, drawing, video and installation to photography, needlework and sculpture. At Hay she talks to Dylan Jones, editor of GQ magazine, about her life, art and inspirations.

When: 17:30, Sunday 28 May

How to watch: Live on the BBC's Hay website; clips and full session available afterwards.

The comedian introduces his humorous and very personal guide to his favourite British birds, complete with drawings, notes and cartoons and some spectacular impressions. "When herons are spooked they have a habit of vomiting as a defence."

When: 14:30, Sunday 4 June

How to watch: Clips available afterwards on the BBC's Hay website.

Hear about the highs and lows of life in and out of politics – from the despatch box to Strictly stage - with one of Britain’s most influential and charming political figures. He’s funny, and acute about the madhouse of Parliament.

When: 16:00, Saturday 27 May

How to watch: Clips and full session available afterwards on the BBC Hay website and BBC iPlayer

Hay Festival is a not-for-profit organisation, whose current president is Stephen Fry. Over the years, it has been held in a pub car park and a primary school, and today takes place on a dairy meadow just outside of Hay-on-Wye.
Organisers have now programmed 120 festivals in 20 different countries. Today editions run in Wales, Spain, Peru, Mexico, Colombia, and Denmark.
The first Hay Festival Wales was comprised of 22 events - the 30th includes over 700. Previous guests have included Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Seamus Heaney, Zadie Smith, Tom Stoppard, Nadine Gordimer, Martin Amis, Paul McCartney, Desmond Tutu, Jane Fonda and Al Gore.
Emerging stars who’ve won devoted audiences at Hay Festival have included Yann Martel, Arundhati Roy, Amanda Foreman, baritone Bryn Terfel, comedian Eddie Izzard and local poet Owen Sheers.
The festivals are full of music and laughter. In Wales, performers have included Macy Gray, Pulp, Super Furry Animals, Bryn Terfel, Laura Marling, Baaba Maal, and Suzanne Vega, while comedians over the years have included Ken Dodd, Jennifer Saunders, Sarah Millican, Marcus Brigstocke, Ruby Wax and Sara Pascoe.
Author Ian McEwan has tested out work in progress on Hay crowds, who’ve helped him with the German translation of “the missionary position” for The Innocent and given advice on porcelain vases in 1930s country houses for Atonement. He said: “I don’t do research any more, I ask the audience at Hay.”
Best question to a writer? In May 1989, Arthur Miller had just delivered a stunning lecture on freedom of speech, censorship in Eastern Europe and satire in the Cold War. The first words of the Q&A were: “What was SHE like?” He laughed and smiled. That was enough.
Some 25,000 books were sold through the Oxfam bookshop at Hay Festival Wales last year, raising more than £47,000 for charity.
Hay Festival Wales has a higher marriage success rate than Blind Date – there have been at least 32 marriages of couples who met at the festival.

ONLINE: BBC Arts Digital has extensive coverage of the opening weekend with two days of live streaming, available worldwide. Go here on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 May to watch, and catch up on highlights from the opening weekend and the rest of the festival here.
RADIO & TELEVISION: More than 25 BBC shows will be recorded or broadcast live from the site - from BBC World News’ HARDtalk, Talking Books and Click to BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, Start the Week, and Broadcasting House; BBC Radio 3's The Essay, The Verb, Free Thinking, The Listening Service and In Tune; and a host of shows from BBC Wales and BBC Hereford and Worcester. Go here for the full broadcast schedule.
THE BBC TENT: A number of events at the festival will offer an inside look at the latest BBC dramas and documentaries, including tips from some of our leading screenwriters, documentary makers and show runners. You can book tickets for these events - many of them free - here.