HowTheLightGetsIn Festival

Ideas sit so close to wonder now, new thinking propelling our imaginations forwards. Academics are out of the universities, in fairground fields, dancing late into the night. That’s how it seems at HowTheLightGetsIn, the world’s largest philosophy and music (that these go together says it all) festival that takes place bi-annually, in Hay over one long Spring weekend and in Greenwich in the Autumn over a shorter one. 

It all starts with that name. "There is a crack in everything...that's how the light gets in". Lines from a Leonard Cohen song that trace the festival’s origin story as well as its tone. The light in question here is unarguably ideas; mind-expanding discussions, films, and talks on the subjects that define our current moment such as blackholes and AI, anxiety and epidemiology. But it’s also light that goes beyond levity, coming through in glitter balls for the evening riverside discos and the night lights of the comedy sets, live bands and DJ sessions. The magic of HowTheLightGetsIn comes from listening to Nobel Prize winners by day and Grammy award-winners by night, the emphasis on moving your brain as much as your body.

Right Now: This year, you’ll have to find your own green and pleasant pastures from which to experience the Festival as it goes fully online. Join HowtheLightGetsIn Online Festival 2020 this weekend (22 to 25 May) for a fully interactive experience: 200 events live-streamed from 8 stages, recreating a little of its unique blend of ideas and entertainment at home.