BBC Arts Digital brought you three days of coverage of the festival’s greatest writers, thinkers and performers.
This weekend, Hereford College of Arts and BBC Radio 3 have teamed up to find out more about the phrases you use at home.
The lines used by grandparents, parents and children have all been illustrated to create a giant picture poem and will be used in Friday's episode of The Verb.
Paul McCartney at the Festival, 2001
Peter Florence
Director, Hay Festival
Quote MessageLook at that, I admired him so much I even had my hair cut like a Beatle.
Image source, Hay FestivalPeter 'Mop Top' Florence meets Macca
Garry Ratcliffe, County Councillor
Image source, Hay FestivalGarry Ratcliffe, county councillor, sits in the council chamber in Hay-on-Wye
Quote MessageI became a town councillor at 21, then mayor at 23, and did that for three years. Then I stood in 2008 for the County Council. The Festival’s brilliant for the town, bringing people in. We run a family business so the Festival is one of the busiest times of the year, which means I don’t get to see much. But I remember Bill Clinton, that was spectacular when he came. Everyone and everything stopped to watch.
Throughout the day, we will be telling the modern history of Hay-on-Wye through the words of the people who make it what it is.
Nick Higham reports for BBC News from the Hay Festival in 2001, which featured Bill Clinton
Quote MessageThere’s something unique about the Hay Festival, apart from its size and global reputation; it is such a mish-mash of culture, politics, literature, comedy and even some music – all concentrated down into something quite intense.
Rachel Carney,, Hay Festival steward
You can read the rest of Rachel Carney's blog post here, external.
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Every year, the Hay Festival publishes a programme of events so festival-goers know when and where to find the authors, comedians, actors, journalists and others who head here to speak or perform.
Here's the first festival programme from 1988, with a description of Hay from over a century before:
Image source, Hay FestivalQuote MessageThe picturesque little border town with its slate roofed houses climbing and shining up the hill crested by the dark long mass of the old ivy grown castle with its huge war broken tower.
Kilvert Diaries Vol I. Good Friday 1879
And here's a selection of other programmes through the ages...
Image source, Hay FestivalBarney Sampson, vet
Quote MessageI remember one Festival driving past St Mary’s Church, looking over and there was Father Richard chatting to Desmond Tutu and the Archbishop of Canterbury. I think that was the same year I got called out for a lame horse. After I dealt with it, I was just looking for somewhere to wash my hands, when Jamie Oliver came bounding in. He reached out his hand to me, so I couldn’t not shake his hand, but he was probably washing for hours after that.
Throughout the day, we will be telling the modern history of Hay-on-Wye through the words of the people who make it what it is.
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And here's a close-up of the signature. Mice work if you can get it...
Image source, Hay FestivalAxel Scheffler draws a mouse in a fan's book at the Hay Festival
Tom Daley
Click the play icon above to watch diver Tom Daley live in conversation with award-winning sports writer Carolyn Hitt. He shares his secrets to staying fit, healthy and positive: including delicious food, workouts, and motivational and lifestyle tips.
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Juliet Noble, Shepherds Ice Cream.
Quote MessageThis is the tenth year where we’re running the Fair on the Square, we have music you can sit around and listen to, there’s stalls selling vintage clothing and stuff. Then this year we’re selling tickets for a supper club, raising money for Hay Library and for the refugee kitchen in Calais. The chefs are fantastic, so that will be great.
Throughout the day, we will be telling the modern history of Hay-on-Wye through the words of the people who make it what it is.
The Duchess of Cornwall visited Hay yesterday to join in the Festival's 30th birthday celebrations...
Your book reviews are flooding in as part of the #Hay30books campaign to select the best 30 books published since 1987. Laura B has penned this nomination for Nick Hornby's High Fidelity.
Don't forget to nominate your favourites on social media using the #Hay30books hashtag and use our interactive tool to post your reviews.
#Hay30books
Image source, Hay FestivalChristopher Hitchens at the Hay Festival, 2002
Quote MessageI remember exactly when I realised it was all balls from beginning to end. And that was – Mrs Watts, who taught us the scripture class and did our nature walks and biology and introductions to flowers and birds, when I must have been not much more than nine. One day, I remember distinctly, she said, with perfect sincerity, it seemed to me: “Look, children, how the trees and grass are so green. Think how good that shows our Lord to be, because what if the trees had been mauve, or electric blue? How unrestful that would be to the eye.” I knew nothing then about natural selection or about the human genome or the theory of evolution, but I remember thinking very clearly, in my little corduroy shorts: “That’s bull”.
Christopher Hitchens, 2005
This excerpt was taken from Hay Festival Conversations, Thirty Conversations for Thirty Years. Read more extracts from the book in The Guardian, external.
Which literary character would share yours?
With the sun beating down on Hay yesterday, there was a significant intake of ice cream here on site. And some fascinating answers to the question: Which literary character would you most like to share an ice cream with?
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Ted Hughes at the Hay Festival, 1996
Peter Florence
Director, Hay Festival
Quote MessageThis was Ted Hughes speaking in a marquee in a storm. I think the final result was Storm 5, Hughes 6. It was like King Lear, and the poetry bore comparison.
Image source, Hay FestivalTed Hughes speaks at the Hay Festival, 1996
Charlotte Rampling
Click the play icon above to watch Charlotte Rampling live in conversation with Sarfraz Manzoor. The actor will talk about a career that stretches from classic movies like Georgy Girl and The Night Porter up to her roles in Broadchurch and The Sense of an Ending.
Charlotte Rampling as The Girl in The Fantasist, 1967
Charlotte Rampling as Zinotchka in Full House, 1972
Image source, Endor ProductionsCharlotte Rampling as Sally in Restless, 2012
And one to forget, perhaps...
Image source, Silver Screen CollectionSean Connery as Zed and Charlotte Rampling as Consuella in a promotional portrait for Zardoz, 1974.
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Hannah Sampson, vet
Image source, Hay FestivalHay vets Hannah and Barney Sampson with their horse, rooster and labrador.
Quote MessageI come from Kinnersley, which is 11 miles that way, but I think I’m almost a Hay person now. I’ve been here 10 and a half years. Being a vet isn’t easy, with the on-call rotas, the fees, staff retention and the rest, but I love the Festival. There’s a lot of out-of-hours calls in May, so you’re just tired, and it’s a ray of sunshine in a really busy time of the year. The best thing I ever saw was Hugh Masekela, that was the kids’ first ever live gig and they loved it.
Throughout the day, we will be telling the modern history of Hay-on-Wye through the words of the people who make it what it is.
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Image source, Hay FestivalChildren run across the Hay Festival site
Image source, Hay FestivalA smiling child at a rainy Hay Festival
Image source, Hay FestivalRaindrops on a Hay Festival umbrella
Image source, Hay FestivalA child pulls up his hood at a rainy Hay Festival