York Festival of Ideas has unveiled its programme for 2025, based on the theme of ‘Making Waves’.
Tickets are available from Friday, 02 May for more than 200 mostly free events – talks, walking tours, discussions, and performances, plus a host of family-friendly activities.
The 2025 Festival programme and booking details can be viewed online and paper brochures are available at the Visit York Information Centre as well as at public libraries across the city.
Running from 31 May to 13 June, the Festival presents an eclectic programme split between in-person and online events, featuring a line-up of distinguished international contributors.
Generous support
Led by the University of York, it’s one of the largest free festivals of its kind in the UK and is made possible by the generous support of organisations including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, LNER, the Morrell Centre for Legal and Political Philosophy, York Central and the French Embassy in the UK. This year’s festival also marks the start of a new media partnership with The Northern Agenda.
The 2025 Festival showcases contributions from an array of world-class speakers and performers, including acclaimed author, Sir Michael Morpurgo; BBC Countryfile presenter, Tom Heap; renowned author, Shamini Flint; BBC presenter and journalist, Ros Atkins; Eminent biologist, Professor Baroness Kathy Willis; Chief Historian at Historic Royal Palaces, Professor Tracy Borman, and Carnatic singer, Supriya Nagarajan.
Thousands of schoolchildren from across the country are also being invited to take part in a Michael Morpurgo Celebration Day on 3 June as part of the Festival.
Organised as a tribute to the renowned author’s power as a writer, communicator and advocate of the arts, the celebration marks his eighth York Festival of Ideas appearance – and his first as Patron.
School event
The centrepiece of the day will be a live online event, hosted by Katie Razzall, BBC News Culture and Media Editor, with schools from across the country joining in. Michael will read excerpts from his new book Cobweb (HarperCollins), inspired by the extraordinary true story of the French Drummer Boy of Waterloo. He’ll also answer children’s questions about his work, research and love of animals and nature.
On the eve of the Michael Morpurgo Celebration Day, Michael, together with his wife and fellow author Clare Morpurgo and Carol Hughes, who was married to poet Ted Hughes for the last 28 years of his life, will present My Heart Was a Tree: The concert at York Theatre Royal. Poignant poetry readings will be interspersed with music by Elgar, Haydn, Max Richter and Vaughan Williams, performed by the Iddesleigh String Quartet.
The free performance at York Theatre Royal, which includes readings from Michael’s children’s book My Heart Was a Tree (Two Hoots), will be his first as Patron of York Festival of Ideas.
Cast your vote
The Festival team is also inviting readers of Michael’s books to vote for their favourite in a poll hosted on their Instagram channel. The poll will be open until 2 June and the winning book will be announced on Michael Morpurgo Day.
Joan Concannon, Director of York Festival of Ideas, said: “One of the Festival’s strengths is its ability to bring people with different experiences together to try to understand complex, fast-moving challenges. This year, whilst recognising the difficulties faced by many across the world, we also want to take time to appreciate the things that bring people joy, and the world and characters that Michael Morpurgo has created for us, is certainly something to celebrate.
“Michael Morpurgo has been making waves since his very first publication and we invite you all to join our inaugural Michael Morpurgo Celebration Day. We celebrate not only Michael’s eighth Festival appearance but his first as Festival Patron.”
The programme includes a series of Festival Focus sessions covering topics of major importance, including the creation of a more equal society, transport connectivity, the security of Europe, and AI and the future of work.
** Timings and Locations may vary depending on the events. For more info visit: https://yorkfestivalofideas.com/media/news-and-events/festival-of-ideas/2025/Final%20version%20of%20FOI%20brochure.pdf
