A Moment in History

Armed with our glasses of white wine, we sat in front of the computer this evening to watch the launch of the first Digital Hay Festival.
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We joined 23,847 people already online for this global live video streaming event- the chat panel revealed people from Moscow to Brazil, California to South Africa, to listen to a star studded cast read Wordsworth’s poems. 
 
It was an extraordinary occasion: bizarre and surreal.
 
Yes, there were some technical glitches and the chat panel were divided into those who complained about it to others full of praise. After all here we had Vanessa Redgrave, Stephen Fry, Margaret Attwood , Toby Jones and Benedict Cumberbatch reading poetry.
 
Is this a glimpse into the future? Will festivals such as Hay be delivered virtually to thousands in our living rooms instead of physically with hundreds of others in a tent in the middle of a field?
 
Oh yes, I forgot to mention it’s all free.

Link Hay Festival events: https://www.hayfestival.com/home
 
 
Photo: taken at last year’s Hay Festival following a torrential downpour.