Famous faces set to switch on Hay-on-Wye’s Christmas lights

Nation Cymru staff

Two famous faces will switch on Hay-on-Wye’s Christmas lights on Friday 27 November 2026 as part of Hay Festival Winter Weekend.

Radio 1 DJ Greg James and author Chris Smith have been announced as the famous faces at the free switch-on event, hosted by Hay Town Council and supported by Hay Chamber of Commerce, whichwill take place at 6:15pm in Memorial Square, accompanied by carol-singing, food stalls, mulled wine and entertainment to start the Festival weekend.

Greg James is a Radio 1 DJ, television presenter and author, and has hosted the station’s flagship breakfast show since 2018. Chris Smith is a solo author of acclaimed Frankie Best Hates Quests, Clarity Jones and the Magical Detective Agency and The New Famous Five, a series inspired by Enid Blyton.

They are founding members of the Primary School Library Alliance – a campaign launched by Penguin Random House and the National Literacy Trust to address the lack of investment in UK primary school libraries – and were awarded the Ruth Rendell Literacy Award in 2024 for their work promoting literacy in schools. They will appear at the Festival to discuss their new festive children’s book Secret Santa.

Hay Festival CEO Julie Finch said: “We’re thrilled to be joined by Greg James and Chris Smith for our Christmas lights switch-on. Their stories have brought joy to so many young readers, and there’s no better way to launch Hay Festival Winter Weekend than by bringing the whole town together for a magical evening under the lights. See you there!”

Greg James and Chris Smith said: “We’re honoured to be taking part in the official Christmas light switch on in Hay-on-Wye ahead of our Hay Festival Winter Weekend event and to help spread the magic of Christmas around this wonderfully bookish town.

“Just like the characters in our book, we are number one fans of Christmas and we can’t wait to meet the families of Hay to share this joy.

“Speaking to young readers at events is one of our favourite experiences as authors and we always hope to make children laugh, feel inspired and generally have a joyful experience celebrating the fun and magic of stories.

“We hope that Secret Santa will resonate with any young readers who loves Christmas or a good old spy story.”

Hay-on-Wye Town Mayor Fiona Howard shared: “Christmas in Hay is always a magical time, and the lights switch-on is one of the highlights of our community calendar. We’re delighted to be working alongside Hay Festival to bring everyone together for an evening of festive fun and to celebrate everything that makes our little town so special.”

Hay Festival Winter Weekend 2026 will offer a world of different experiences, as writers, artists and world-changers mark the turn of the season with new ideas, 26–29 November. Taking place in the grounds of Hay Castle in the heart of “the world’s first booktown” Hay-on-Wye, Wales, more than 60 artists will participate over four days.

Headline guests include novelist Kate Mosse; poets Simon Armitage, Owen Sheers and Alex Wharton; historian David Olusoga; singer-songwriter David Gray; Radio 1 DJ Greg James; actors Lucian Msamati, Caroline Quentin, Maxine Peake and Greg Wise; comedians Lucy Porter and Kiri Pritchard-McLean; physicist Jim Al-Khalili; journalists Luke Harding and Charlotte Higgins; former Scotland First Minister Humza Yousaf; former Buddhist monk Sam Yo; Witches of Scotland campaigners Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi; psychotherapist Julia Samuel; potter Keith Brymer Jones; and curators of the British Museum’s Bayeux Tapestry exhibition Sue Brunning and Lloyd de Beer.

Launching the best new fiction and non-fiction, the programme will see participants engage with some of the biggest questions of our times, while spreading festive joy in candle-lit storytelling and one-off music and comedy performances.

Over the Festival weekend, the Welsh booktown’s independent shops, cafés and markets offer a warm welcome to Festivalgoers within the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.

Select events will be live-streamed to audiences around the world through the Festival’s online pass, on sale now at hayfestival.org/onlinepass

A free KS1 Programme for Schools will open Hay Festival Winter Weekend thanks to funding from The Moondance Foundation. Events will offer Primary School pupils from state schools in Wales free access to Festival events over two days, part of a wider outreach project throughout the autumn and into the New Year.

Hay Festival Global CEO Julie Finch said: “The changing seasons give us permission to pause and slow down. As we head into our 40th year and reflect on the past four decades of our charity’s impact, Hay Festival Winter Weekend offers us an opportunity to gather around stories with warmth, humour and generosity and reflect on the rapidly changing world around us in an intimate, cosy setting. Join us this winter and experience a world of different ideas.”

Hay Festival Winter Weekend will run Thursday 26–Sunday 29 November 2026. Tickets are on sale at hayfestival.org/winter-weekend