Hay Festival 2026 special edition ice cream flavour revealed

Actor and author Hugh Bonneville will be honoured at Hay Festival 2026 with his very own ice cream flavour, available exclusively on the festival’s site.

Created by Shepherds Ice Cream, producers of the Festival’s famed sheep’s milk ice cream, the flavour – marmalade and toast – is a nod to his starring role in Paddington.

The special-edition flavour is an annual tradition at the Festival, with previous honourees including actors Stephen Fry and Miriam Margolyes, as well as author Alice Oseman.

Bonneville, an actor known for his versatile roles in film, television, and on stage from Downtown Abbey to Paddington, is appearing at Hay Festival in a trio of events to celebrate his first children’s book, Rory Sparkes and the Elephant in the Room and 100 Years of Michael Bond, creator of Paddington Bear.

Bonneville joked: “Marmalade ice-cream, a small bear and a warm day… what could possibly go wrong?”

Shepherds Ice Cream was founded in 1987 – the same year as Hay Festival Global – by Juliet Noble and Martin Orbach on the Herefordshire/Wales border.

A Festival stalwart, their ice cream is made using local and seasonal ingredients, often picked straight from their own garden, with their flavours combining old favourites and new surprises.

Shepherds Ice Cream’s Connie Orbach said: “Creating our annual Hay Festival special is a highlight of the year and what better inspiration than Hugh Bonneville and Paddington Bear?”

Hay Festival Global CEO Julie Finch added: “We are delighted to be celebrating Hugh Bonneville’s Festival appearance with this very special ice cream flavour.

“The joy of Hay Festival is as much about what happens off stage as on – our free-to-enter Festival site features a wonderful food and drink offer with Shepherds Ice Cream an annual highlight. I can’t wait to taste it!”

Hay Festival runs its 39th spring edition in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, with more than 500 events over 11 days, 21 – 31 May 2026.

Launching the best new fiction and non-fiction books, while sharing insights around global issues, the programme sees more than 700 artists, policymakers, pioneers and innovators take part from around the world.

A series of new initiatives and fresh programming strands feature across the programme:

• My Life in Books events see celebrities open their personal libraries
• Heard at Hay Festival panels spark thought-provoking debates
• America 250 conversations reflect on the changing face of a nation
• The Pleasure List campaign celebrates the joys of reading
• New genre days spotlight bestselling fiction
• Barrel of Laughs sessions spotlight funny people with new books
• Book to Screen events showcase adaptations in the MUBI Cinema
• Debut Discoveries series spotlights new writing talent
• The Platform elevates new creatives
• Matters of Taste demos take food from page to stage
• Creative Industry Insights sessions engage budding young creatives
• South to North Conversations explore international perspectives

Alongside the best new fiction and non-fiction, our changing world is drawn into focus with commentary from leading politicians, economists, historians and scientists, while journalists and commentators will reflect on the UK’s recent local elections.

Nights at the Festival are given over to great music, comedy and entertainment with a renewed focus on innovative, immersive event experiences, while a host of free pop-up activities and performances will delight audiences between sessions.

Free to enter, the Festival’s Dairy Meadows site in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park will also offer a range of spaces for audiences to explore and enjoy between events, including the Bookshop, BBC Marquee, Wild Garden, Make & Take Hub a host of exhibitors and market stalls, cafés, and the Family Garden.

The full Hay Festival 2026 programme is available online, with tickets on sale now.