Festival of Ideas 2026
13 March 2026 to 15 March 2026
Malvern St James School, 15 Avenue Road, Great Malvern, Worcestershire, WR14 3BA
Voices can drive progress and the festival invites you to join them in shaping the conversations that will define the future. They will be exploring factors and causes and asking questions such as: How can we ensure equal opportunities and rights for all, regardless of gender, race, or socioeconomic status? How do advancements in AI and automation affect jobs, privacy, and societal structures? How can we bridge the gap between wealthier and poorer nations, especially in access to education, healthcare, and resources? Who benefits from the Culture War?
There are two programmes: The Social Change Programme of talks and discussions, familiar to many past festival-goers, and the Family Programme, aimed at audiences of families and young people, but open to anyone. Festival director Andrew Webb said: ‘Our team of volunteers are thrilled that we have brought so many excellent and well-regarded speakers to inspire our audiences to take action for social change. The talks will be provoking, inspiring and entertaining. We look forward to welcoming you all.’
The roots of The Malvern Festival of Ideas were planted in 2012. Since then it has developed into an annual event that aims to bring together innovators, thought leaders, industry experts and local people, to think, inspire creativity, foster discussion and debate. The festival operates on a not-for-profit model under its parent charity, EngageMalvern and, apart from specialist and technical assistance, is entirely led by volunteers.
Tickets are available for individual talks, there are day tickets for Saturday and Sunday, as well as weekend tickets. All details can be found on the Malvern Festival of Ideas website. malvernfestivalofideas.org.uk