Ticket stampede for Clinton’s UK festival talk

Former US President Bill Clinton is a sell-out at a British arts festival.

He will be talking about conflict resolution on Saturday night at the Hay-on-Wye Festival, where tickets to his talk cost £100 - the highest price thought to have been put on admittance to an event there.

His appearance is being billed as a ‘‘rare opportunity to hear him speak in public in the UK for the first time since leaving office’’.

All the tickets sold in a flash, leaving many disappointed.

The 11-day festival kicked off tonight with a performance from pop group Pulp.

The festival is held every year in the small town of Hay-on-Wye in south Wales, home to 1,300 people and 36 bookshops.

Also appearing at the festival are comedian David Baddiel, authors Margaret Atwood, David Lodge and Ian McEwan, playwright Alan Ayckbourn, feminist author and academic Germaine Greer and journalist John Pilger.

Nick Hornby, author of books offering insight into the male psyche, High Fidelity and Fever Pitch, will also be talking about his new book How to be Good.

And Frank McCourt, whose autobiography Angela’s Ashes was made into a film, will be the guest of BBC journalist James Naughtie.

But the festival, which runs until Sunday June 3, is not just about books and music. It is also treated as a forum for discussion of contemporary topics.

The Big Debate at the 14th Hay festival is about the role of teachers and has former chief inspector of schools Chris Woodhead as one of the guest panel.