Billy Ocean and Stacey Dooley set for Hay Festival

Hay Festival has announced the first set of speakers and events for its annual literature festival in the border town of Hay-on-Wye next May.

Musician Billy Ocean, broadcaster Stacey Dooley, comedian Julian Clary and novelist Jojo Moyes will feature among 44 events announced before tickets go on sale on Friday.

The festival said it was its "biggest-ever earlybird event drop, hinting at the dynamic programme of 600+ events to come".

The full lineup will be revealed in the spring.

Novelists including Moyes, Alexander McCall Smith, Kit de Waal and Matt Haig will be discussing their latest works, while broadcaster Susie Dent and comedian Julian Clary will also be launching their crime novels.

Personal stories will come from comedian and actor Miranda Hart, lawyer Sayeeda Warsi and Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood, talking about their memoirs, while journalists Emma Barnett and Stacey Dooley will be discussing the highs and lows of motherhood.

There will be music and comedy performances from Billy Ocean, Tim Rice, Al Murray, Katherine Ryan, and blind, former Hereford College student Chris McCausland.

Actor Tuppence Middleton, journalist Naga Munchetty, poet Michael Rosen and geneticist Richard Dawkins are also among the big names appearing on the festival's eight stages.

Festival CEO Julie Finch would not be drawn on which names would be released in the final announcement next March, but said there would be "lots of surprises".

"Trust us to excite you," she said.

Ms Finch added the event was not just about the famous names. "We also enable people to discover something new, something they’ve never imagined before," she explained.

"Ultimately, I think it’s a place where you can try out new things. And we all need that space."

The Hay Festival runs from 22 May to 1 June 2025.

Tickets are already available for members to buy, before they go on general sale on Friday.

Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.