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British make Hay Festival with Geldof -- in Spain
2006-09-12
Spain will for the first time host the Hay festival of literature in a four-day cultural binge in the central city of Segovia, the British Council has told AFP. The Guardian Hay Festival Segovia, which will welcome a "wealth of Spanish and British talent" from September 21, is designed to celebrate the best in the art and culture of both nations. Martin Amis, Doris Lessing, Ian McEwan and Fernando Savater will be among authors present for a new take on the traditional format of the festival, which first took place in 1988 in the small Welsh-English border village of Hay-on-Wye. Former US president Bill Clinton attended what he dubbed "the Woodstock of the mind" in 2001 while in the early days US playwright Arthur Miller was invited as star guest, whereupon he reputedly asked if Hay-on-Wye was a type of sandwich. The British Council said Irish singer and charity fundraiser Bob Geldof will open the Segovia proceedings, which will include two photographic exhibitions from the Institute of Spanish Historical Heritage. Works by Colombian artist Fernando Botero and a selection of sculptures from the prestigious Marlborough gallery by international artists including Martin Chirino, Francisco Leiro and Manolo Valdes will also be on show.
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