It looks like ticket sales for the Hay Festival may top 230,000 this year which is 15% up on the record numbers that flocked to last year’s sun-kissed event. Twitter is partly responsible according to Festival Director Peter Florence.
“The response has been absolutely phenomenal. Twitter didn’t really exist here last year and everybody’s got a smart or android phone now. The way people come to the festival will change because of that and people will want to comment. Following it on Twitter seems an obvious thing to do.”
Follow it you can. The most popular twitter hashtag will be #hayfestival and you can follow individual authors, politicians, film stars and intellectuals via Making Hay’s exclusive Hay Twitter Directory (access via the menu at the top of the page).
MAKING HAY at the Hay Festival 
Twitter absolutely was here last year – many of us tweeted thru the festival!!!! ( when we could get a signal, that is….)
I think you’ve clearly made more efficient use of it this year… Now, next year…how about an App for the festival??!!!
Agreed. There were a few tweeters in 2009 too!
As an overseas follower, I just wish more use would be made of live tweeting from sessions, bearing in mind smart phones are compact computers.
Phone should, as a matter of courtesy, be switched off during sessions, but not computing/tweeting ability.
It has worked to great impact in Arabia, with live tweeting from both #DxbLit and #Shjibf.
I agree but the mobile phone signals are very poor at the festival and the wifi is a bit hit and miss. However we are already seeing more tweets this year.