OUR STORY

An introduction to Byline Festival, the festival that wants to change the world.

Byline Festival was founded by Peter Jukes and Stephen Colegrave in 2017, as a constructive response to the Brexit referendum - and Trump’s election. The festival was borne out of the founders’ desire to counter the rise of disinformation and its interference in democracy - complemented and occasioned by the noticeable lack of veracity in the media, at the time.

It was important to us that we didn't just create a conference by another name. The aim was to launch a festival for all the senses that bought people together by including thought-provoking talks, tackling the big issues of the day - whilst offering the festival-goers a series of enjoyable, immersive, experiences, in the spoken word, music, and comedy spaces, too.

At the first festival in 2017, Carole Cadwalladr shared her investigations into Cambridge Analytica. John Cleese launched the Bad Press Awards that highlighted the short-comings of the main stream press. And Salena Godden performed as the festival’s poet laureate. Later in the year, Byline Festival travelled to New York and was opened by Sir Harry Evans, the legendary editor of The Sunday Times.

In 2018, Pussy Riot performed… and the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Chris Wylie spoke. Other speakers included Tom Watson MP, Baroness Warsi, Bonnie Greer, June Sarpong and Gary Lineker, with comedy from Alexei Sayle, Joanna Scanlan, and Andy Hamilton.

In 2019, the festival continued to grow: the Pussy Riot was joined by The Feeling and Lowkey. Speakers included Gina Miller, Lemn Sissay and Sanjeev Bhaskar.

By then, Byline Festival saw over 8,000 attendees flood through its gates - and we saw that it had turned the dial, too. The conversations at it, had inspired important follow up discussions in Parliament and beyond. Byline Festival eventually led to us starting the Byline Times newspaper as a means of continuing the vital conversations that started at the festival.

After a hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Byline Fesitval returned in 2022. However, this time we headed to the historic Acklam Village, in Notting Hill.

For years 2023 and 2024 Byline Festival was hosted in the breathtaking Dartington Hall in Devon; the site upon which the post-war Labour manifesto was penned, in 1945. Whilst there, Byline celebrated landmark events there that we’ll never forget: not least the general election of 2024. Watching the coverage on the 4th of July 2024, we saw the first Labour landslide, in some 14 years’.

Since 2017, many of the key issues we were discussing at our first Byline Festival - such as Russian interference and the failings of the media - have become even more relevant… and in some instances, have come home to roost!

This year, Byline Festival will be held at Keele University. We’re thrilled to be working with a host partner who is a pioneer in addressing the climate crisis at the institutional level.

We look forward to welcoming you to 2025’s Byline Festival. Be ahead of the curve. Discuss the big issues affecting us today. And steer the way in which they’ll impact us, in the future.