Bristol Festival of Ideas

Bristol Festival of Ideas
The Arnolfini, Bristol, one of the main venues for Festival events
Genre	Arts, science, culture, literature, politics, etc.
Dates	Throughout year: main Festival programme each May
Location(s)	Bristol, England – Arnolfini, Watershed Media Centre, St. George's, At-Bristol, Council House, Tobacco Factory, Victoria Rooms, Wills Memorial Building, etc.
Years active	2005–present
Website
Bristol Festival of Ideas

The Bristol Festival of Ideas is a project established in Bristol, England, which aims "to stimulate people’s minds and passions with an inspiring programme of discussion and debate". It was first set up in 2005, as part of the city's ultimately unsuccessful bid to become the European Capital of Culture for 2008, and continues to maintain a programme of debates and other events, including an annual festival each May.

The Festival also awards an annual book prize, worth £7,500, to a book which "presents new, important and challenging ideas, which is rigorously argued, and which is engaging and accessible". It is one of the largest book prizes in the UK.

The Festival takes place in a range of venues across the city, including the Arnolfini, the Watershed Media Centre, St. George's, At-Bristol, the Council House, the Tobacco Factory, and the Victoria Rooms. It is organised by Bristol Creative Projects (BCP – formerly the Bristol Cultural Development Partnership), Arts Council England, Bristol City Council, and GWE BusinessWest, a private sector organisation promoting economic development in the area, and also works closely with universities in the area and other agencies. The Director of the Festival is Andrew Kelly, who was appointed Director of the Bristol Cultural Development Partnership in 1993.

The first festival, held 16–21 May 2005, included speakers Paul Ormerod, A. C. Grayling, Julia Neuberger, Joanna Bourke, John N. Gray, Colin Tudge, Marek Kohn, Jack Cohen, Ian Stewart, John Carey, John Mortimer, Francis Spufford, Deyan Sudjic, Nick Hornby, Julian Baggini, Claudia Hammond, Dick King-Smith, Roger McGough, Brian Patten, David Crystal, Ben Crystal, and Pat Kane Kane – formerly a musician in the band Hue and Cry – was appointed as the UK's first "thinker in residence", with a remit to be "a 'constructive heckler' – identifying broad themes that emerge from the discussions, making connections between realms of knowledge ... being a 'contrarian catalyst'".