Leeds International Festival of Ideas returns this October with an unmissable programme of ideas, inspiration and conversation — from award-winning broadcasters and bestselling authors to academics and cultural commentators.

The festival has now revealed its full 2026 line-up, with a bold mix of fireside chats and panel discussions tackling society’s biggest questions, from the future of the planet and social media to identity, parenthood and what it means to live a creative life.

Running from Tuesday 6th – Saturday 10th October, the festival welcomes an outstanding set of names including Louis Theroux, Tim Minchin, Elizabeth Day, Chris Packham CBE, Roman Kemp, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Vicky Pattison, James O’Brien, Megan McKenna and many more.

The festival is again taking place at Leeds Playhouse, across its iconic Quarry and Courtyard spaces, with daytime and evening sessions throughout the week.

Headline events include Louis Theroux opening the festival with an intimate fireside chat spanning four decades of extraordinary broadcasting, Tim Minchin closing the week with a career-spanning conversation on creativity and chaos, and Elizabeth Day bringing her chart-topping conversation on resilience and self-limiting beliefs to the Quarry on Wednesday, 7th October.

This year’s panel discussions dive into the defining issues of our time — suicide, the legacy of the 90s, the future of parenthood, and what belonging really means in modern Britain.

For further details, visit leedsinternationalfestival.com – tickets go on general sale on 10^th June from 9am.