How The Light Gets In, the world’s biggest philosophy festival, is heading back to London for a two-day event on Hampstead Heath from 19 to 20 September.
The festival, set up by English philosopher Hilary Lawson, invites world-leading thinkers from philosophy, science, technology, economics and politics to debate the most contentious topics of the day.
Hosted on the grounds of Kenwood House, the London edition follows the festival’s flagship gathering in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, which drew attendees from as far afield as China, Brazil and Afghanistan.
The Welsh event saw former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn appear alongside Reform UK’s head of policy, debating European defence in a session titled The End of the Great Alliance.
That panel also featured former Leader of the Official Opposition in Canada Michael Ignatieff and Gillian Tett, editor-at-large at the US Financial Times.
“I don’t know of any other festivals where we sit down with this kind of debate,” Corbyn told City AM.
“Everybody came away having learned something. Listen to what the other side says, particularly if you don’t agree with them. Let’s have it.”
Reform’s James Orr sparked debate at a talk titled Patriotism, Populism and the Fate of Nations, criticising plans for a digital ID card in the context of his party’s interest in controlling immigration.
“We think it’s implausible illegal migrants will be jumping off the dinghy to fill in forms for their digital ID,” Orr said.
Lawson argues the festival’s cross-political breadth is precisely what sets it apart from other cultural and academic institutions.
“Most journalistic organisations can place where they are on the political spectrum, most universities have got a sense of where they think the current truth is, that’s not where we are,” Lawson told City AM.
“We are about exploring ways of making sense of the world,” he added, describing the target audience as everyone interested in what makes the world go round.
Olivier Award winning actor Sheila Atim also appeared, suggesting creativity could be drawn from scientific frameworks during her lecture.
“You’ll hear a lot of Hollywood actors at round tables talking about finding their truth — it often sounds overblown,” Atim said. “My brain structures are the conduit for me to access creativity.”
The festival is not solely defined by politics, with hundreds of attendees turning up to hear a talk attempting to answer the question: “is water wet?”
A session on sex robots and a debate on TradWives, the social media movement celebrating a 1960s ideal of nuclear family life, drew sharp responses from panelists including Instagram political influencer Louisa Munch and radical feminist Julie Bindel.
All panelists agreed the TradWives trend represented a toxic and outdated image of femininity, with Munch declaring: “We need to be nostalgic for something else.”
Musicians including Damian Lewis performed live sets, while female quintet Girl Group managed to get philosophy attendees moshing to their indie-pop-punk across late-night stages.
A late-night fixture called Midnight Mayhem invited rooms full of attendees to debate whether they would prefer a horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses, with hundreds passionately arguing the point for nearly an hour each night.
The festival is run by the Institute of Art and Ideas, which publishes online philosophical content that has been viewed by around a third of a billion people.
This year a new premium ticket priced at £700 offered guests a personal advisor to plan their talks schedule along with access to private relaxation areas away from the main crowds.
Registration for the London edition is open online, with further details on speakers, musicians and panellists to follow at howthelightgetsin.org/festivals, where City AM is a media partner.