BENEDICT Cumberbatch is coming to Powys this summer as part of an all-star line up for this year's Hay Festival.

More than 500 in-person events will be held between May 26 and June 5 as the festival returns to its full line-up.

As well as the Oscar-nominated actor, who will be leading an all-star cast for Letters Live, major names on the bill include Nicola Sturgeon, actor Minnie Driver, and rock legend Jimmy Page.

Comedians Bill Bailey, David Baddiel, Reginald D. Hunter and Simon Amstell will also be making in-person appearances, as will politicians including Ed Balls, and journalists George Monbiot and Jane Garvey.

The bill will, of course, also include many figures from the literary world including Julian Barnes, Ian Rankin and Jacqueline Wilson.

Public booking for the events begins at noon this Friday, April 8. Tickets are already on sale to Friends of Hay Festival.

Hay Festival international director Cristina Fuentes La Roche said: “We’re delighted to be gathering in our booktown with a vibrant programme to imagine the world anew.

"It’s been 35 years since writers and readers started sharing their stories together in our festival tents and we have never needed these stories more urgently.

"During the day our conversations and debates will tackle some of the biggest issues of the moment, and in the evenings we’ll laugh and dance together again. Join us.”

Hay Festival 2022 is supported by lead sponsors Baillie Gifford and Visit Wales. The free Programme for Schools and the Beacons Project are supported by the Welsh Government.

Events will take place at the main Dairy Meadows site, in St Mary’s Church in Hay and in a new festival theatre in the grounds of the recently restored Hay Castle.

The Festival site is free to enter, with pop-ups to explore, including the Festival Bookshop, Haydays courtyard, Make & Take Tent, and exhibitors, market stalls, cafés and restaurants.

Other major events include a Platinum Jubilee concert from Rebecca Evans, Leah-Marian Jones, Trystan Llŷr Griffiths and Bryn Terfel.

And other stand-up shows will include new sets from Nina Conti, Jason Byrne, Rich Hall, Milton Jones and Rachel Parris.

Shakespeare’s Globe on Tour will perform Julius Caesar in the grounds of Hay Castle, and stars of the BBC/HBO His Dark Materials adaptation Amir Wilson (Will Parry) and Simone Kirby (Mary Malone) join writer Jack Thorne to preview Series Three.

For detailed listings visit the festival website at hayfestival.org/wales