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The British Academy Ideas Festival

19-20 June 2026

The British Academy Ideas Festival returns on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 June. Celebrating bold thinking and unexpected discoveries from the histories that shape our identities to the forces influencing politics, culture and technology. You’ll be pulled into questions about power, belief, belonging and the future that help us to understand the world – and ourselves – differently.

Set in the heart of London, the free Festival draws world-class minds together for a weekend of conversation, debate and exchange. Explore the full programme and book your free ticket below.

The British Academy Ideas Festival - Friday Late

The British Academy Ideas Festival - Saturday

Exhibits

Immerse yourself in a world of new ideas from our inspiring researchers. Open the doors of exploration to discover what early sightings of the Northern Lights meant to different cultures; become immersed in a dance amongst inflatables, delving into the political role of choreography in the 1960s; and through interactive technology, question what happens when our capacity to use language is removed.

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