[5] The overarching theme for the 2012 Festival was Metamorphoses,[6] which included major topic areas such as the perils and perceptions of ageing; how conflict transforms lives; architecture as a catalyst for social, cultural and economic progress, and the turbulence of financial markets.
The programme also included a Science out of the Lab event in the city centre; a New Writers’ Day; a variety of exhibitions, musical performances and concerts, and international speakers such as Anthony Horowitz and Jung Chang.
[8] The programme provided a wide variety of events including debates as part of BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival;[9] a New Writers’ day with Granta Magazine's Best of Young British Novelists List; Festival Focus days on architecture and design and the economy; a variety of exhibitions, musical performances from national and international performers, hands-on activities and workshops,[10] and headline addresses by speakers such as Melvyn Bragg, Heidi Thomas, Brian Sewell, William Sitwell, Michael Wood, Ross Noble,[11] Michael Scott, Zoe Williams, Harriet Sergeant and Seamus Heaney, in what was one of his last public appearances before his death.
[17] The 2014 Festival theme Order and Chaos provided subjects including arts and society, conflict and resolution, the future of food, maps and exploration, healthcare, science and religion, economic growth, the ancient world and the mysteries of our brain.
[18] The programme provided a wide variety of events including panel debates on the world's response to global crises, and on detective writing; Festival Focus days on economic growth, religion and science, the future of food, and detective writing; a variety of exhibitions, musical and theatrical performances from national and international performers, hands-on activities and workshops,[19] and headline addresses by speakers such as Jung Chang, Michael Morpurgo,[20] Anthony Horowitz, Charlie Higson, Hermione Lee, James Rubin, and Gavin Esler.
[29] The 2016 York Festival of Ideas, with the theme of Tick Tock, contained more than 180 events involving inspirational speakers, performers and exhibitions,[30] such as Sara Pascoe, Owen Jones, Zoe Williams, John Kay, Stephanie Flanders, Ruth Davies, Lynsey Hanley, Alan Travis, Princess Vittoria Alliata, Rear Admiral Chris Parry, Lyse Doucet, and Baroness McIntosh.
[36] Headline speakers included Peter Lord, Co-founder and Creative Director of Aardman, cleric and broadcaster Reverend Richard Coles, former Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, and children's author and poet Michael Rosen.
Headline speakers at the Festival include journalist Emily Maitlis, the presenter of BBC Two's flagship Newsnight programme; physicist, author and broadcaster, Jim Al-Khalili; Philip Alston, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty; Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee; behavioural scientist Dr Pragya Agarwal; V&A Museum’s Keeper of the Asian Department, Anna Jackson; and LBC radio presenter and broadcaster Iain Dale.
[45] The 2022 festival attracted Oscar-winning film editor and University of York alumnus, Joe Walker, crime writer Ann Cleeves and actress Dame Harriet Walter among others.
Michael Morpurgo returned to the festival to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his beloved book War Horse with an abridged reading of this tale accompanied by music and songs from the famous National Theatre production.
Other speakers included the BBC presenter and Team GB triathlete Louise Minchin, former Chief Prosecutor Nazir Afzal and bestselling author, historian and broadcaster Tracy Borman.
Inspirational speakers and performers included children’s author Michael Morpurgo; double-Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes; BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner; broadcaster Janina Ramirez; journalists Gavin Esler and Zeinab Badawi; Ambassadors Steven Pifer and Androulla Kaminara; and violinist and composer Anna Phoebe - among many others.