Hay Festival suspends sponsor deal with Baillie Gifford

The Hay Festival has suspended its sponsorship agreement with the investment group Baillie Gifford, citing "intense pressure on artists" and claims raised by the campaign group Fossil Free Books (FFB). A number of authors and speakers had pulled out ahead of the event, with FFB calling on Baillie Gifford to divest from companies involved in Israel and the fossil fuel industry.

Hay had earlier said it was reviewing its relationship with Baillie Gifford. Julie Finch, c.e.o. of Hay Festival Global, stated: "In light of claims raised by campaigners and intense pressure on artists to withdraw, we have taken the decision to suspend our sponsorship from Baillie Gifford. Our first priority is to our audience and our artists. Above all else, we must preserve the freedom of our stages and spaces for open debate and discussion, where audiences can hear a range of perspectives."

Artists who had pulled out included the singer Charlotte Church, stand-up comedian Nish Kumar, Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti and Dawn Butler MP, as well as writer A K Blakemore, who has also withdrawn from attending Edinburgh. The writer and activist George Monbiot signed the FFB statement but chose to attend the festival, saying Hay was "a good cause" and "because this thing that we’re protesting against, we are all deeply embedded in".

Hay’s move will increase pressure on other organisations in receipt of sponsorship from Baillie Gifford. According to the Financial Times, citing a person familiar with the situation, the annual sponsorship of Hay is worth around £130,000. Aside from Hay, Baillie Gifford supports the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the Cheltenham Literature Festival, the Boswell Book Festival, the Wigtown Book Festival and The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.

FFB has said that "until the firm agrees to divest, we call on all literary organisations, including festivals, to end their relationships with Baillie Gifford", added that if the "demand is not met, we reaffirm our commitment to take action through disruption and by withdrawing our labour”.

In response to Hay, the organisation said that while it welcomed the decision, it called on Hay "to confirm they are dropping Baillie Gifford for good". It further stressed: "We call on them to commit to a fundraising policy that rules out future partnerships with companies that profit from fossil fuels and Israeli occupation, apartheid and genocide."

Baillie Gifford said it was “regrettable our sponsorship with [Hay] festival cannot continue”. It added that the suggestion that Baillie Gifford was a large investor in the Occupied Palestinian Territories was "seriously misleading". The spokesperson added that Baillie Gifford was “not a significant fossil fuel investor” and said that only 2% of its clients’ money is invested in companies with some business related to fossil fuels.

Baillie Gifford began its relationship with the Hay festival in 2016. Hay said it would review its sponsorship arrangements for next year post the 2024 event, and told the Guardian that it planned to meet with Fossil Free Books. Edinburgh has said that it continues "to speak to Baillie Gifford, and our other sponsors, about these complex issues”.

The development raises wider issues around corporate sponsorship of literary events, with some concern around their continued existence without support, as well as the consequent impact on author earnings and visibility. On social media, Blakemore said she had felt no pressure to withdraw, but stated: "I fully support the many authors who won’t feel able to make the decision to withdraw. Most of us earn far below a living wage, and festivals pay well sometimes. But now, for me—I can’t in good conscience stand in front of a Baillie Gifford logo in my little outfit and talk about how my novels are about social violence and class oppression. I hope circumstances change, and thank the festival organisers who’ve been supportive on this."

Last year, more than 150 authors and book workers – including Greta Thunberg, Ali Smith and Gary Younge – signed statements calling on Edinburgh International Book Festival to cut ties with Baillie Gifford unless it divests fossil fuels. Later in the year, authors including Rebecca Solnit, Emma Dabiri and George Monbiot signed a second statement calling on Cheltenham Literature Festival to demand Baillie Gifford divest from the fossil fuel industry.

In a statement posted on its website, Edinburgh International Book Festival confirmed earlier this month that it would continue working with Baillie Gifford and that the firm is "part of the solution in transitioning towards a more sustainable world" and that "information shared about them is misleading".