Hay Festival seeks new sponsorship

The Hay Festival is exploring new sponsorship opportunities after the Telegraph Media Group decided not to renew its £250,000 a year financial backing.

The Telegraph came to the end of a second three-year deal to sponsor the event in July after backing the festival between 2011-2016.

The newspaper said in a statement: “After a number of years being successfully involved with the Hay Festival, we have decided not to renew our sponsorship of the event. We wish the organisers every success in the future.”

Peter Florence, director of Hay Festival, said the event was now investigating four options for "a different configuration of media partnerships", with an announcement to be made in September.

"We came to the end of our second three-year sponsorship contract with the Telegraph in July," Florence told The Bookseller. "We've had a great time with them. We are now planning for a big 30th anniversary next year and we are exploring four options for a different configuration of media partnerships across print and digital to sit alongside our ongoing BBC partnership. We'll make an announcement in September."

The Telegraph has made several cuts to its editorial team in an effort to cut costs in recent months, including children’s specialist Lorna Bradbury. According to the Financial Times, it is also cutting commercial roles and the staff canteen, blaming a downturn in print advertising.

The newspaper is owned by billionaire brothers Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay.