Nobel Prize winners, award-winning filmmakers and political leading-lights lock horns in a weekend of mind-expanding debate at HowTheLightGetsIn London 2025.
Debate is the beating heart of HowTheLightGetsIn London 2025 - the ideas are alive and evolving.
HowTheLightGetsIn gathers the leading thinkers in every field to interrogate the issues of our time and find new ways of understanding the world. The conversations you'll hear will help shape the intellectual landscape of the country for years to come.
To explore our full lineup of Speakers and the Debates they're tackling, explore our Big Ideas page below:
Our world-class line up of musicians and performers is the jewel in the crown of our programme, and what makes HowTheLightGetsIn a festival unlike any other.
Our Inner Circle events are a unique opportunity to dine and discuss ideas with the world's leading thinkers. Beginning with an introduction from one of our speakers, you'll get the chance to have your say on the day's ideas. If there's a question you've always wanted to ask them, or if you think they got it wrong in a debate, now's the opportunity.You might not get one anywhere else!
DOKBOX
Soak up award-winning international documentaries in the cinema tent courtesy of our partners at DOKBOX
And More...
With scandalous cabaret and vintage fairground rides to boot, the festival is a wonderland for the imagination.
What People Say
What People Say
"Europe's answer to TED" Total Politics
"I barely saw anyone without a smile" ★★★★★ The Independent
"A UK first. Back to big thinking" The Guardian
"The art and soul of the party" Harpers Bazaar
"A storming success" New Scientist
"Dunno why it exists. Glad it does." Ahir Shah (Comedian)"
The HowTheLightGetsIn Story
The HowTheLightGetsIn Story
"There is a crack in everything...that's how the light gets in". So goes the Leonard Cohen song from which our festival gets its name. And HowTheLightGetsIn brings its own special form of magic to everyone. There is no other place on the planet where you can spend your days meeting the world's leading thinkers and discovering the most cutting-edge ideas, before partying and dancing late into the night.
At HowTheLightGetsIn London 2025 you can join a debate about the nature of the universe with the world's top scientists, laugh until your sides hurt with the UK's best comedians, dance to the finest beats or dine with our speakers at Inner Circle events.
HowTheLightGetsIn is not just another festival. There's something special in the air. It's alive with ideas in every field of endeavour. The programme has many names you will recognise but HowTheLightGetsIn is not about status or celebrity. We are about ideas and wonder and creating a space where everyone's imagination can flourish. Find the bands you've never heard of, discover ground-breaking ideas that have yet to make their mark, contribute yourself and your thoughts, and magic will come your way.
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Europe’s answer to TED
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