England and Arsenal football legend to appear at festival

They will appear at the 20th edition of Henley Literary Festival, which returns this autumn and will run from October 2 to 11.

The programme includes appearances from Tony Adams, Colin Bell, and Maggie O’Farrell, alongside previously announced guests Julia Donaldson and Nigella Lawson.

Mr Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both.

Known as Mr Arsenal, he spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre-back for the North London club, making 672 total appearances and winning four English league titles.

Henley Literary festival in the past

Harriet Reed, director of Henley Literary Festival, said: “As well as welcoming back favourites from the last 20 years it’s so exciting to have speakers like Caitlin Moran, Meera Syal and Maggie O’Farrell join us for the first time after many years of trying – and being from an Arsenal family, Tony Adams coming this year seems like a great omen.”

Maggie O’Farrell, author of Hamnet, will appear with her forthcoming novel Land, published next month.

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Flight Lieutenant Colin Bell, one of the last surviving WWII Mosquito pilots, will become the festival’s oldest speaker to date as he shares stories from his 50 missions over Germany.

Tony Adams, who captained England during Euro 96 and led Arsenal to domestic and European success, will reflect on that special year when his team reached the semi-finals of the tournament on home soil.

Tony Juniper and Sangeeta Waldron at Henley Literary Festival (Image: Greener Henley)

Other guests include Dame Meera Syal, who will discuss her memoir, and bestselling author Caitlin Moran, who will present her new title, How To Be Hopeful.

Also featured are celebrated cellist and conductor Julian Lloyd Webber and Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu, who will explore the role of chemistry in everyday life.

Royal historian Robert Hardman will share his insights on Queen Elizabeth II during her centenary year, while Jane Riordan will bring the adventures of Winnie the Pooh to life ahead of the character’s centenary in 2026.

The festival will host around 140 events, including conversations, performances, workshops, and talks for all ages, delivered both in-person and online.

Tickets go on sale to Gold and Platinum Friends on July 3, Friends on July 7, and the general public on July 13.

Henley Literary festival started as a few talks over a weekend in 2007 to grow into one of the country’s most established literary festivals in the UK.

Now in its 20th year, the festival runs for 10 days across three venues around the town, hosting around 140 events each year, not including the year-round pop-up programme of events in the town.