Here’s What Happened On The Final Day Of Chelsea Arts Festival 2025
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8 hours ago
The final day brought three headline talks, plus lots of roaming fun
On the final day of the inaugural Chelsea Arts Festival, Duke of York Square came to life with the NYJO’s brass band, commanding passersby to stop and sing along to ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’. Next door an art market was fit to burst with independent makers, happy shoppers and chic dogs, while roaming performers surprised Chelsea locals around every corner. Meanwhile the Cadogan Hall stage was commanded by three final headline events: here’s what you missed on the final day of Chelsea Arts Festival 2025.
What Happened At Chelsea Arts Festival 2025, Day 4?
Chelsea Art Market
Beyond The Page: Matt Haig & Jordan Stephens In Conversation With Annie Macmanus
As Matt Haig, Jordan Stephens and Annie Macmanus emerged through the wooden doors at the back of the Cadogan Hall stage, the radio DJ turned author immediately acknowledged the gorgeous yet formal surroundings the trio found themselves in at Cadogan Hall. Seated beside bestselling-author Haig, humble Stephens squirmed in his seat as Macmanus ran through his poly-hyphenate career: musician, actor, podcaster, writer, now author. (‘Hi!’ he introduced himself to the audience. ‘I can’t stand it when– I didn’t write that! I don’t know who wrote that,’ the rapper blushed.) And as Macmanus turned to Haig, Stephens couldn’t help but burst in: ‘9 million?! You’ve sold 9 million copies?! In 58 languages? And I can only speak one!’ Later Stephens told the tale of finding Haig’s The Radleys at his Airbnb nine hours into a hike through the Amazon. With childlike glee he declared: ‘You’ve sold 9 million books and one is deep in the Amazon rainforest, bruv!’
Matt Haig on the Cadogan Hall stage, Chelsea Arts Festival 2025.
This isn’t the first time the duo has commanded the stage together, coming together previously and today united by their fight against toxic masculinity and desire to open up conversations about mental health, addiction and ADHD. Guided by Macmanus an incredibly candid and captivating conversation opened up, with Haig delving into his mid-20s breakdown (from which ‘writing was [his] way out’; ‘I’ve always written ill […] it’s the one thing I can do not feeling well’), sharing the need to still talk about mental ill health amid society’s recent normalisation of the ‘very abnormal’ feelings it brings, and lighted on his childish wonder at the beautiful world surrounding him as he emerged from a breakdown with suicidal fog. Meanwhile self-declared ‘chocolate labrador’ Stephens divulged his self-hating, self-destructive low-point following cheating on his girlfriend among #MeToo and writing about it online, and diving headfirst into vulnerability to engage his audience with intimacy. In the limelight since age 19 as one half of Rizzle Kicks, Stephens is zippy, excitable, energetic – and wise. ‘Our emotional world cares very little about our physical world,’ he said on leaving his musical success out of his memoir. ‘And heartbreak is a great leveller.’ By Olivia Emily
Elizabeth Day and Marian Keys at Chelsea Arts Festival 2025.
An Afternoon With Elizabeth Day & Marian Keyes
The conversation between this duo was far ranging – from where to find great trousers for tall women (Cos, Arket) to which books Elizabeth Day wishes she’d written (The Bible, ‘imagine the royalties; Bonfire of the Vanities; Howard’s End) and the female authors she feels never got their dues (Elizabeth Jane Howard and Margaret Forster). Day also shared who was on her wishlist for her podcast, How To Fail (Michelle Obama, Victoria Beckham, Dr Dre) and told a packed Cadogan Hall (which was loving this warm-hearted Sunday afternoon conversation) she was sounded out for her favourite TV show, The Real Housewives, but said no. ‘I don’t want to see how the sausage gets made, I want to eat the sausage.’
Keyes described Day’s new book – One of Us, released on Thursday – as a state of the nation novel. Or at least, she said, that’s how it would be seen if it were written by a man. In a woman’s hands, they both chimed, ‘it’s a domestic drama’ – even in 2025. How fitting then that the festival finale is a celebration of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, created 30 years ago to redress that disparity. By Lucinda Baring
Women and Words, From Page to Stage at Chelsea Arts Festival 2025.
A Celebration Of Women’s Words: Live On Stage With Malala, Kate Mosse, Sheila Hancock, Lenny Henry & More
The final night of Chelsea Arts Festival belonged to women and words: a thought-provoking and inspiring celebration of literature and the power of female voices courtesy of the Women’s Prize, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Opening the evening at Cadogan Hall, Women’s Prize co-founder Kate Mosse reminded the audience why books matter now more than ever. ‘Battles we fought and won are being rolled back,’ she warned, urging that stories of hope, connection and beauty must drown out narratives of hate. ‘Words matter. A diversity of voices matters.’
Malala at Chelsea Arts Festival.
What followed was a dazzling relay of readings spanning centuries, genres and perspectives, including a world first: a live reading by Malala Yousefzada from her new book Finding My Way (published on 21 October). Dame Sheila Hancock thrilled the audience with Elizabeth I’s rousing Tilbury speech, while Lenny Henry lent warmth and humour to Bernardine Evaristo’s Mr Loverman. Sheila Atim delivered Sojourner Truth’s timeless ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ with authority and grace, and Deborah Frances-White offered wit and bite with her own reflections on difficult conversations. The evening built to a powerful finale as Lesley Sharp read Hillary Clinton’s landmark ‘Women’s Rights Are Human Rights’ speech.
There couldn’t have been a starrier end to the festival – nor a more fitting tribute to the power of the arts than this. By Lucy Cleland
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More From Chelsea Arts Festival
The festival may have come to a close for 2025, but there’s still plenty of coverage to come from C&TH. Keep an eye on our dedicated Chelsea Arts Festival hub for more news and reflections on the festival over the coming weeks, follow @countryandtownhouse and @chelseaartsfestival on Instagram and sign up to our newsletters and the Chelsea Arts Festival newsletter to be the first to hear our news.
