Historian pulls out of Chalke Valley festival over lack of diversity

Rebecca Rideal says she is pulling out of UK’s leading history event after learning that programme of 148 speakers has only 32 women and one person of colour

Revolution and rebellion are a reliable fixture at the UK’s biggest history festival, but this year there is also some fierce contemporary dissent. The historian Rebecca Rideal has pulled out of the Chalke Valley history festival in protest at the event’s lack of diversity.

The 148 speakers due to appear this year include the TV historian Dan Snow, as well as politicians Chris Patten and Harriet Harman. But only 32 of the 148 speakers are women, and just one is a person of colour: radio presenter Anita Anand, who is appearing with co-author William Dalrymple to discuss their book Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond.

Related: Rebecca Rideal: 'The time of the grand histories is coming to an end'

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