Where: Cheltenham, various venues

When: June 6 to 11

An international cast of top scientists, performers and big thinkers has been announced for this year's Cheltenham Science Festival.

The programme, announced today, features comedians Dara Ó Briain and Jon Culshaw, musician Evelyn Glennie and writer Lionel Shriver.

Former NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan, Dallas Campbell, Alice Roberts, Jim Al-Khalili, Adam Rutherford, Richard Dawkins, Michael Moseley, Roger Penrose and Marcus du Sautoy are some of the 200 speakers who will discuss subjects from trailblazing tech to the truth behind fake news.

With a mission to 'question everything', the Festival will explore headline themes of Our Future World, Music and Sound and Mysteries of the Mind alongside a huge range of topics from health and wellbeing, psychology and lifestyle to nature, the law and the search for extra-terrestrial life.

Goldfrapp's Will Gregory demonstrates how to evoke emotion in music, while scientist and salsa teacher Jamie Gallagher looks at the science of dance in Strictly Coming Sciencing.

BBC Tech correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones will be asking if Douglas Adams' fictional Babel fish could become a reality with new translation technology.

TV presenter Fiona Phillips talks to a patient and their carer about living with dementia; Claudia Hammond finds out how to Survive the Workplace; mental health campaigner Bryony Gordon charts the rise of mental illness in young people while Olly Mann and Scummy Mummies podcaster Ellie Gibson give advice on keeping kids' tech in check.

There will also be a series of free activities and interactive zones in the Festival village and on the streets of Cheltenham which will encourage visitors to get hands-on. The Discover Zone is a huge free interactive space in Cheltenham Town Hall aimed at inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.

New this year is the MakerShack, a hub of invention and creativity, where visitors can explore high-tech materials, try their hand at crafting, and help code a robot ready for a journey into space. They can also explore the EDF Energy Zone, take part in transport-related activities in the Siemens Curiosity Zone, discover new technologies in the GE Pavilion and embark on the BBC Focus Magazine Science Trail.

Members booking for the festival opens on April 12 and public booking opens on April 19.

For more details, call the box office on 01242 850270 or visit www.cheltenhamfestivals.com 

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