What have been the key cultural landmark moments of the past 21 years? Should they include Jarvis Cocker storming the stage during Michael Jackson’s appearance at the Brit Awards? Or the publication of Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses, which earned him a fatwa? Or the reopening of the Globe Theatre?

The search to identify the top ten artistic highlights since the first Hay-on-Wye literary festival 21 years ago is likely to prompt a fierce debate.

A longlist of 21 events to be voted on by viewers has been drawn up by the Sky Arts channel which will broadcast highlights from this year’s festival, featuring the former US President Jimmy Carter, Cherie Booth and Gore Vidal.

The eclectic list stretches from the birth of the Young British Artists movement, spawning Damien Hirst, in 1988 to the launch of the iPod. Music fans will argue over the inclusion of Live 8, the 2005 anti-poverty concert best remembered for the reformation of Pink Floyd.

The release of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone in 1997 launched a franchise which proved the publishing industry can create Hollywood-style blockbusters.

However, cinemagoers may feel poorly served. The excitement greeting the announcement in 1993 that George Lucas would complete the Star Wars story with three new films was matched only by the widespread disappointment that followed their arrival.

The list also overlooks the mid-1990s battle for mastery of the Britpop scene between Blur and Oasis.

The opening of the reconstructed Globe theatre in Southwark, London, in 1997 may have a better claim to posterity than the arrival of Riverdance, the Irish step dancing troupe.

A spokesman for Sky Arts said: “These are our proposed 21 events but we invite objections and recommendations. We will conduct a UK survey and reveal the results in the week before the festival.”

Ms Booth and Rushdie are among the guests who will be interviewed by Mariella Frostrup on Sky Arts, partly owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Times. The festival in Powys takes place on May 22-June 1.

The art of choosing key moments

Art and Design

1. 1997, Antony Gormley’s Another Place statues on Crosby Beach, Merseyside.
2. 1998, Freeze, the art show organised by Damien Hirst; widely regarded as the birth of the Young British Artists
3. 2004, The Gherkin — 30 St Mary Axe — designed by Lord Foster of Thames Bank, completed in the City of London
4. 2007, Banksy. The anonymous graffiti artist leaves a trail of art work on public and private buildings

Music

5. 1996, Michael Jackson performs Earth Song at the Brits, dressed as a Christ-like figure. Jarvis Cocker protests
6. 1999, the birth of Napster, the online file-sharing service
7. 2001, Launch of the iPod, music on the go
8. 2008, Live 8

Books

9. 1988, The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie’s fourth novel, causes controversy among Muslims
10. 1996, The Orange Prize for Fiction, open to female authors from any nationality. Helen Dunmore is the first winner with A Spell of Winter
11. 1997, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone released, sparking J. K. Rowling’s huge success
12. 2007, Doris Lessing wins the Nobel Prize for Literature, the eleventh woman to win this award in 106 years
13. 2003, Edward Said’s final public appearance at the Hay Festival

Film

14. 1993, Star Wars director George Lucas announces a prequel trilogy for the original films
15. 2006, Werner Herzog, the German film director, was shot during a BBC interview

Theatre

16. 1997, the Globe theatre opened. Its predecessor had closed in 1642

Opera and Dance

17. 1990, The Three Tenors begin their collaboration
18. 2007, Pavarotti dies
19. 2006, Darcey Bussell announces her retirement as principal dancer at the Royal Ballet
20. 1994, Riverdance, the Irish stepdance, gains fame
21. 2008, New York Ballet returns to London after a 25-year absence

Source: Sky Arts

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