With over 30 years’ experience in conflict zones and fragile states, historian and former British diplomat Arthur Snell travels from the heat of the Sahel to the Arctic Circle to show how climate change is coinciding with a breakdown in geopolitical order, increasing conflict and economic crises. Within our lifetimes, rising temperatures, sea levels and scarcity will inevitably drive both conflict and mass migration globally. Natural disasters and the battle for rare minerals that are essential to clean energy will shake the established world order to its core within this century. Arthur asks, what will living on a warmer planet look like?
Arthur Snell
Elemental: How We Will Live on a Warming Planet
Dates, times & booking
- Sat 11 Jul 2026 10.00am - 11.00am
Friends get priority booking on a staggered basis
About Friends Priority Booking
About Friends Priority Booking
Priority Booking
for BIF Friends
To book seats early, join the Friends of Buxton International Festival and become part of our ‘Festival Family’
Tickets are now on sale for La traviata, The Merry Widow and the Jazz Weekender
All other events are on general sale from 14 April 2026
Priority dates are:
17 March – Directors Circle, Benefactors and Gold Patrons
24 March – Patrons
31 March – Gold Friends
7 April – Friends
14 April – Public and Next Gen
Joining our community and becoming a BIF Friend unlocks a whole host of benefits, including priority booking for the festival.
From just £36 per year, become part of the festival you love all year-round.
- Priority booking for all festival events
- Six tiers of membership starting from just £36
- Regular newsletters during the year – via email/post
- Be the first to hear exclusive festival news & announcements
- Special friends events throughout the year: meals, dinners, recitals and more
- Support from friends members have enabled us to grow into one of the UK’s leading opera festivals
- Recognition of your support in the Festival Souvenir Programme Book
If you are under 35 you can join the Next Gen Friends for free, and access £5 tickets to book events and £10 tickets to all other events.





