This year’s Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) kicks off from February 24 and will conclude on February 26. Organisers of the non-profit cultural event received permission on Saturday from the Punjab government-which has supported LLF since its inception-to host the three-day event. “This year’s free and open-to-public event will feature eminent writers, historians, artists, and opinion makers from home and abroad in thought-provoking discussions on the astonishing changes our world faces today,” LLF Founder and CEO Razi Ahmed said. Scheduled speakers at LLF 2017 include, among others, author and social worker Tehmina Durrani on the legacy of humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi; Mohsin Hamid, who is out with his new book Exit West; historian Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads: A New History of the World; Michael Palin, writer, television presenter, and Monty Python alumnus. “Lahore has historically been the firmament of big ideas,” said Ahmed. “LLF is all about celebrating the intellectual and creative vitality of this city, its cosmopolitan and syncretic past, its storied cultural contributions, and its place in the global literary world today.” LLF debuted in 2013 and has been held annually over the last weekend of every February. Last year, LLF went global, debuting in New York in May as part of a three-year association with Asia Society followed by its London debut at the British Museum in October. Both international editions were ticketed and sold out. LLF, the most buzzed-about and anticipated annual cultural event in the city, showcases the intellectual depth and diversity of Pakistan’s artists, thinkers and opinion-leaders in rich and rewarding discussions with an accomplished variety of international thought celebrities. “LLF highlights all that is good about Pakistan,” Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said. Each Lahore edition of the LLF has garnered critical acclaim. The BBC called the 2015 edition, “A celebration of a Pakistan open and engaged with the many ideas of many worlds.” The New Statesman has hailed it as a “dazzling celebration of Pakistani poetry, music, dance, history and politics”. LLF “attracted huge crowds to hear some of Pakistan’s literary giants discuss their work, their country and what it means to laugh,” said The Wall Street Journal. And The New York Times has cited LLF as a “wonder of creativity, eclecticism, ideas and dialogue”.