World of Music, Arts and Dance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) is a festival started in Shepton Mallet, England in 1982. The festival was pioneered by Peter Gabriel and various other including Stephen Pritchard, through their interest in sharing and celebrating world music, arts and dance. A typical festival will include varied live musical performances, workshops, stalls and events for children.
WOMAD currently holds festivals in over 20 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, UK, USA and many European countries. The last USA concert was held on July 27 - 29, 2001 in Redmond, Washington. The 2002 and 2003 USA concerts were cancelled due to the financial consequences of 9/11 and difficulties in obtaining visas for international performers.
WOMAD has pioneered the growing acceptance and enjoyment of World music by western society. The festival now draws crowds of over 80,000 people per event, and competes on equal terms with other mainstream western festivals globally.
Over the years, WOMAD has helped launch, boost or revive the careers of many world music (and other) artists, including the Master Drummers of Burundi, the Dhol Foundation, Ozomatli and the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
A feature of all the festivals are the flags, which are made especially for Womad, with designs being loaned to such festivals as the Glastonbury Festival, and such places as the Eden Project.
Here are the festivals that are happening this year, and have been staged since 2003:
Contents |
[edit] 2003 Festivals
- WOMADelaide – South Australia
- WOMAD New Zealand
- WOMAD Cáceres – Spain
- WOMAD Taormina – Sicily
- WOMAD Reading – United Kingdom
- WOMAD Eden Session (Eden Project, Cornwall)
- WOMAD Singapore
- WOMAD Canarias – Canary Islands
[edit] 2004 Festivals
- WOMADelaide – South Australia
- WOMAD Cáceres – Spain
- WOMAD Taormina – Sicily
- WOMAD Reading – United Kingdom
- WOMAD Eden Session (Eden Project, Cornwall)
- WOMAD Singapore
- WOMAD Canarias – Canary Islands
[edit] 2005 Festivals
- WOMADelaide – South Australia
- WOMAD New Zealand
- WOMAD Cáceres – Spain
- WOMADRID – Spain
- Live 8 Africa Calling – United Kingdom
- WOMAD Taormina – Sicily
- WOMAD Reading – United Kingdom
- WOMAD Singapore
- WOMAD Sri Lanka 2005 – Sri Lanka
- WOMAD Canarias – Canary Islands
[edit] 2006 Festivals
- WOMADelaide – South Australia
- WOMAD presents Jimmy Cliff New Zealand
- WOMAD Cáceres – Spain
- WOMAD Taormina – Sicily
- WOMAD Reading – United Kingdom
- WOMAD Singapore
- The Sori WOMAD Festival, South Korea
- WOMAD Canarias – Canary Islands
[edit] 2007 Festivals (so far announced)
- WOMADelaide – South Australia
- WOMAD New Zealand
- WOMAD Cáceres – Spain
- WOMAD Charlton Park – United Kingdom [1]
- WOMAD World Forum, the Netherlands
[edit] References
- ^ Wiltshire home for Womad festival. BBC (2006-10-19). Retrieved on October 19, 2006.
