Womad

About

WOMAD - World of Music, Arts and Dance - was founded in 1980 by Peter Gabriel, Thomas Brooman, Bob Hooton, Mark Kidel, Stephen Pritchard, Martin Elbourne and Jonathan Arthur, along with designers Steve Byrne and Valerie Hawthorn. Use this profile to record all UK festival sites. The internationally established Festival, which brings together artists from all over the globe, began in the UK in 1982. The central aim of the festival is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. The very first festival was held from July 16 to July 18, 1982 at Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet, Somerset (not far from the Glastonbury site), a key location and influence for why that festival started. In 1990, Rivermead, Reading, Berkshire became the first fixed location for the festival, until 2006. In 2007, Charlton Park, Wiltshire became the next fixed location, until today. Festival sites (UK) 1982: Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet, Somerset 1983: ICA, London (in collaboration with Capital Radio Festival) 1985: Mersea Island, Essex 1986: Kenn Pier Farm, Clevedon, Somerset 1987: Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, Somerset (the Womad field, which went on to become the Jazz World Stage and later West Holts) 1988: South Hill Park Arts Centre, Bracknell, Berkshire 1987-1993: Cornwall Coliseum, St. Austell, Carlyon Bay, Cornwall (billed as WOMAD weekenders) 1989-1997: Morecombe, Lancashire (August “weekender” events) 1990-2006: Rivermead, Reading, Berkshire 2007-present: Charlton Park, Wiltshire 2003-2005: Eden Project, Cornwall (including Live 8) - additional festivals 2011-2013: Bristol Zoo, Bristol - additional festivals Festival sites & events (worldwide) 1989-1993: Toronto, Canada 1991: Rinkou Park, Yokohama, Japan 1992-present: Botanic Park, Adelaide, Australia (biennial from 1993 until 2004, then held every year) 1993-present: Canceres, Extremadura, Spain 1993: San Francisco, USA 1996: St. Marks Square, Venice, Italy (for the Carnival of Venice) 1997: Western Springs Park, Auckland, New Zealand 1998-2001: Marymoor Park, King County, Washington, USA 1998-present: Fort Canning Park, Singapore 1998: Denmark 1998-2001: Blue Gum Creek, Johannesburg, South Africa 2001-2002: Athens Equestrian Centre, Greece 2010: Abu Dhabi 2010: Sicily, Itlay 2010: Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain 2011-present: New Plymouth, Taranaki, Aotearoa, New Zealand 2015-present: Santiago, Chile 2016: Fuerteventura, Spain Other sites have included: Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Potugal, Sardinia, Turkey & Uganda.