WOMADelaide is an annual four-day festival of music, arts and dance in Botanic Park, Adelaide,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. One of many

WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...

festivals held around the world, it is an event that presents a diverse selection of music from artists around the world, as well as side events like talks and discussions.

Description

The event is hosted by the

festivals organisation, which aims "to excite, to create, to inform and to highlight awareness of the worth and potential of a multicultural society". The festival encourages people to experience the music of cultures other than their own as a way of developing global understanding, and aims to entertain all age groups and people from all backgrounds. WOMADelaide has won the Helpmann Award for "Best Contemporary Music Festival" in 2008 and 2016, the Australian Event Awards "Best Cultural, Arts or Music Event" in 2015, and the Fowlers Live /

SA Music Awards The South Australian Music Awards, also known as SA Music Awards, commonly SAM Awards, formerly Fowler's Live Music Awards (FLMA), are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary m ...

"Best Live Music Event" for five years in a row (2012–2016).

Programming

WOMADelaide draws its performing artists from all over the world. A specific emphasis is placed on traditional music and performances of various cultures although some more contemporary, popular acts are included. The festival runs from 6pm to 1am on Friday, from 12noon until 1am on Saturday and from noon until midnight on Sunday. In 2010, WOMADelaide was extended to include Monday from noon until midnight, making the festival four days in length. Artists also lead workshops demonstrating and discussing aspects of their performances on smaller stages. There are also artists who do roving performances through the park and installation pieces, such as La Compagnie Carabosse, who set up large fire installations at the 2005 festival.

Festival site and layout

WOMADelaide is held in Botanic Park, which is situated north-east of central

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, between the

Adelaide Zoo Adelaide Zoo is a zoo in Adelaide, Australia. It is the country's second oldest zoo (after Melbourne Zoo) opening in 1883, and is operated on a non-profit basis. It is located in the Adelaide Parklands, parklands just north of the Adelaide cit ...

and Adelaide Botanic Garden. The park is fenced off for the duration of the festival. The main stages are set up around a backstage compound with Stage 1 in the middle and Stages 2 and 3 on either side, all facing out from the backstage area. There are an additional four smaller stages (Zoo Stage, Moreton Bay Stage and two in Speakers Corner). There are also visual arts exhibitions, a KidZone, a Global Village market area with over 100 food, crafts and display stalls, as well as several bars. All front-of-stage areas, the KidZone and the food and drink area are designated smoke-free. WOMADelaide has worked closely with the Office of Zero Waste SA in

waste minimisation Waste minimisation is a set of processes and practices intended to reduce the amount of waste produced. By reducing or eliminating the generation of harmful and persistent wastes, waste minimisation supports efforts to promote a more sustai ...

. After the 2005 festival, some of compost from WOMADelaide waste were returned to the Adelaide Botanic Garden, in an effort to preserve the delicate

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

in which the event is located. In 2007, WOMADelaide joined forces with Greening Australia, Australia’s largest environmental organisation, to remove the

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

impact of the event. The carbon generated through artists' travel, and the festival site lighting and power was offset through the re-vegetation of native bushland in South Australia, which also helped to restore native habitat for rare and

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

, and to reduce the effects of salinity.

History

1990s

WOMADelaide was first run in 1992 as part of the

Adelaide Festival of Arts The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

from an invitation by Rob Brookman to the UK WOMAD organisation to run an event in Adelaide after seeing the success of other WOMADs in Europe. It was due to be held in Long Gully Oval, Belair National Park on a single stage but got moved to Botanic Park at a late stage and after flyers had been printed due to bush fire threats. Three-day passes were priced at , equivalent to in , reduced to for concession entitled, with one person under 15 years of age admitted free for each adult ticket. A full day-and-night ticket costs $60 ($45 concession), and individual sessions start at $25. From 1993 the festival officially moved to Botanic Park, after the threat of bush fires in 1992, and ran every two years (in odd-numbered years) to not conflict with subsequent editions of the Adelaide Festival. Three-day passes were priced at $98 ($80 concession), with one person under 15 years of age admitted free for each adult ticket. Full day-and-night tickets cost $60 ($45 concession). 1993 also saw the first time festival founder

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

appear in Australia. Peak audience attendance in 1993 was 33,000. The 1995 audience attendance was 55,000. Stage 4 was added, as well as The Virtual Artists' internet tent. At the time, a futuristic component of the program with

Netscape Netscape Communications Corporation (originally Mosaic Communications Corporation) was an American independent computer services company with headquarters in Mountain View, California, and then Dulles, Virginia. Its Netscape web browser was o ...

web browser and CUCME video conferencing software launching that week.

The Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It initi ...

made a documentary on WOMADelaide's 10-

megabyte The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Its recommended unit symbol is MB. The unit prefix ''mega'' is a multiplier of (106) in the International System of Units (SI). Therefore, one megabyte is one million bytes ...

connection. A one-off CD compilation of artists playing this year, '' Womadelaide '95'', was also released. From 1996, the management and production of WOMADelaide was taken on by the Adelaide-based company Arts Projects Australia. There was also a small event, the one-off WOMAD

Indian Pacific The ''Indian Pacific'' is a weekly experiential tourism-oriented passenger train service that runs in Australia's east–west rail corridor between Sydney, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on the shore of the Indian Ocean – ...

train trip from

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

to Pimba across the

Nullarbor Plain The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of 'no' and 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its no ...

on a chartered Indian Pacific train featuring performances on board the carriages and culminated in a finale concert at Spud's Roadhouse at Pimba, north of Adelaide. The lineup comprised the following. *

Archie Roach Archibald William Roach (8 January 1956 – 30 July 2022) was an Australian (Gunditjmara and Western Bundjalung people, Bundjalung) singer-songwriter and Aboriginal Australian, Aboriginal activist. Often referred to as "Uncle Archie", Roach wa ...

and Ruby Hunter with Dave Steel (Australia) *

Francis Bebey Francis Bebey (, 15 July 1929 in Douala, Cameroon – 28 May 2001 in Paris, France) was a Cameroonian musicologist, writer, composer, and broadcaster. Early life Francis Bebey was born in Douala, Cameroon, on July 15, 1929. Bebey attended college ...

(Cameroon) * Mara! (Australia) *Paul Kelly (Australia) * Purna Das Baul and the Bauls of Bengal (India) * Remmy Ongala (Tanzania) *Shu-De (Tuva) and The Well Oiled Sisters (Scotland) 1997 peak audience attendance across the weekend: 60,000. A sibling event, WOMAD Pacific, in New Zealand, also founded in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

the weekend after WOMADelaide, also bi-annually. 1998 saw another one-off event called ''WOMAD in the Vales'', held at McLaren Vale Oval on 15 March 1998 to celebrate the end of

Robyn Archer Robyn Archer, AO, CdOAL (born 1948) is an Australian singer, writer, stage director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, in Australia and internationally. Biography Archer was born Robyn Smith in Prospect, South Australi ...

's 1998

. The lineup comprised the following. * The Barkers (Australia) * Geoffrey Oryema (Uganda) * My Friend the Chocolate Cake (Australia) *Pa Jobarteh (Gambia) * The Sabri Brothers (Pakistan) * Shooglenifty (Scotland) *Southern Pipes and Drums (Australia) *Tiddas (Australia) * Yulduz Usmanova (Uzbekistan) 1999 introduced Stage 5 (formerly the Workshop Stage), KidZone, off-site school based workshops and finally, the WoZone nightclub at the nearby

Adelaide University Adelaide University is a planned public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 2024, it will combine the University of Adelaide, the third-oldest university in Australia, and the University of ...

bar. The WoZone ran on Friday and Saturday from midnight till 5am, after curfew finished at Botanic Park. Three different rooms for live acts, DJs and chilling out with projections and ambient music. A CD compilation of festival highlights for the Australian and New Zealand events started this year, rather than being a one-off as in 1995.

2000s

In 2001, to celebrate the United Nations

International Year of Volunteers The International Year of Volunteers was designated for 2001 by the United Nations General Assembly. The initiative aimed at increased recognition, facilitation, networking and promotion of volunteering, to highlight the achievements of the million ...

, 18 volunteers operated the first information booth, and Stage 5 changed locations. Papa Wemba replaced late cancellation

Femi Kuti Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (born 16 June 1962), popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and a grandchild of political campaigner, women's r ...

. 2002 saw another one-off small scale event, called ''The WOMAD Warm-Up'', three concerts and three workshops held in September at the Adelaide Festival Centre. The lineup comprised the following. * Chartwell Dutiro (Zimbabwe) * Sally Nyolo (Cameroon) * Trio Mocotó (Brazil) * Ruby Hunter (Australia) * Seckou Keita (Senegal) *Mara and Llew Kiek (Australia) *Ben Baddoo (Ghana) In 2003, WOMADelaide became an annual festival, following a decision by the Rann government to financially support the event until at least 2009.AdelaideNow, 13 Jan 2004", Womad's decision to go annual is paying off". That year, WOMADelaide Foundation Limited was also established as a

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

organisation. The Foundation presented subsequent festivals and special projects for remote Indigenous arts communities.WOMADelaide History
, WOMADelaide Foundation Limited, Accessed 26/2/7 The festival also moved to February and March to avoid the summer heat. 2003 also introduced the remedial therapy and relaxation area called ''Sanctuary'' but later renamed ''Healing Village''. The sibling WOMAD Pacific became '' WOMAD New Zealand'' and an annual event, and moved to its permanent setting in Brooklands Park,

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

. Weekend passes were $158 per adult, $135 for groups of 10 or more, $114 for concessions, with each adult able to bring a child under 12 for free and $52 for each additional child. On Saturday and Sunday, day and night passes were $92, $78, $66 and each additional child $38 respectively. Similarly, Friday and Sunday night passes were $62, $52, $45 and $32 for each additional child respectively, and finally Sunday night passes were $79, $68, $55 and $32 for each additional child respectively. WoZone tickets were $20 at the door, and $10 with a festival ticket stub. 2004 was the year Taste The World was introduced. An innovation that also went to subsequent New Zealand and UK festivals. Also the WOMADelaide Parade began this year. The last WoZone, prices for this were only $5 at the door. Changes in 2005 included Stage 4 being renamed ''Zoo Stage'', Stage 5 renamed ''Moreton Stage'' and Stage 6 renamed ''Dell''. Festival was officially

carbon neutral Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and Greenhouse gas removal, removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon diox ...

for the first time, and on-site ATMs were introduced. The 2006 event saw Speakers Corner introduced as well as the Parachilna Garden Cafe, the on-site restaurant run in partnership with Andrew Fielke from the Prairie Hotel in the Flinders Ranges. Also, Talvin Singh had the honour of being the first DJ in Botanic Park when he played on Stage 3. Tickets were priced at $172 for the weekend, discounted Friends of the Adelaide Festival or groups of 10 or more were $149, and concessions at $125. Three days passes were priced at $220 for the weekend, discounted Friends of the Adelaide Festival or groups of 10 or more were $184, and concessions $165. Friday tickets were $75, $68 and $60 respectively, and Saturday and Sunday were $98, $85, $73 respectively. 2007 a cinema and pharmacy were added, and DJs closed the festival each night in Speakers Corner. Workshops were help for visual arts at the Park Arts and Functions Complex, and weekend pass tickets were $182 for adults, $154 for groups of 10 or more, and $135 for concessions. In 2008 a one-off Eco Village joined the site. In 2009 the first WOMADelaide Forest was planted, in partnership with Greening Australia in South East Australia. KidZone had a stage from 2009, and track matting pathways were also added to combat both dry and wet conditions.

2010s

In 2010, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Adelaide Festival of Arts, WOMADelaide extended to four days. Due to overwhelming popularity, the festival has continued at this length. That year, WOMADelaide was produced and presented by the WOMADelaide Foundation, was managed by Arts Projects Australia and WOMAD Ltd, and was presented in association with the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state government, state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the h ...

. In 2015 the South Australian Tourism Commission (an agency of the Government of South Australia) replaced the Government of South Australia as the event's new principal partner. As of 2017, the South Australian Tourism Commission remains the event's principal partner. In 2017, WOMADelaide became a smoke-free event, with provision for smoking in three designated areas. In addition to a festival highlights CD, a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

was also released this year as a one-off.

2020s

The last annual festival highlights CD was released in 2020. In 2021, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, WOMADelaide was held in King Rodney Park / Ityamai-itpina instead of its usual location at Botanic Park, so that the venue could comply with the

COVID-19 restrictions During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numero ...

. The format was changed to a series of seated concerts on a single stage, opening with

and closing with

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by H ...

and First Nations collaborators on their ''Makarrata Live'' project. This was also the first year of WOMADelaide x NSS Academy, a collaboration with the youth music centre Northern Sound System, which was established to provide training and development program for emerging Aboriginal South Australians and

multicultural Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''ethnic'' or cultural pluralism in which various e ...

artists. The program identified 10 artists in its first year or operation, with musical duo MRLN x RKM selected to support Vika and Linda and Midnight Oil at WOMAD. In 2022 the festival returned to Botanic Park for the festival's 30th celebrations. In 2023 the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia waned, and the event sold out its first three days (Friday–Sunday) for the first time, and was nearly sold out for its final day on the public holiday Monday.

Reception

A day only event (with full weekend tickets also available, no camping on site), WOMADelaide has grown steadily in audience size from 30,000 in 1993 to over 90,000 over the four day events annually since 2014. "About 95,000" people attended in 2015. All prior attendance records were broken in 2016 when over 95,000 people attended over the course of the weekend. In 2008 WOMADelaide won the FasterLouder Festival Award for best Sound and Production.FasterLouder Festival Awards: 2008
WOMADelaide also received the 2008 Helpmann Award for Best Contemporary Music Festival.

Awards

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016. , - , National Live Music Awards of 2016 , WOMADelaide , South Australian Live Event of the Year , , - , National Live Music Awards of 2020 , WOMADelaide , Best Live Music Festival or Event , , - , National Live Music Awards of 2023 , WOMADelaide , Best Live Event in SA , , -

South Australian Music Awards

The

South Australian Music Awards The South Australian Music Awards, also known as SA Music Awards, commonly SAM Awards, formerly Fowler's Live Music Awards (FLMA), are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary m ...

(previously known as the Fowler's Live Music Awards) are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary music industry. They commenced in 2012. WOMADelaide won five awards. , - , 2012 , WOMADelaide , Most Popular SA Live Music Event , , - , 2013 , WOMADelaide , Favourite SA Live Music Event , , - , 2014 , WOMADelaide , Favourite SA Live Music Event , , - , 2015 , WOMADelaide , Best Festival / Music Event , , - , 2016 , WOMADelaide , Best Festival / Music Event , , -

References

External links

* {{Adelaide Festivals

Music festivals in South Australia

1992 establishments in Australia Recurring events established in 1992 World music festivals