World Music Festival WOMAD to Pause UK Event in 2025

WOMAD, the world music festival that stages hundreds of festivals around the globe each year, has decided to pause its UK event in 2025.

Founder Peter Gabriel shared the news, noting that while other festivals will take place globally next year, the UK edition will take a year off while organizers find a new home base location. The UK event usually brings-in around 40,000 attendees.

“WOMAD, like many festivals and events, has seen some challenges post-Covid and we are now engaged in the process of re-evaluating, regenerating and reinvigorating everything we do – and where we want to go in the future,” Gabriel said in a statement. “We’re delighted to say we’ll be announcing our new plans over the next few weeks.”

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While nothing has been confirmed at this time, Gabriel said the new UK location will be close to its previous site at Charlton Park in Wiltshire, where the festival took place over the past 17 years. WOMAD originally kicked-off in 1982 and was held in Reading before relocating to Wiltshire in 2007.

In 2025, WOMAD will hold WOMADelaide, WOMAD New Zealand, and WOMAD Cáceres, with plans for future shows in Las Palmas, Brazil, and Chile.