WOMAD is excited to announce that tickets for WOMAD 2021 will go back on sale today.
The festival will go ahead on 22 to 25 July 2021 in line with the Government road map which aims to remove all legal social distancing restrictions by 21 June 2021.
Inevitably there will be some changes to the festival and the organisers will be adapting to changing conditions to make it happen this year, but what is in no doubt is that WOMAD 2021 will be, as always, a glorious celebration of the global community, its music, arts, culture, and food.
Festival organisers will continue to liaise with the Licensing and Public Health authorities to understand and implement the measures required for the festival to take place safely and for the wider community to feel totally comfortable. A “WOMAD Road Map 2021” is in development and will continue to be updated as those decisions are made. Some of these will include:
Line-up: International travel to and from the UK is currently restricted. Fortunately, the UK has a rich and culturally diverse artistic community and WOMAD will celebrate this diversity with a line-up of mainly UK based artists reflecting musical and artistic traditions from all over the world. The UK artists will be announced on 12 April. But, when restrictions on international travel are lifted, organisers hope to build on this foundation by adding international artists to the line-up around the 17 May, many of whom have already committed to performing at WOMAD 2021 if international travel allows.
Increased Space: Organisers are redesigning aspects of the site to increase the space in the campsite and the arena, so people have as much space as they need.
Capacity: Capacity is continually under review. In the first instance tickets will be sold in batches with additional batches added as the consultation proceeds. Though the final capacity will be settled after on-going consultation and reflect the increased space available in the site and the licensing guidelines.
Home Testing: Organisers are discussing the possibility of following the schools’ model and the upcoming DCMS test events of offering home-based Lateral Flow Tests both before and after the festival. Depending on the position of the Public Health Authorities these may be sold at cost price. Festivalgoers who have a ticket and test positive will be refunded in full or have their ticket rolled over to 2022
In case of cancellation: In the event that the festival is cancelled by the Government or Health Authorities, tickets can either be rolled over to 2022 or fully refunded.
WOMAD organisers are determined that the festival will go ahead this year not only for festivalgoers to celebrate and discover global music, food, and culture, but also for all those who are responsible for putting the festival together – everyone behind the scenes, the traders, and the artists - they all need to get back to work. The WOMAD community wants to come together to celebrate the world and all the things that enrich our lives, including each other.
Published on 26 March 2021 by Ben Robinson
