Womad Festival returns at new venue near Corsham
The Womad music festival is returning after a year off, held at a new venue near Corsham, with an expected attendance of 40,000.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The Womad music festival has returned after a year's hiatus, moving to a new location at Neston Park Estate near Corsham. Organisers expect around 40,000 people to attend over the four-day event, which began with smaller stages on the first evening and will feature main stage performances from Friday.
The festival, which describes itself as the world's largest international music festival, was first held in 1982 at Shepton Mallet with a lineup that included Peter Gabriel and The Beat. It had been based at Charlton Park near Malmesbury for many years before the move.
Local businesses have embraced the new venue. A pub and butcher shop from the area secured a spot at the festival, with one organiser saying they had been planning the return for over ten months. Attendees described the atmosphere as relaxed and family-friendly, with many returning as parents who had first come as children.
Among the performers is Charlie, whose parents met at a Womad festival in the 1990s. His father is the bassist from Public Image Ltd and his mother is a noted Chinese instrumentalist. Charlie, who plays in a jazz electronica band with his brother, said performing at Womad felt meaningful because the audience understands their music. He described the connection with the crowd as "the best feeling in the world."
The festival runs for three more days, with music continuing through the weekend. In a separate development, the government announced a 20% cut to interest rates for pubs and clubs, which was noted as a boost to the music industry.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | ITV |
|---|---|
| 40,000 people were expected to attend the festival. | |
| The first Womad festival was held in 1982 at Shepton Mallet. | |
| Womad Music Festival returned after a year away at a new venue. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The report focused on the festival's return after a year off, the new venue, and the family-friendly, relaxed atmosphere. It included personal stories from local vendors and a musician whose parents met at Womad, giving the coverage a warm, human-interest angle. The tone was positive and celebratory, with no critical or logistical concerns raised.
- “It's so exciting, I mean we have been planning for over 10 months to be back after having a hiatus for a year so to be in this beautiful location now is, we are just overwhelmed.”
- “I love Womad, I've been coming since I was about 13. It's super relaxed, so friendly, there's always like so many things to do but you also don't have to do anything.”
- “It's the best feeling in the world, yeah I think that's what we do it for, I know on the performance we obviously have some sense of the song structure but from there we improvise and that improvisation is purely built on that what you just mentioned, it's the connection.”
Broadcast Timeline
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