What WOMAD does

WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) is a privately held, England-registered cultural festival organization founded in 1980 by musician Peter Gabriel, with the first festival held in 1982. Its core product is a federated portfolio of annual festivals operated under regional brands including WOMADelaide (Australia), WOMAD New Zealand, WOMAD Cáceres (Spain), WOMAD Neston Park (UK), WOMAD Las Palmas (Spain), WOMAD Chile, WOMAD South Africa (Cape Town and Johannesburg), and WOMAD Glasgow (Scotland). The organization states it has hosted festivals in more than 30 countries with a cumulative audience of millions and thousands of artists having performed across the circuit.

WOMAD operates without proprietary technology, an app, or an API. Its digital footprint is limited to an informational website (womad.org), regional festival websites, and country-specific social media accounts (primarily Twitter/X). All currently listed active regional festivals on the WOMAD website are presented as "Free event," indicating that ticket sales are not the primary monetization mechanism. The organization is characterized in source data as a not-for-profit cultural organization, implying a revenue model based on sponsorships, public arts funding, philanthropic support, and ecosystem synergies (notably with affiliated Real World Studios) rather than commercial ticketing.

The festival is sold and distributed through regional field operators and local partnerships rather than a unified global sales channel. The intended customer base is individual festival-goers seeking cross-cultural music and arts experiences, with a secondary audience of world music artists seeking international performance platforms. WOMAD employs 11-50 people, is headquartered at Box Mill in Wiltshire, and continues to operate a 2026 festival calendar across multiple continents.

Name

WOMAD

Legal name

WOMAD Ltd

Website

https://womad.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WOMAD is a Peter Gabriel-founded non-profit cultural festival organization that operates annual world music, arts, and dance festivals across 30+ countries, serving individual festival-goers and international artists through freely-admitted regional events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Festivals

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Festival Organizers & Promoters (MPAGAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Heritage & Traditional Festivals (Folk, Ethnic, Indigenous) (MPAGAEAB), Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG), Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG)

Keywords

• World music festivals
• Cultural arts festivals
• Live music events
• International music festivals
• Multicultural arts events

Headquarters

HQ city

Swindon

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Festival Ticket Sales: Primary revenue from selling tickets and entry passes to festival-goers attending WOMAD events across multiple countries. Each regional festival operates independently.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) operates international cultural festivals that bring together artists from across the globe to celebrate diverse art forms and promote cross-cultural awareness and tolerance. Founded by Peter Gabriel in 1980 with the first festival held in 1982, the organization now hosts festivals in more than 30 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Spain, UK, Chile, South Africa, and Scotland, with a collective audience of millions.

Product overview

WOMAD is a single, unified festival product — the WOMAD Festival — which operates as a series of annual events across multiple international locations. The festival brand encompasses WOMADelaide (Australia), WOMAD New Zealand, WOMAD Cáceres (Spain), WOMAD Neston Park (UK), WOMAD Chile, WOMAD Las Palmas (Spain), WOMAD South Africa, and WOMAD Glasgow (Scotland). All events share the core mission of presenting and celebrating global music, arts, and dance while promoting cross-cultural understanding. The organization is led by founder Peter Gabriel and operated by a team of music industry and events professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WOMAD Festival The internationally established World of Music, Arts and Dance festival that brings together artists from around the globe to celebrate diverse art forms and promote cross-cultural awareness and tolerance. Operating as a series of annual events across multiple international locations including WOMADelaide (Australia), WOMAD New Zealand, WOMAD Cáceres (Spain), WOMAD Neston Park (UK), WOMAD Chile, WOMAD Las Palmas (Spain), WOMAD South Africa, and WOMAD Glasgow (Scotland), with all events sharing the core mission of presenting and celebrating global music, arts, and dance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Millions of cumulative festival attendees across 30+ countries
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Peter GabrielcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeter Gabriel is the founder and creator of WOMAD, conceptualizing the festival in 1980 and hosting the first event in 1982. He remains associated with the organization and his quote about music being a universal language appears prominently on the website. His involvement connects WOMAD to Real World Studios and the broader music industry.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Roskilde Festival: Large-scale European non-profit music and arts festival. Directly comparable to WOMAD as a culturally-oriented, large-format festival with social mission and diverse international programming.
• Glastonbury Festival: Iconic UK-based multi-genre cultural festival with decades-long heritage. Closely comparable to WOMAD as a long-established UK-rooted festival brand operating at scale with a cross-genre, arts-inclusive programming philosophy.
• SXSW (South by Southwest): Multi-disciplinary festival blending music, arts, and cultural programming with global brand reach. Comparable to WOMAD in its multidisciplinary, international scope and emphasis on cultural discovery beyond pure music.
• Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival: Major US-based music and arts festival featuring diverse genre programming. Comparable to WOMAD's mix of music, arts, and community-driven programming at multi-day festival scale.
• Festival Interceltique de Lorient: Long-running European cultural festival dedicated to Celtic and world music traditions. Directly comparable to WOMAD's focus on cross-cultural music heritage and community cultural exchange.
• Colors of Ostrava: Multi-genre European festival featuring world music alongside contemporary genres. Comparable to WOMAD's blend of world music, arts programming, and international artist lineups.

Broad incumbents

• AEG Presents: Global live entertainment promoter and venue operator. Broadly comparable to WOMAD as a major player in international festival promotion and live event production, though at vastly larger commercial scale.
• Live Nation Entertainment: World's largest live entertainment company operating festivals globally. Comparable to WOMAD as a festival organizer/promoter, though with vastly broader genre coverage and commercial scale.

Emerging players

• Pitchfork Music Festival: Curated music festival with cultural programming focus. Partial overlap with WOMAD's curated, arts-inclusive festival approach, though concentrated on independent/alternative music rather than world music.

Others

• Real World Studios: Peter Gabriel-founded recording studio and music label closely affiliated with WOMAD. Relevant ecosystem peer as WOMAD's primary talent pipeline and artistic development partner for world music artists.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/WOMADfestival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WOMAD