Womad, the global music festival co-founded by Peter Gabriel, will return in 2026 at a new venue in Wiltshire. After taking a year off in 2025 to 'return fully charged', the event leaves its previous home at Charlton Park for nearby Neston Park in Corsham.
Peter Gabriel said the new site 'immediately felt to us like a warm and welcoming home'. He added: 'In a world in which many bad actors seem to be achieving power by fanning the flames of hatred, racism and division, a meeting place for all the world’s cultures and dreams, built on mutual respect, seems all the more precious.'
Womad, an acronym for World of Music, Arts and Dance, is known for its broad musical remit, featuring artists spanning pop, dance, folk, jazz, hip-hop and beyond, drawn from diverse global nations.
Neston Park is a stately home owned by Sir James and Lady Venetia Fuller. In a joint statement, they said: 'This will be the first time we’ve opened the estate to any type of event and Womad’s message and what it stands for is something we’ve long admired.'
The festival began in 1982 in Shepton Mallet, moved to near Reading between 1990 and 2006, and was held at Charlton Park from 2007.
