WOMAD founder praises festival venue

WOMAD co-founder Peter Gabriel has said he is thrilled to have brought the festival back to Wiltshire. Speaking at Charlton Park this afternoon, Mr Gabriel said had the festival stayed at its usual home in Reading, the event would have been cancelled due to the adverse weather conditions. "There were real constraints with the Reading site, although we loved it as a home," he admitted. "It was a site for us to grow up in but Charlton Park gives us wonderful new opportiunities. I think it's great to bring it back locally. It grew out of the west country and it's really nice to have it back."

Mr Gabriel added the number of tickets sold for this year's event is more than other WOMAD weekend in history. Explaining why he thinks the festival is so special, he said: "I think everyone comes here with their usual selves left at the gate. think what makes it special is the generosity of spirit from the audience and artists. People just get on with it and explore things and that's what I've always loved about it. In a sense WOMAD has always been about giving an amplification to the many voices out there in the world."