Vancouver Takes A Leaf from WOMAD NZ

Joining the crowd at the ninth WOMAD New Zealand March 15-17 was a group hoping to host the festival in Vancouver for the first time in September 2014 in a similar parkland venue. 

The group included Chris Smith, London-based director of WOMAD International; John Leuthart whose NZ-based company Leuthart & Co specializes in developing private and public partnerships for arts and cultural events and security new markets for them; and Vancouver-based global corporate brand consultant Tom Corbeth.

WOMAD NZ, staged in Brooklands and TSB Bowl in Taranaki, is renowned for its long-term partnerships with Shell, Todd Energy, TSB Bank, the New Plymouth District Council and the TSB Community Trust.

“This sort of partnership doesn’t happen in other locations as well as it does here, and it’s been hard-earned,” Leuthart told local website Stuff. “It is a very, very powerful success story and it’s not a surprise to me that it’s attractive to international countries.”

Leuthart, a former trustee of the Taranaki Arts Festival Trust that runs WOMAD NZ, attributed the festival’s success to strong management, infrastructure and a consistent quality bill. 

This year’s bill included Taj Mahal  Hugh Masekela  West African guitarist Vieux Farka Toure  Israel’s The Alaev Family  Scotand’s Lau and Louisiana’s Cajun Savoy Family.

Official attendance figures for 2013 are yet to be released, but early ticket sales were 9 percent up from last year. The 2012 event drew 17,500, with 60 percent coming from outside the region and pumping NZ$59 million (US$48.62 million) to the region, and giving a 98 percent visitor satisfaction return.

WOMAD International’s Smith ranks NZ’s the best in the world alongside Spain’s Caceres version, which takes place May 10-12.