A few weeks out from opening night, WOMADelaide’s longtime director Ian Scobie is quietly confident.

“It’s always touch wood” is his familiar caveat, but he is noting the positives. “We got the crazy heatwave out of the way. And we don’t have huge travel logistical challenges. No cranes and feathers. It’s looking relatively straightforward. “

Then a pause, and he adds: “Nothing has been straightforward since COVID and everything changes. This year we have had some supply problems with companies running into financial difficulties. Colleagues in other fields comment similarly. On a project of this scale, there are a lot of people involved and a lot of contracts. So a lot of things can go awry. It is a more difficult time with artist commitment than even four years ago

“Since COVID, and two recent hot weather events, our single day tickets are behind in sales because people are sitting back and waiting to see what the weather will be like. It is not a huge difference, but it is a noticeable shift. The three- and four-day passes have been snapped up and people have really taken up the instalment payment system – an acknowledgment of the cost pressures on daily budgets. It’s a complex beast but I’m feeling pretty good.”

This is Ian Scobie’s 29^th WOMADelaide festival – next year will be the 30^th and the 35-year milestone. From inception he has overseen one of the few continuous success stories in Australia and overseas. By contrast, WOMAD in the UK took “a post-COVID knock”, its New Zealand counterpart is having a year off with a very challenged national economy, and other European WOMAD events – in Spain, Chile, and elsewhere – are also in abeyance. After WOMADelaide there will be just one modest event in Glasgow before WOMAD in the UK re-launches at a new venue in July.

“This event couldn’t happen in Adelaide without the support we get from the government,” Scobie is quick to add. “There are no two ways about it. It is like the Adelaide Festival; it is a significantly supported event and that allows us to put together a program which is quite different from WOMAD in the UK where it has only some local council support, otherwise it depends on box office.

“Since day one we have had funding from Australian Major Events (now Events SA) and it has succeeded. 40% of the audience comes from outside Adelaide – so it is an economic driver and justifies support. It is great that we have Government commitment to continue to 2029. This might involve some changes but the brief remains the same: the presentation of work from around the world that has that element of discovery and surprise for audiences.”

Associate Director Annette Tripodi, who joined as a volunteer in 1997, has for many years worked alongside Scobie to assemble the four day-and-night programs.

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“Every year is a different adventure, artist-wise, but we usually program between 65 and 75 groups and we have about 70 this time,” Tripodi says of the 2026 lineup. “The spread of 38 countries is similar to previous years and more than 650 artists are taking part.”

She notes the return of the Academy stage, a relatively recent addition to the festival’s multi-stage footprint.

“This will showcase 25 18- to 30-year-olds throughout the festival. The whole idea of the Academy (a project in partnership with the Northern Sound System) is to provide a platform for emerging First Nations and culturally diverse talent. The idea began many years ago but came to fruition in 2020 and the first performances were at our COVID-modified 2021 event in King Rodney Park. Successful graduates include Kenyan-born Elsy Wameyo, who has since toured the UK and Europe. It has been gorgeous to see this talented, driven, focused young woman has gone to the next level.

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"[Yothu Yindi] first played in 1993 – quite a different time in their career trajectory. Now, some original members, alongside their children, nephews, and grandchildren, are carrying the legacy."

“In the festival’s wider First Nations program it is wonderful to have Yothu Yindi back. They first played in 1993 – quite a different time in their career trajectory. Now, some original members, alongside their children, nephews, and grandchildren, are carrying the legacy. They have so many great songs and I think everyone is hungry to see them again.

“BARKAA is also playing on Saturday night. She first performed two years ago and since then has become possibly the country’s biggest female First Nations performer. She is bringing a live band, a DJ and a much larger catalogue of songs. Each day in our indoor theatre space, The Studio, Lewis Major Projects will perform their stunning show Triptych REDUX and ARIA award winner, Baker Boy will perform his new album Djandjay on Saturday night.”

A highlight, singled out by both directors, is 80-year-old Kankawa Nagarra. A Walmatjarri Elder whose album Wirlmarni won the 20^th Australian Music Prize in 2024, Scobie calls her “the heart and soul of Indigenous Australia – and of remote Australia as well.”

Also on the directors’ favourites list is Troy Cassar-Daley, who they saw recently at the Adelaide Guitar Festival. Scobie describes him as a stalwart of the Australian scene: “a warm performer and great storyteller. And having him perform with a string quartet, led by Emily Tulloch from Zephyr Quartet, I think will be a beautiful combination “

Tripodi says that planning each festival lineup is an unpredictable mix of instinct, availability, and luck.

“It can’t always go your way and the feedback I’ve had over the past year from other festivals is that everything is taking longer to lock into place. I can testify to that!”

Looking across the top names, Tripodi says bringing Malian singer Oumou Sangare back as a Sunday headliner – on International Women’s Day – was an early priority, along with the “exhilarating” Alogte Oho and His Sounds of Joy. “It is an unusual mix of the familiar sounds of Ghana with North Ghanaian gospel music. They are electric on stage and will do their second show on Monday, nicely bookending the festival.”

Tripodi also highlights the festival’s first headliner from Italy. “We have programmed many wonderful performers from Italy but no one that has traversed as many musical styles as Jovanotti. Over a 40-year career he has built a huge following – he played 54 sold out arena shows in Italy last year. He’s very pleased to be doing his first WOMAD. It’s a big one for opening night.”

And then there is Grace Jones.

“The inimitable Grace Jones headlining Saturday night is an absolute coup,” Tripodi says. “Not only because it was our fourth attempt to make it happen, but because she has so many great songs, and a dazzling live show that’s a sight to behold. “

Some of the most memorable performances at WOMADelaide have been the quieter, meditative ones. The sets from the Qawwali vocal group led by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Indian violin ragas from Dr L Subramaniam are part of WOMAD legend. More recently Nils Frahm and Anoushka Shankar have played into the midnight hour.

This time, Indian duo Balaganesan and Bageswari will play their nadaswaram reed wind instruments on Friday and Monday while The Necks, famed improvisational Australian jazz trio will captivate both familiar fans and new listeners on Friday night only.

In the packed program many acts stand out. International star Marlon Williams from Aotearoa/NZ will perform his 2025 album Te Whare Tiwekaweka entirely in te reo Māori, Arrested Development return with their Adult Contemporary Hip-Hop, Irish folk unit Beoga perform having just come from extensive touring with Ed Sheeran, the post-folk troubadour, Iron and Wine, aka Sam Beam, will play a Friday night set, and Canadian hip-hop jazz crossover group, BADBADNOTGOOD will demonstrate their genre fluidity.

Others on Annette Tripodi’s list include Cretan dynastic band Xylourides, soul singer Jalen Ngonda, the Indian American singer Ganavya, and also returning to Botanic Park, for the first time since 2014, Cuban rhythm king Roberto Fonseca.

And finally, one of her favourite not-to-be-missed artists, French performers Orange Blossom who return after ten years with their blend of bass, electronica and classical violin. “I saw them live again in 2024 and still find them thrilling,” she says.

Bringing the D for Dance in WOMAD will be the esteemed Belgian contemporary dance company led by Anna Teresa De Keersmaeker with Rosas-Rosas Danst Rosas, a work from 1983 performed possibly for the first time outdoors. Running for 90 minutes, Ian Scobie is “conscious it is a challenging piece”. “It will be a milestone for our audience.”

The on-site roving theatre program will feature a residency by Melbourne’s Born in a Taxi, and the zany Spanish hairdressers, Osadia. Aerial acrobatic-dance company, Chloe Loftus Dance, and trampolinists, Cie Hors Surface, with their Weight of Cloud and HOME, will keep our eyes on the sky.

Annette Tripodi observes, “The world is feeling quite upside down and mixed up at the moment and I think there are many incredible performers in the lineup who are going to bring joy and a very positive energy. It is one of the key reasons why WOMADelaide has survived and thrived for more than 30 years. It’s our ‘secret sauce’.

“What everyone feels in Botanic Park can’t be easily duplicated. It is a sensation of letting go of your troubles and coming together with people you don’t know, and you do know – to rejoice. And the thrill of discovery, moving from one stage to another, to see acts you’ve never heard of, being willing to be drawn in. It’s a powerful connection for the audience – with the music, and each other. “

WOMADelaide 2026 runs from March 6 – 9 at Botanic Park