What a Womad

Womad Singapore 2007 will be held from August 24 to 26 at Fort Canning Park in Singapore. An at-the-gate one-day adult pass is S$58 (Bt1,200), two-day pass is S$88, and three-day pass is S$133. Discounts are available for students and senior citizens. Children six years and younger can enter for free. Check out www.womadsingapore.com for more details.

Win a free pass

Compliments of the Singapore Tourism Board, Weekend is giving away five pairs of one-day passes (valid for August 25, worth S$116 for each pair). To win, be among the first five to answer the following question:

In which country did the World of Music Arts and Dance originate?

E-mail your answer to wkquiz@gmail.com by 6pm on Monday.

Selected performers

Friday, August 24

7.30pm-8.15pm - Mahotella Queens, Oriental Dance Workshop, Oki Dub Ainu Band, Etran Finatawa

8.15pm-9pm - Sheila Chandra

9pm-10pm - Clube de Balanco

10pm-11pm - Shooglenifty

11pm-12.30pm - Asian Dub Foundation

12.30pm-3am - Bobby Friction & Nihal/ DJ Marvin Kam

Saturday, August 25

9.30pm-10.30pm - David D'Or, Mantu Valdo

11.30pm-1am - Youssou N'Dour & The Super Etoile de Dakar, DJ Collaboration: r-H Ensemble Shanbehzadeh 

Sunday, August 26

6pm-7pm - Salsa workshop

10pm-11pm - Grand finale

Singapore's World of Music, Arts and Dance, or Womad, celebrates its 10th edition this year, with a three-day music festival at the Fort Canning Park.

Since 1998, Womad Singapore has introduced more than 160 artists of various disciplines to the city-state, making this private-run outdoors festival a unique annual lifestyle event, notwithstanding such obstacles as the SARS epidemic, license lobbying and the struggle for sponsorship support. The winner of 2004 Best Event Experience at the 19th Singapore Tourism Awards is a proof.

Running from August 24 to 26, the highlight is on August 25, when Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour and the Super Etoile de Dakar take the stage. N'Dour is one of the world's finest voices and has collaborated with musical greats including Womad founder Peter Gabriel as well as Dido and Neneh Cherry. Making his Singapore debut is Muntu Valdo from Cameroon, who fuses bossa nova, Afro-Cuban, blues, soul and funk. India's Sheila Chandra uses her voice as an instrument and, throughout her prolific career, has pioneered new possibilities for Asian fusion music.

Scotland's Shooglenifty brings a radical, modern flavour to traditional Celtic songs and deliver a killer performance with hard rhythms and virtuoso solo spots. With a career spanning over 40 years, South Africa's Mahotella Queens of South Africa blends passion and power with voices that remain undiminished and absolutely vibrant.

Like other festivals in Singapore, the popularity of Womad has not been built on the import of artists only, but also on how it has involved local communities of artists and audiences. Womad started school projects in 2002 with "Africa Meets Asia". The first large-scale community project "Womad in the Heartlands", extending the coverage to the residential area, was initiated in 2003 and continued until last year.

With such a vision, it is not surprising that last year's festival drew more than 20,000 attendees, the highest record to date.

"We have only begun to celebrate the world's diversity in music over the last ten years. The festival is like a deep ocean. When the streams of the world come together, it becomes a boundless sea of musical possibility," says Sarah Martin, Festival Director, Womad Singapore 2007.

"Womad Singapore has been entertaining audiences and fans with quality performances by a line-up of international artists for 10 years now. The energy and celebratory atmosphere have made Womad Singapore truly unique and distinctive. Such events appeal to visitors who appreciate quality lifestyle options and are significant in profiling Singapore as an exciting and vibrant destination that offers a pulsating nightlife, round-the-clock entertainment and world-class arts performances year-round," says Lynette Pang of the Singapore Tourism Board, the festival's long-time partner.

It's not surprising if you've heard the name Womad before. Co-founded by singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel in 1982, the first Womad festival was held in England. Each year Womad produces at least seven festivals worldwide. Womaelaide in South Australia just celebrated its 15th year. Plans have recently been announced in South Australia for Womad Earth Station, a new annual three-day camping festival focusing on environmental sustainability. In the UK, Womad's flagship festival celebrates the 25th year of Womad from a new location, Charlton Park in the heart of England's Wiltshire countryside.

"The central aim of the Womad festival is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance," says Martin. "Our mandate has always been to excite and to inform; and to make a wider number of people aware of the worth and potential of a multi-cultural society. For the past 25 years worldwide, our ethos as not changed at all and we provide a platform for different audiences to gain insight into other cultures other than their own through the enjoyment of music."

Thomas Brooman, Womad's co-founder and managing and artistic director, says Womad Singapore is special. "Each of the festivals is a destination in itself, unique because of its location, and Womad Singapore is made utterly special because Fort Canning Park has a magic and an atmosphere that the audience adores. Our 10th anniversary festival has an absolutely amazing line-up and we are immensely proud to build upon and develop the success of Womad in Singapore."

Last year, the Singapore festival featured the Thai band T-Bone, whose first act and workshop at Womad were greeted with loud applause.

"There is a huge variety of talent in Thailand that Womad has not begun to tap into as with the talent found on the global scale," says Martin. "To date, Womad in Singapore had presented its first Thai talent only last year and we definitely hope to see more on our stages in the future."

Singapore has been Womad's venue in Southeast Asia for a decade, thanks to the country's ideal location of being at the crossroads of East and West and the lush flora and fauna of Fort Canning Park, home of Womad Singapore. The loyal financial alliance like Singapore Tourism Board as well as supportive audience that gradually grow in number every year are other major factors to keep the fete alive and active.

"A Womad event can enhance and build on a city or town's cultural profile year on year, and the festival often brings new visitors to a given location. In our small way, we hope to play a part in making connections and strengthening links all over the world. In fact, we are looking for opportunities in Thailand - so interested parties, please do not hesitate to contact us direct," Martin says. n

Pawit Mahasarinand  

The writer can be reached at pawit.m@chula.ac.th.