International music conference WOMEX will be held in Cardiff in Wales, United Kingdom. Cardiff won the international bid to host WOMEX from Wednesday, 23 to Sunday, 27 October 2013. Earlier this week WOMEX organizers announced that the 2012 edition will be held in Thessaloniki, Greece.
WOMEX received proposals from nine cities within Europe for the 2013 edition. The ‘WOMEX 13 Official Host City Candidates’ shortlist included Cardiff and Glasgow, United Kingdom, plus Dublin, Ireland. A complex selection process, including a round of site visits to the three cities and in-depth talks with all parties involved, preceded the final decision for the Welsh candidate.
Daniela Teuber, WOMEX Director of Production, states: “We’re very happy that Cardiff will be hosting WOMEX in 2013. The city offers a most favorable setting for our complex event and its 2500 delegates and many artists from all over the globe: truly professional, highly motivated local production partners; wonderful venues matching our multifaceted needs in close proximity; and Wales’ outstanding cultural wealth, hospitality and scenic beauty.”
Welcoming the news, the First Minister, Rt. Hon Carwyn Jones AM, said: “WOMEX is a great opportunity to bring the most important world music stage to Wales as well as developing the sector in a sustainable way within our country. WOMEX Cardiff will place the music from Wales on the world stage alongside more established markets so that Wales’ authentic music traditions become more widely known internationally
and are positioned beside music from our Celtic neighbors. Hosting WOMEX will allow us to grow the profile of Wales’s traditional music, both within and out of the country.”
The bid to host WOMEX in 2013 was led by Cerdd Cymru : Music Wales, a partnership between Welsh Music Foundation, Wales Arts International and Arts Council of Wales, with support from British Council and Welsh
Government. The two important venues Wales Millennium Centre and Cardiff Motorpoint Arena as well as Cardiff Council and Cardiff & Co, are all formal partners for WOMEX 2013.
Cardiff is the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom and the capital of Wales. Located in the very south of the green and mountainous country bounded by the Irish/Celtic Sea, Cardiff is spread out on the
banks of the river Severn flowing into the Bristol Channel.
A taste of Wales’ abundant musical talent – including the acts Calan, 9Bach and Mabon – was showcased at last year’s WOMEX in Copenhagen, creating appetite for more among the WOMEX delegates.
The city’s rich culture has a diverse range of influences, from the Romans and Normans of antiquity to the industrial revolution and ‘the black gold’, which transformed Cardiff from a small town into a thriving international city.
Welsh is an official language affirming Wales’ Celtic identity. It is one of the oldest spoken languages in Europe, and is the most popular of the Celtic languages still in use today.
Cardiff offers all of the features and benefits of a capital city, at a low cost, compared to other capital cities and major regional cities in the UK.
Here’s a Cardiff sneak preview on YouTube:
More information at:
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central
