WOMADelaide

1990s

WOMADelaide was first run in 1992 as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts, following an invitation by Rob Brookman to the UK WOMAD organisation to run an event in Adelaide after he had seen the success of other WOMADs in Europe. It was due to be held at Long Gully Oval, Belair National Park on a single stage but was moved to Botanic Park at a late stage due to bush fire threats, and after flyers had been printed. ^{[citation needed]} After the threat of bush fires in 1992, the festival officially moved to Botanic Park from 1993, running every two years in odd-numbered years so as not conflict with the Adelaide Festival. 1993 also saw festival founder Peter Gabriel appear for the first time in Australia, with a peak audience attendance that year of 33,000.^{[citation needed]}

In 1995 Stage 4 was added, as well as The Virtual Artists' internet tent, an at-the-time futuristic component of the program with a Netscape web browser. CUCME video conferencing software was also launched during the week of the festival, and The Discovery Channel made a documentary on WOMADelaide's 10-megabyte connection. A one-off CD compilation of artists, Womadelaide '95, was also released.^{[citation needed]} The 1995 audience attendance was 55,000.

From 1996 the management and production of WOMADelaide was taken on by the Adelaide-based company Arts Projects Australia.^[10] This saw the special-event, one-off WOMAD Indian Pacific train trip from Perth to Pimba across the Nullarbor Plain on a chartered Indian Pacific train. It featured performances on board the carriages and culminated in a finale concert at Spud's Roadhouse at Pimba, 480 kilometres (300 mi) north of Adelaide, with the following lineup:

In 1997 the peak audience attendance across the weekend was 60,000, and a sibling event – WOMAD Pacific in Auckland, New Zealand^[11] – was held the weekend after WOMADelaide.

In 1998 another one-off event called WOMAD in the Vales,^[12][13] was held at McLaren Vale Oval on 15 March 1998 to celebrate the end of Robyn Archer's 1998 Adelaide Festival of Arts, with the following lineup:

In 1999 the Workshop Stage became Stage 5, KidZone ran off-site school-based workshops, and the WoZone nightclub was established at the nearby Adelaide University bar, opening on Friday and Saturday from midnight till 5 am during the curfew at Botanic Park. WoZone had three rooms hosting live acts, DJs, and a chilling out space with projections and ambient music. Rather than being a one-off as in 1995, CD compilations of festival highlights for the Australian and New Zealand events became yearly this year.^[14][15]

2000s

In 2001 Stage 5 changed locations, Papa Wemba replaced late cancellation Femi Kuti, and 18 volunteers operated the first information booth to celebrate the United Nations International Year of Volunteers.^[16]

In 2002 a small-scale event called The WOMAD Warm-Up saw three concerts and three workshops held in September at the Adelaide Festival Centre, with the following lineup:

In 2003, following a decision by the Rann government to financially support the event until at least 2009, WOMADelaide became an annual festival,^[17] with WOMADelaide Foundation Limited established as a not-for-profit organisation.^[18] The Foundation presented subsequent festivals and special projects for remote Indigenous arts communities,^{[2][self-published source]} with the WOMADelaide moved to February and March to avoid the summer heat. 2003 also saw the introduction of the remedial therapy and relaxation area called Sanctuary – later renamed Healing Village – and the sibling WOMAD Pacific became the annual WOMAD New Zealand and moved to its permanent setting in Brooklands Park, New Plymouth in Taranaki.

In 2004 Taste The World was introduced, an innovation that was adopted by subsequent New Zealand and UK festivals, and the WOMADelaide Parade began this year.

In 2005 Stage 4 was renamed Zoo Stage, Stage 5 was renamed Moreton Stage and Stage 6 was renamed Dell. The festival was officially carbon neutral for the first time, and on-site ATMs were introduced.

In 2006 Speakers Corner and the Parachilna Garden Cafe were introduced, and Talvin Singh had the honour of being the first DJ in Botanic Park when he played on Stage 3.

In 2007 a cinema and pharmacy were added, DJs closed the festival each night in Speakers Corner, and workshops for visual arts were held at the Park Arts and Functions Complex.

In 2008 a one-off Eco Village joined the site.

In 2009 the first WOMADelaide Forest in South East Australia was planted in partnership with Greening Australia, KidZone had a stage, and track-matting pathways were added to combat both dry and wet conditions.

2010s

In 2010 WOMADelaide extended to four days for the first time in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Adelaide Festival of Arts, and due to overwhelming popularity the festival has continued at this length.^[19] That year WOMADelaide was produced and presented by the WOMADelaide Foundation, was managed by Arts Projects Australia and WOMAD Ltd, and was presented in association with the Government of South Australia.^{[20][self-published source]}

In 2015 the South Australian Tourism Commission – an agency of the Government of South Australia – replaced the Government of South Australia as the event's principal partner.

In 2017 WOMADelaide became a smoke-free event, with provision for smoking in three designated areas.^{[21][self-published source]} In addition to a festival highlights CD, a one-off DVD was also released.

2020s

In 2020 the last annual festival highlights CD was released.^{[22][full citation needed]}

In 2021, in order to comply with COVID-19 restrictions, WOMADelaide was held in King Rodney Park / Ityamai-itpina instead of its usual location at Botanic Park.^[23][24] The format was changed to a series of seated concerts on a single stage, opening with Archie Roach and closing with Midnight Oil and First Nations collaborators on their Makarrata Live project.^{[25][self-published source]} This was also the first year of WOMADelaide x NSS Academy, a collaboration with the youth music centre Northern Sound System, which was established to provide training and development program for emerging Aboriginal South Australians and multicultural artists. The program identified ten artists in its first year or operation, with musical duo MRLN x RKM selected to support Vika and Linda and Midnight Oil at WOMAD.^{[26][self-published source][27]}

In 2022 the festival returned to Botanic Park for WOMADelaide's's 30th anniversary celebrations.^[28]

By 2023 the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia had waned and the event sold out its first three days^[29] for the first time, and was nearly sold out for its final day on the public holiday Monday.

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards commenced in 2016 and are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene.

South Australian Music Awards

The South Australian Music Awards – previously known as the Fowler's Live Music Awards – commenced in 2012 and are annual awards that recognise, promote, and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary music industry.^[33]

Other awards

In 2008 WOMADelaide won both the FasterLouder Festival Award for "Best Sound and Production",^[34] and the Helpmann Award for "Best Contemporary Music Festival".^[35] It also won the Helpmann Award again in 2016.