review by Neil

WOMAD 2002

27th-29th July 2001
Rivermead, Reading, Berks.

I've been to WOMAD a few times before, but only ever for the day, and to be honest I always found the music too out-of-my-world, and little else to do. But with no Glasto this year, and a near 5 year old (a 4 x Glastonbury veteran) desperate for something similar, we decided to give it another go, this time for the whole 3 days.

There were a lot of enjoyable things - the sheer quality of the music stood right out (and maybe having aged a little, my ear was more in tune)! Not having heard of most of the performers takes the pressure right off… as you have no idea what you might be missing elsewhere, the inclination is to stay where you're sat (which in this weekend's heat tended to be under shade) and enjoy what goes on around you. In this way I experienced some great entertainment, from African tribal dancing, to festival fav's Dreadzone, to Bristol's famed DJ Derek and much more.

A real effort had been made with decoration, putting many other festivals to shame. As well as a mass of huge flags in the arena in front of the open-air stage, the Siam Tent was decorated with superb hangings which looked amazing when lit with UV light at night. It even included loads of motorised hangings!

Unfortunately, it appeared that there just wasn't enough entertainment on offer. The two main stages didn't have bands playing at the same time, which also led to crowd crushes as they tried to move between stages, and queuing to enter the Whirl-y-gig could have you stood for an hour or more. There were also at times large queues to watch the cabaret in the impressive Crystal Palace, while activities for children were limited in numbers too. The only alternative was to wander around the vast craft markets where you could buy food and the normal festival tat, as well as more interesting items.

Food & drink was, at some levels, a lot cheaper than other festi's. Bottles of water and cans of fizz could be bought for 80p (but most were £1), tea from 60p, and chips were £1 in places. But a normal nosh of noodles was £5, as were many other "meals", which makes for an expensive 3 days if that's your only source. If you've got your own supplies there's no confiscation of bottles or cans on entrance to the arena which is a bonus.

In the camping areas there was a shortage of loos - the nearest to us was at least 5 minutes away, and at a family oriented event (up to two under-14's on each ticket) with an under-5 that's a bit useless. But taps at least were plentiful, even inside the arena, which was a welcome relief in the heat.

Security round the site was pretty relaxed, with few of the problems that exist at big-name band events. There were some refugees in both the campsite and arena asking for money, which the security staff were attempting to evict from the site - security told me that the refugees were going thorough the tents, taking food and other small items. Amnesty International were promoting their "Respect Refugees" campaign heavily, but it didn't appear to have penetrated into all the brains there…. heard over the security radio: "why don't we just put them all on a boat and send them home". Hmmmmm!

To me - and perhaps due to the heat - it felt more like a village fete than a festival. It was friendly enough, and enjoyable enough to return. It just didn't have enough spirit.