WOMAD festival cancelled in Glasgow over low ticket sales

WOMAD festival cancelled in Glasgow over low ticket sales3 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleGetty ImagesWOMAD Festivals has travelled around the world since 1982An international music, arts and dance festival in Glasgow has been cancelled due to low ticket sales.World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) was set to be held in the city for the first time on 3 and 4 July. Glasgow Life, who were working with WOMAD to host the travelling event in Kelvingrove Park, said it was a "difficult decision and one that has not been taken lightly".It added full refunds would be available for ticket holders and affected customers would have access to discounted tickets for WOMAD in Neston Park, North Wiltshire, on 23-26 July this year.The festival, which attracts acts from across the globe, was founded by former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel and first held in 1982 in Somerset. It has taken place in 30 countries, including Spain, Chile, Singapore, South Africa and New Zealand. A range of acts from folk, trad and jazz to hiphop, soul and experimental sounds were all set to take to the stage.Scotland's first edition was due to include London-based reggae vocalist and songwriter Hollie Cook, Pakistani instrumentalist Ustad Noor Bakhsh and Stornoway folk-rock trio Peat and Diesel. More stories from Glasgow & West ScotlandMore stories from ScotlandBut organisers said a competitive market combined with low ticket sales meant it was no longer viable to host the festival in Glasgow.They said: "While audience response to the programme and the vision for the event was extremely positive, ticket sales did not reach the level required to deliver the festival sustainably in its inaugural year. "This reflects the challenge of launching a new large-scale event in a competitive and crowded market at this time."We know this news will be hugely disappointing, particularly for those who have already purchased tickets, and we sincerely apologise for that."...