Prime Minister to welcome the world to WOMAD

7 March 2005

Prime Minister to welcome the world to WOMAD

Prime Minister Helen Clark, will be attending the official opening and welcome ceremony of WOMAD New Zealand 2005 at New Plymouth’s Brooklands Park & TSB Bowl next Friday (SUBS: 11 March) night.

"I am delighted to again be associated with the WOMAD New Zealand festival. It is a wonderful event for showcasing our home-grown music, arts and dance talent, as well as a range of international performers,” Ms Clark says.

“It is also a great opportunity for Taranaki to further brand itself as a creative region, and I congratulate the organisers for bringing together such an exciting programme."

WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) is set to rock New Plymouth for three days from 6pm on Friday 11 March to midnight on Sunday 13 March.

Helen Clark’s support for the festival is long standing, having officially launched the first phase of the artist programme at the Beehive back in November 2004.

At the launch, Ms Clark commented that the Brooklands Park & TSB Bowl is “one of the most beautiful outdoor venues anywhere in New Zealand and I think anywhere in the world”.

Ticket sales for WOMAD have rocketed and event organisers state that attendance figures are already higher than in 2003.

Festival director Roger King says limited three-day and one-day passes are still available, but “we are preparing for a sell-out crowd of 30,000 people over the three days”.

Almost 400 international and New Zealand artists from across the globe are already making their way to Taranaki via the WOMADelaide Festival in Australia.

Thousands of fans will also converge on the province for this spectacular summer party, and together with the many hundreds of workers and volunteers from Taranaki and beyond, they will bring WOMAD New Zealand to life again for 2005.

WOMAD NEW ZEALAND 2005 IS SUPPORTED & FUNDED BY THE FOLLOWING ORGANISATIONS;

Core Funders: New Plymouth District Council; The TSB Community Trust Event Partners: Shell NZ Ltd; Todd Energy Programme Partners: The Radio Network; Tui Ora Event Sponsors: Boon Goldsmith Bhaskar Team Architecture; Kawaroa Consultancy Ltd; Robert Angus Real Estate Event Supporter: Creative New Zealand

ENDS

© Scoop Media