Womad's success could be bad news

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Womad's popularity may be its own worst enemy – a landmark report into the international festival is warning it may be in danger of outgrowing its New Plymouth venue.

The report on the impacts and benefits of the big annual three-day summer outdoor festival of music, arts and dance, has been written by Wellington-based consultants Leuthart and Co for the Womad New Zealand Charitable Trust.

While it is full of praise for Womad's Brooklands Park location as world-class, the report warns the venue might not be big enough to accommodate the future growth needed to keep Womad financially viable.

It points out that every Womad event so far has sold out on the day of the event, and suggests the Bowl of Brooklands' current venue capacity of 15,000 constrains significant audience growth. "This restricts full commercial viability of the event," says the report.

However, not only does it not offer any solutions, it also points out that surveys during Womad have shown that most people consider a capped maximum of 12,500 paid tickets to be a comfortable audience number without endangering what they consider to be a unique festival atmosphere.

This report is the result of analysis of various Womad performance reports, including an independent economic impact assessment, visitor surveys, and interviews with sponsors and other festival stakeholders.

Womad has single-handedly transformed the public perception of Taranaki, says the report. It is also a very lucrative event for Taranaki, the five held so far contributing $24.7 million to the region's gross domestic product.

And it expects the Womads of 2010 and 2011 to pour a further $9 million into the Taranaki coffers.

"Womad has changed the perceptions of New Plymouth and Taranaki as a more desirable, sought-after and different place to visit, and for some, to live and work," it says.

"This is reflected in an increased sense of social and community well-being and buoyancy in the community leading up to, during and following Womad events. People from many different communities from Taranaki, New Zealand and the world come together as one tolerant, safe and social community. People talk of the Womad community," the report adds.

The report was commissioned by the trust in an attempt to quantify the impacts and benefits of Womad so far, and to identify the festival's future needs.

It forecasts that ongoing financial support from key public and private sector organisations and companies will be critical to the ongoing success of Womad.

To make the event financially viable, the trust has required between $800,000 and $1 million for each Womad before ticket sales – it has needed this financial input because of the limited capacity of the Bowl of Brooklands and the trust's desire to keep ticket prices at a level that would encourage a broader audience and community participation.

So far the trust has achieved this via an initiative called the Womad New Zealand Partnership which encompasses all the event sponsors which have not only provided financial help, but also organisational resources, but also their brand, marketing, hospitality and network support.

The report warns that to ensure the future viability of Womad, the trust needs to secure the ongoing commitment of existing partners to support the event beyond 2011. "The trust may also need to consider if the structure, location, cost and time-frame of Womad is sustainable in its current form," it adds.

- © Fairfax NZ News