FAQs

ATMs

There will be 5 ATMs on site for your convenience.

Busking

Busking is NOT permitted, all of the entertainment in the Park is selected and programmed in advance.

Bag Check

The Bag Check is located behind the Information Booth. No valuables can be left there (eg wallets/phones/cameras) and only small to medium sized closed/zippered bags/daypacks will be accepted ie no loose items of clothing such as coats/jumpers, no prams, no plastic/shopping carry bags etc. The Bag Check will close at midnight sharp every night - after this time your bags will be unavailable for collection - the marquee will be closed and your goods will be left unattended. All items are left at your own risk and the Event Manager takes no responsibility for items left behind when the festival ends. Any such items will be left onsite until the following Friday, after which they will be held at the festival office (tel 8271 1488) until the end of March. Thereafter, valuables will be taken to the Norwood Police Station (tel 8207 6800) and the remaining items will be donated to charity.

Disabled patrons' information

Carers are admitted free when accompanying a ticketed disabled patron. There are shaded, raised wheelchair viewing platforms at Stages 1, 2 and 3. Disabled toilets and wheelchair parking (near the Hackney Road entrance car park, see the site map on the ‘getting there’ page) are also available. 

Carers will be required to present their National Companion Card upon entry. (http://www.companioncard.org.au) 

Drinking water

There are a number of drinking water fountains set up around the park so bringing an EMPTY, refillable bottle with you is a great idea.  Otherwise you can bring in full/SEALED plastic bottles of water.

Stallholders

Stallholder applications for the 2014 festival have now closed.

Performing at WOMADelaide

The festival program is developed between May-September each year.  For details on how and when to apply, CLICK HERE.

Festival location

The festival is held in Botanic Park, on Hackney Road in the inner city of Adelaide.  See the Adelaide map HERE on the ‘getting there’ page.

Opening hours of the festival

Friday - gates open 4:30pm, performances are on from 6pm-1am. 
Saturday - gates open at 11am, performances are on from midday-1am. 
Sunday - gates open at 11am, performances are on from midday-1am. 
Monday – gates open at 11am, performances are on from midday-midnight.  Please note that Monday is a public holiday in SA.

See the playing timetable HERE.

First aid

St John's Ambulance are always present and the Royal Adelaide Hospital is only minutes away. If you forget your own, for a donation you can use sunscreen supplied by St John's.

Camping

There is NO camping on site, the venue is part of the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide.

Sunshades

Small pop-up sunshades can only be set up in areas away from high-traffic areas and only in ‘the pines’ area marked out near Hackney Road. They must be taken home at night and proper tents of anykind that blocks people’s views of the stages are not allowed.

To bring

The essentials are your wristband or your booking reference number/confirmation email, valid photo ID, hat, sunscreen, medication (especially for asthma or hayfever as the Park can get dusty), portable ashtray if you smoke (such as empty film canister/other plastic container), clothes to suit the weather and insect repellent if the mozzies love you.

NOT to bring

Animals (except guide dogs), any glass (bottles, containers, glasses etc), weapons, umbrellas, fireworks, flame-twirling items, alcohol or illicit substances, 'high' chairs, tents (Pop-up sunshades can only be set up in areas of the park well away from all sightlines and traffic areas.  For Stage 1 the only area which can be used is  ‘the pines’ area marked out towards Hackney Road. Sunshades must be removed when you leave at night and tents of any kind or other structures which block the views of stages are not allowed anywhere in the park). Please see the picture below regarding chairs and tents:

Please note that professional camera equipment (as outlined in the picture below) is not permitted on site without prior permission and the relevant accreditation.

Seating

15,000+ people attend the festival each day and it's an on-the-move crowd, so please understand that you can’t 'reserve' a spot by placing a blanket in front of a stage and leaving it there.  Generally speaking it is a 'stand up and dance' crowd – the ‘D’ in WOMAD stands for dance!  You can bring a chair to WOMADelaide, but only if it's a low 'beach chair' (see the below pictures for clarification). These are for sale at camping/army disposal shops, K-Mart and there are disposable carboard chairs available at the WoShop on site. No standard/higher chairs can be brought in - there is no negotiation on this in advance or at the gate (security are advised that they’re not allowed in).  For elderly/infirm patrons, around 20 chairs are fixed to the front of the wheelchair viewing platforms at Stages 1, 2 and 3 and there is also limited ‘bleacher seating’ at the Internode Centre Stage and Stage 2. Those who want to remain seated for a performance must sit at the outer edges/rear of the audience areas at each stage. For selected performances, the audience will be asked by the stage MC to sit down and, in these cases, those who want to stand/dance will be asked to move to the outer edges/rear of the audience area.

Flyering

Absolutely NO flyering is permitted inside the festival grounds or outside the entrances. Due to the festival's Zero Waste/green policies, we limit paper handouts to the mini-guide being given out at the Info Booth and the charity stalls.

Fundraising at the festival

Fundraising is NOT permitted by anyone on site.

Children

Children 12 and under get in for free when accompanied by a paying adult. There is no limit on the number of children an adult can bring in and they do not need a ticket in advance. Kids aged 13 and upwards have to buy a youth price ticket.

Strollers/prams are welcome within the festival grounds. Baby changing facilities are in the disabled toilet blocks at the north and south of the Park.

KidZone offers many fun, free activities for 3-12 year olds (check the KidZone page of the website for details).  Please note that the KidZone is not a crèche/child-minding facility and all children should be accompanied by an adult.

We recommend parents get a kids wristband at the gates/Info Booth/KidZone and mark their name and mobile number on it.  Parents should arrange with children to meet at the Info Booth if they get separated. If a lost child arrives at the Info Booth, volunteers will alert festival security. If it's after 6pm, security will alert the SA Police, who will be on site for the duration of the festival.

Lost property

Report lost property to the Info Booth. Found items will be taken to the festival office (tel 08 8271 1488) the day after the festival ends and held at the office until the Friday of the following week only.  Thereafter, items of value (car keys, wallets, phones, jewellery etc) will be taken to the Norwood Police Station (tel 8207 6800) and the remaining items (clothing, hats, glasses, shoes etc) will be donated to charity.

Security

There are plenty - but they're friendly. At the gates, security will check your bags for alcohol and glass (bottles/wine glasses etc).  Full/SEALED plastic bottles of water/juice are permitted but anything open will be disposed of at the gates.  Security will keep an eye out for people filming live performances (a no-no), and any shabby behaviour in the crowd (along with the SA Police). And please don't try and jump the fence to get in - people have been impaled!

Smoking

Cigarettes are not sold at the festival.  If you smoke, PLEASE respect the people around you - go to the back of the crowd and use a butt bin or a portable ashtray when you butt out (available from the WO Shop if you haven’t brought your own).  Smoking is not allowed in front of the stages or the bars, on the wheelchair viewing platforms, in the Global Village food area or in KidZone.  The stage MCs will make announcements over the weekend, but if you are a smoker please help us by following these simple rules and avoid tense situations with your fellow festival-goers!

Food & drinks on site

We have over 40 international food stalls with prices ranging from approx $3-15, four bars, and non-alcoholic drinks stalls. There are literally hundreds of different flavours and delicacies to choose from. Of course you can bring your own food and non-alcoholic drinks, but no bottles/glass containers are allowed.

Toilets

We provide 22 blocks of proper, regularly-cleaned toilets, plus disabled facilities. There are more women's toilets than men's so you never have to queue for long.

Cameras & video cameras

Cameras and video cameras are permitted on site, but you cannot use them to film or video record any live performances on any stage, or your equipment will be confiscated. Long-lens/professional cameras are not permitted into the Park unless by prior arrangement. Tape or mp3 recorders are NOT permitted. Mobile phones with the ability to record are permitted into the festival.

Merchandise

We sell CDs by the featured artists, souvenir festival t-shirts and sometimes unique art work (eg woven baskets from indigenous artists). If you don't get the chance to buy the CD you want at the festival, Womusic is open all year round.

Suggestions or comments

Before or after the festival, write to Arts Projects Australia. At the festival itself, take it to the Info Booth.

Weather

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the average maximum temperature in Adelaide in March is 26.3 C and the average minimum is 15.2C. WOMADelaide is an outdoor festival – it can be very warm, although Botanic Park has lots of shade. Remember to make sure you drink plenty of water, wear sunscreen and that it can get quite cool at night too!

Dust, pollen and asthma

Like countless gardens across Adelaide, Botanic Park has been following water restrictions throughout the Summer period, however the WOMADelaide Site Manager has taken steps to do whatever is possible to minimise the damage to the park and look after the comfort and well-being of the audience. In 2013, we will again be running water trucks over the Park twice a day from one week before the festival up to and including the weekend. There will also be new traffic restrictions for vehicles entering the park before and during the festival to try and ease the dust, ground protection mats for heavy vehicle access, a ‘walkway’ between Stages 1 and 2, mist stations and several drinking fountains. 

WOMADelaide will also be working with the Asthma Foundation to assist festival-goers with their asthma management. CLICK HERE to see the daily pollen count.