WOMEX - Worldwide Music Expo

Next Edition: WOMEX 23 A Coruña, Galicia, Spain, 25 - 29 October 2023

WOMEX – Worldwide Music Expo – is the most international and culturally diverse music meeting in the world and the biggest conference of the global music scene, featuring a trade fair, talks, films and showcase concerts.

Over 2,600 professionals (including 260 performing artists) come together every October from 90 countries, making WOMEX the leading networking platform for the world music industry. Its musical spectrum is unparalleled in the international showcase performance market, ranging from the most traditional to the new global local underground, embracing folk, roots, jazz, local and diaspora cultures as much as urban and electronic sounds from all over the globe.

7 stages, around 700 exhibiting companies, 100+ speakers, films, an opening concert and an award ceremony across five packed networking days and rather short nights.

WOMEX and its community aim to support and strengthen the role of culture around the globe and to spread its values through nurturing and promoting creativity and music. As a result, the local and global music community is able to – and needs to – contribute to cross-cultural understanding in a welcoming, tolerant, diverse and productive manner.

The event remains devoted to facilitating and promoting the global music industry and providing a platform to connect, inspire and share experiences, enabling new partnerships across transcontinental markets and an open economic and international cultural dialogue.

Since 1994 WOMEX has been travelling all across Europe, stopping off in

Berlin (1994, 1999, 2000) Brussels (1995) Marseille (1997)
Stockholm (1998) Rotterdam (2001) Essen (2002, 2004)
Newcastle (2005) Sevilla (2003, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Copenhagen (2009, 2010, 2011) Thessaloniki (2012) Cardiff (2013)
Santiago de Compostela (2014, 2016) Katowice (2017)
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (2018) Tampere (2019)
Budapest (2015, 2020) Porto (2021) Lisbon (2022)

WOMEX 22 took place in Lisbon, Portugal from Wednesday, 19 to Sunday, 23 October 2022.

Previous Editions

Intrigued? Want to see what WOMEX is for yourself? Take part in our annual expo! You can book a trade fair stand for your company, promote yourself or simply come as a delegate and take in the many sights, sounds and opportunities on offer. Find information on registration and pricing here!

The Call for Proposals for WOMEX 23 is now closed. It will open again in early 2024 for WOMEX 24.

WOMEX 2022 in Lisbon

Professionals

3100

Companies

1630

Speakers

111

Artists

280

Impressions

Photos

Check out our Instagram page here
You can find further information on our photographers here

WOMEX Flickr Page

Videos

For footage of previous WOMEX performances, you can take a look at our YouTube Channel.

WOMEX YouTube Channel

virtualWOMEX

Stay connected throughout and beyond the event by signing up to our online community and directory virtualWOMEX.

virtualWOMEX

The most important international professional market of world music of every kind. This international fair brings together professionals from the worlds of folk, roots, ethnic and traditional music and also includes concerts, conferences and documentary films. It contributes to networking as an effective means of promoting music and culture of all kinds across frontiers.

- UNESCO Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity

In its 2022 Edition, WOMEX Saw...

More than 3,100 professionals (including 280 performing artists) from 113 countries representing 1,630 companies.
1,150 event promoters.
660 labels, publishers and distributors.
520 governmental, educational and other institutions.
940 individual booking agents, 840 managers and 340 producers.
230 national and international journalists.
A bustling and sold out Trade Fair with 676 exhibiting companies from 57 countries at 260 stands.
More than 60 Showcase acts with 280 musicians representing 42 countries on 8 stages.
111 speakers and mentors from 45 countries in 19 Conference Sessions, 9 Networking, 9 Mentoring Sessions, and 3 Associated Presentations.
21 music-based documentaries from across the globe divided into Market and Public Screenings alongside a Film Library, including new releases, preview screenings, and Portuguese premieres.
The Opening Concert ‘Lisbon Sounds'.
Two WOMEX Awards honouring Ivo Papasov from Bulgaria with Artist Award; Francis Gay, COSMO Head of Music with Professional Excellence Award.
WOMEX Academy 2022: taking place again in a hybrid format continuing the work with MOST, and Procultura but also preparing the UNESCO delegation and developing cooperation with the Aga Khan Music Programme in Central Asia. WOMEX is also a partner of two exciting new European projects SEWEM - Sino European Women Entrepreneurs in Music and Upbeat the European showcase platform for World Music.
The WOMEX Radio Studio, organised by EBU (European Broadcasting Union) and this year's local media partner RTP (Portugal).