In October 2024, WOMEX will make its debut in Manchester, UK for the 30 years anniversary. Together with WOMEX's parent company Piranha Arts, WOMEX 24 will be realised with Manchester Music City at its helm, in cooperation with Brighter Sound, English Folk Expo, Manchester City Council and Marketing Manchester as the main local partners with additional support from Arts Council England, British Council, GMCA and Horizons.
For travel and venue information, please see here.Please note that WOMEX is unable to cover any fees, travel expenses or other costs. Please consider the financing of your trip to WOMEX in Manchester carefully and what support or funding you have. Possible sources for funding in your case might be:
Here you can find useful information on MIP (Mobility Information Points) compiled by On the Move. Check also On the Move's recent Music Mobility Funding Guide - Focus on Europe, which provides an overview of the funding bodies and programmes that support the international mobility of music artists (authors, composers, musicians, bands, orchestras) and other music professionals travelling from and/or to European countries.
Please note that WOMEX is not responsible for the content. In case of interest please contact the specific MIP of your country or area independently. More information here.The registration for WOMEX 24 in Manchester will open by mid-April 2024. To stay up to date with developments, please follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter here.
Our local partner Manchester Music City, together with Greater Manchester’s tourist board Visit Manchester, have secured exclusive accommodation rates for WOMEX delegates to take advantage of.
To search availability and get this special rate delegates must book using the following link: https://book.passkey.com/e/50694484
Yes, you can. Children under 12 years of age may attend WOMEX for free. Children above 12 and under 18 years of age may attend at student rate. Please contact and send credentials to registration@womex.com.
Please be aware of the local age restrictions for WOMEX 24 in Manchester:
During the daytime (program until 6pm), and at the opening concert at the Bridgewater Hall, all persons under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. For admission to the night-time venues, given the late curfew, a minimum age of 18 years applies!
Please be aware that WOMEX and their local partners cannot provide babysitting services and cannot guarantee there will be baby-care facilities at the venues. Please also note that any Delegate partners/spouses or babysitters will not be allowed to enter event sites unless they are properly registered or hold a ticket applicable for the respective night-time venue.
In the majority of cases, yes. For more details please see the VAT information in our Terms and Conditions
Nighttime Showcase Venues & Opening night concert
Personal bags that are larger than an A4 size of paper, especially backpacks, will NOT be allowed into nighttime venues however an exception has been made for the official WOMEX tote bag which will be allowed. Everyone is restricted to one bag per person. To increase audience flow we strongly recommend that you leave all larger bags at your hotel and just carry your tote bag around with you. Please note that all delegates will be subject to another search on re-entry after visiting another venue or an external smoking area.
Daytime at Manchester Central
Larger bags and suitcases will be allowed into the Tradefair location at Manchester Central but they will be subject to a search on entry. Once inside they can be stored in the free cloakroom which will be open during the day on Wednesday - Saturday with extended opening hours on Wednesday night so bags can be stored here during the opening concert (until 23:30).
Yes, upon request, WOMEX provides invitation letters; and our local partners may provide Visa application support letters. Please contact production@womex.com.
Please note: Visa letters and support can only be provided in case of a fully confirmed and paid Delegate registration!
Delegates are responsible for facilitating their own travel and attendance, including visa procedures. This means to obtain all information and meet all requirements for the procedure in good time, to arrange and attend appointments with the competent authorities.
While WOMEX provides visa application support in the scope of our knowledge and ability, neither we nor our local partners are responsible or in the actual position to facilitate a successful visa application, nor are we responsible for any costs related to your visa application.
It is your responsibility to fulfil this process as soon as possible. We may not be able to help you, if you leave this too late!
For more helpful information please visit our VISA INFORMATION FOR THE UK page and see the VISA tab here in the FAQs.
Please write to visas@englishfolkexpo.com for further help.
All nationals need to identify the entry route they are using to travel to the UK as everyone will be expected to show evidence of how they meet the eligibility requirements. For people who must obtain a visa before travel, this will be done at a visa application centre (VAC) and everyone else must be prepared to present their evidence at the UK border control on arrival.
The entry routes for WOMEX attendees will be to come to the UK as either:
More information and a table of all documents that must be carried and presented at the UK border on arrival, can be found here.
Please make sure you have read the visa guidelines for WOMEX 24 attendees. This provides an overview of what you need to consider before coming to the UK and if you need to obtain a visa before travel.
If you have any questions concerning UK entry requirements, please contact our local partner via visas@englishfolkexpo.com
To download your Registration Confirmation letter (PDF), please log in to your virtualWOMEX account. At the welcome page (or: "MyWOMEX"), under "Registrations" please click on your name in the row for WOMEX 24, and you will be redirected to your event registration details. Here you will find a download button for each registered person.
This will depend on several factors including but not limited to:
To check if you need a UK visa, please visit the GOV.UK website and answer a few questions.
ALL nationals of the countries and territories listed on the visa national list need to obtain a visa before coming to the UK regardless of the purpose of visit.
If you are a visa national, you will need to apply for a visa and gain entry clearance before travelling to the UK.
Most WOMEX visa national delegates, showcase artists, member’s of crew, film presenters, conference speakers and exhibitors will be able to apply for a Standard Visitor visa to enter the UK. However, if you are being paid, you need to consider alternative visas such as Permitted Paid Engagement visa or Creative Worker visa (Temporary work).
Often flights are not direct to the UK, and involve a stopover in an EU county, and some non-EU nationals will need to apply for an airport transit visa when connecting through the international transit areas of the airport in Schengen States & non-Schengen EU countries (Republic of Ireland, Cyprus).
An airport transit visa allows you to connect through the international transit area of an airport in the Schengen area during a stopover or a change of flights. It does not allow you to leave the international transit area and leave the airport.
There are several types of Airport Transit Visas (ATV):
You need to check how many transits are made and through which countries. The two examples below show how to determine the different types & which embassy to make the application.
When to apply
You must submit your application to the consulate at least 15 days before your intended journey and no earlier than 6 months beforehand.
Cost
90 EUROS for adults
Links
Visit the European Commission website and the websites of the countries you are transiting through to get accurate information about whether you will require an airport transit visas. Airport transit visas are not just applicable in the EU, so please check each country you have a stopover in.
If you have any questions about the information in this document, please get in touch with the WOMEX 24 local partner team via visas@englishfolkexpo.com.
As a WOMEX delegate, showcase artist, member of crew, film presenter, conference speaker or exhibitor, you can visit the UK as a Standard Visitor for ‘business, including sports and entertainment’ and are permitted to undertake all the activities listed at Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities.
The permitted activities applicable to WOMEX attendees fall under the following categories:
Permitted General Business Activities:
Permitted Creative Activities
An artist, entertainer, or musician can:
Personal or technical staff or members of the production team of an artist, entertainer, or musician may support the activities provided they are attending the same event as the artist, entertainer or musician and are employed to work for them outside of the UK.
No one attending or performing at WOMEX receives payment.
However, you must still meet the Standard Visitor eligibility requirements to visit the UK whether you need a visa or not. You may be asked questions at the UK border about your eligibility and the activities you plan to do whilst in the UK.
It takes up to 3 weeks to get a decision on your visa once you’ve applied online, proved your identity, and provided your documents at a visa application centre.
You may be able to pay for a faster decision on certain visas and can choose ‘priority service’ if eligible when you apply. This is in addition to the application fee.
This depends on your nationality and what you plan to do whilst you are in the UK.
Visa nationals will have to apply for a UK visa whatever they intend to do in the UK. If you are only coming to the UK for WOMEX, and not being paid or working for a UK company you will be able to apply for a Standard Visitor visa which is valid for up to 6 months.
Non-visa nationals can come to the UK as a Standard visitor for up to 6 months without a visa, but you can only do certain business activities. These permitted activities include everyone who is due to attend or perform at WOMEX as long as you are not being paid or working for a UK company.
This depends on whether you are from a country on the Visa National list. Visa Nationals must always obtain some kind of visa before travelling to the UK.
This depends on whether you are being paid for any other performances whilst in the UK and how long you intend to be in the UK.
If you are not being paid for additional performances, then you can continue to come to the UK as a Standard Visitor and stay for up to 6 months.
If you are being paid for any other performances by a UK company, then it may be appropriate to:
A Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) is necessary for employers seeking to sponsor Temporary Workers in various sectors like hospitality, agriculture, or creative arts. This must be applied for by a UK licenced sponsor and in assigning a CoS the sponsor is taking responsibility that the foreign national will comply with the conditions of the permissions and fill a genuine vacancy that can’t be filled by a settled worker. It is a virtual document linked to the individual’s passport. Each CoS has a unique reference number and contains the information about the job for which the CoS is being issued and the individual’s personal details. Companies can assign group and individual certificates of sponsorship. See the list of organisations licensed to sponsor workers on the Worker and Temporary Worker immigration routes.
This is necessary if you are coming to the UK under the Creative Worker visa (Temporary work) route and are a professional and contracted for paid engagements in the UK that last more than one month.
An electronic travel authorisation (ETA) is now a requirement for some people (including children and babies) who do not usually need a visa to come to the UK. It will give you permission to travel to the UK and it will be electronically linked to your passport. An ETA must be applied for online prior to travelling to the UK and is valid for multiple journeys over 2 years, or until the passport you applied with expires, whichever is sooner. An ETA will cost £10 per applicant and you will get a decision within 3 working days.
An ETA is currently required for nationals from Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, or the United Arab Emirates. People from these countries currently need to apply for an ETA before coming to the UK.
The ETA is a new scheme and nationals from more countries will eventually require one. There is a phased rollout from November 2023.
If you are a national from another country, you do not need to apply for an ETA now. More nationalities will be added but it is unlikely anymore will be added before WOMEX 24.
You also do not need an ETA if you have either:
You can sign up to get updates about the ETA rollout here.
You cannot use a national identity card from an EU country, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein to enter the UK unless you: have settled or pre-settled status under the EU settlement scheme, or Jersey, Guernsey, or the Isle of Man’s settlement scheme. More information can be found here.
British citizens, and nationals from EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein can use these channels and can use automatic ePassport gates at some airports if your passport has a ‘chip’ on it and you are 10 or over.
Nationals from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and United States can use the UK/EEA immigration lanes and the automatic ePassport gates too.
This is unless nationals from these countries, have had to:
If so, you cannot use these ePassport gates and must get your passport stamped by a border control officer.
Some musical instruments, especially older ones include CITES listed species and will require you to obtain a Musical Instrument Certificate to travel with the instrument. Protected species commonly used in musical instruments include elephant ivory, certain woods (Pernambuco, Cedrela, Dalbergia – rosewood, ebony, and other material such as tortoiseshell, lizard skin, whalebone, walrus tusk, mother of pearly, corals
The Musical Instrument Certificate (MIC) is issued for one single instrument. The MIC is free, valid for 3 years, and allows you to cross international borders with your musical instrument multiple times, provided it is for non-commercial purposes (i.e. the instrument is not being offered for sale or being sold). Non-commercial purposes include (but are not limited to):
Please check here to work out if you need a Musical Instrument Certificate and what next steps to take. The tool also outlines which designated entry ports to use when travelling to & from the UK with a CITES certificate (MIC).
Selling merchandise at WOMEX will incur costs as WOMEX venues charge merchandise fees (minimum 12.5%). No fees will be applied for gifting when you hand out promo material to delegates for free.
If you are bringing commercial goods into Great Britain, they must be declared. Commercial goods – Merchandise in Baggage – are goods to sell or use in your business where you have travelled to Great Britain carrying goods either in your baggage or in a small vehicle that can carry up to no more than nine people and weighing less than 3.5 tonnes. These are not items that a commercial transport operator has carried for you, or you have paid them to carry the goods for you.
For goods below £2,500, weighing less than 1000kgs and not classed as controlled goods you can make an online declaration in the 5 days before you arrive with your goods. You will have to pay VAT but will have no duty to pay if you are bringing goods that meet the rules of origin under the UK-EU or other UK free trade agreements, and you have relevant documentation to certify that the goods meet these rules. Declaring online in this way allows you to pay in advance, go through the green ‘nothing to declare’ channel. If you choose not to declare and pay in advance, you can go to the red ‘goods to declare’ channel or the red phone point in the customs area to declare your goods and pay what you owe.
Please note - you can bring in a certain amount of goods without paying tax or duty when you transport goods yourself, and use them yourself, or give them away as a gift. This is known as your personal allowance. This allowance is limited and cannot be combined with anyone else’s personal allowance.
If you have specific enquiries or queries about bringing goods in your baggage, please get in touch with our official WOMEX logistics partner – CLS - who can offer advice and support.
Paul Atwood | Paul.attwood@clsexpo.com | +44 (0) 7908 559228
Please direct your visa related enquiries to Rachel Down and email visas@englishfolkexpo.com
WOMEX is committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels comfortable to fully participate and enjoy the event to the fullest.
Visit our dedicated Accessibility page for all event and venue-specific details.
The Awareness Point is located at the Information Point, near the Trade Fair entrance at Manchester Central, and is open from 10:00 to 18:00, from Thursday to Saturday. Look out for our awareness team wearing purple high-visibility vests.
Support Sessions
In addition to general support, the Music Support team offers on-site Support sessions in a private space. These consultations consist of 30-minute sessions available daily on Thursday and Friday.
Email to book a Support Session: Helpline@musicsupport.org
In the subject line write – Support Session.
Representatives from our additional partner organisations will be available at the Awareness Point during the following time slots:
