The 2001 WomAdelaide festival was the biggest, most ambitious and possibly the most successful ever. It was -as is usual -a GREAT festival - despite excessive heat on the last day , the cancelling of Femi Kuti at the last moment and talk of the event being moved to another Australian city if it did not become more profitable in the future.

    But all this was incidental. The music , the setting and the people prevailed As usual; WomAdelaide was just wonderful.

    So wonderful that , over the course of the weekend, despite the debilitating heat, despite the lack of sleep and the hectic schedule, I kept on thinking that , certainly in Australia, but perhaps even on the entire planet ,this just might be the most peaceful and happy spot that there could be - and all through the aid of the World Of Music , Arts and Dance , but also - as I keep on going on about incessently - the incredible festival setting .

    Botanic Park is the main reason why I think that we would lose much of the present magical quality of Womad if we moved the festival to another venue. The park is magnificent.There's no other word for it.The exotic mix of vegetation , the sheer profusion of trees around the stages and the festival village which provides a bounty of shade and beauty is just out of this world .......

Stage four nestled amid shady gums at Botanic Park .