On Wednesday 23 October 2024, the first day of the Worldwide Music Expo (WOMEX) officially kicked off at Manchester Central. WOMEX is an international and culturally diverse music meeting and the biggest conference of the global music scene, featuring a trade fair, talks, films and showcase concerts. Over 2,500 professionals, including 260 performing artists, come together from 90 countries, making WOMEX the leading networking platform for the world music industry.
It hosts 7 stages, around 700 exhibiting companies, 100+ speakers, films, an opening concert and an award ceremony across five packed networking days, with performances around Manchester each evening, hosted at venues such as Albert Hall, Aviva Studios and O2 Ritz.
Manchester’s rich history of creative innovation, iconic music scene and passionate community of artists and music enthusiasts made it an ideal host for this milestone 30th edition.
The conference ran for five days and hosted a number of insightful panels that discussed topics from regional and international collaborations to women artists in war, the UK Jazz revival and music in video games.
The opening ceremony at Bridgewater Hall saw delegates welcomed to the city. Hosted by Mancunian music legend DJ Paulette, the evening was filled with introductions, including from the Lord Mayor of Manchester Paul Andrews, who called Manchester ‘The city of firsts’ and quoted Tony Walsh saying ‘some are born here, some are drawn here, we all call it home’ when talking about the cities growing population.
Deputy leader of Manchester City Council, Gary Bridges also welcomed the delegation to the city, saying Manchester was the perfect place to celebrate WOMEX’s 30-year anniversary as the city will ‘showcase UK music at its very best’
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham was next on the stage, talking about Manchester’s rich music history and future. Celebrating what a music-filled year 2024 has been for the city, with the opening of Co-op Live, multiple large-scale music conferences and festivals and the arrival of the MTV VMA awards in November. He went on to say:
‘In divided times, we must bring people together through music. Let’s celebrate music, diversity and equality’
Following the welcomes, the audience was treated to four Manchester-based artist performances, these included Dirty Freud, Vulva Voce, Heather Ferrier and Agbeko.
The first day was full of insightful discussion, starting with ethics and decolonisation which discussed Kamila Rymajdo’s research ‘The 0161 rap gap: the marginalisation of Black rap musicians in Manchester’s live music scene’ and how the city is working to eradicate racial bias and class stigma. The panel was joined by Manchester-based magazine SEEN co-founder Balraj Samrai.
Following this session was a panel on Local and Regional Collaborations, where discussions covered the growing partnership between Berlin and Manchester artists and collectives. The panel then went on to discuss innovative approaches to overcoming common challenges among festival organisers, artists, and music industry professionals from Africa and Europe.
Later in the day, panels around Chilean music and the world of dynamic Chilean female artists who are boldly challenging social norms, advocating for gender equality, and reshaping cultural and political landscapes through their music. Followed by an afternoon that included focused networking sessions on music education and women in music.
Alongside the panel sessions, Manchester Central also hosted the WOMEX trade show. Manchester Music City and Band on the Wall both had a large presence, talking to prospective partners, collaborators and clients about what Manchester’s rich music culture has to offer.