WOMAD Paraglides Pro-Hamas Band Into New Zealand To Save A Dying Festival

NEW PLYMOUTH, NZ — In a desperate bid to resuscitate its floundering reputation, the WOMAD festival in Taranaki’s Bowl of Brooklands has taken to the skies—literally.

Once a celebrated showcase of world music, the event has been on life support since the COVID lockdowns, with attendance plummeting faster than a lead balloon.

Organisers, clinging to relevance, have leaned hard into the "AOTEAROA" rebrand, a move critics call a woke pandering to freedom-fighting hipsters bent on deconstructing New Zealand’s identity. This year, they upped the ante by paragliding Palestinian band 47Soul into the festival, hoping a dose of pro-Hamas flair would spark a revival.

The stunt, however, landed with a thud. Attendance, already battered by years of preachy programming, barely ticked up. Locals, once lured by the promise of global rhythms and overpriced falafel, stayed home.

At publishing time, WOMAD’s grand experiment ended in a death knell. The organisers announced the festival’s permanent shutdown.