A wet start to the first day of Wiltshire’s biggest ‘mother ship’ festival

Attendees of Wiltshire’s biggest music festival may be worried when they wake up to gray skies across the county.

Rain this morning is forecast to continue later in the day on day one of WOMAD in Malmesbury.

The world music and arts festival runs from Thursday 25 July to Sunday 28 July and has attracted 40,000 people in previous editions.

Speaking to this newspaper, Chris Smith, festival director, said: “The weather really is the key.

“It’s the difference between it being the biggest or just wet and muddy.”

Some rain is forecast for the early to mid-afternoon.

The rest of the festival weekend weather from Friday to Sunday is expected to be sunny and in the twenties.

Chris said: “The weather forecast remains very positive despite our current autumnal condition. So we feel very positive about the weather.”

The event attracts musicians from over 50 countries and still calls Wiltshire the ‘mothership’, although it takes place in other countries.

It calls itself the place to “hear the best music you’ve never heard.”

Last year, the festival was wet, with organizers asking attendees to bring wellies and rain jackets. No such warning was issued this year, with organizers looking forward to three sunnier days.