The 30th WOMEX World Music Fair took place in Manchester, UK, October 23-27, bringing together 2,850 music professionals from 118 countries. For the tenth time, Music Information Centre Lithuania’s umbrella stand was part of the joint Baltic Pavilion, whose visitors had an exclusive opportunity to experience the unique Baltic SPA.

WOMEX is all about the international world music market and its participants. The fair, which takes place in a different country each year, focuses on a specific region, with a conference and a showcase music festival, a film programme, contributes to networking and is an effective tool for the international promotion of music and culture. The Lithuanian delegation this year comprised nine music industry professionals from different fields.

Vilius Arlauskas, the organiser of the Saulės muzika festival, who participated in the fair for the second time, said that he had gained new knowledge and made new acquaintances: "Personally, I paid most attention to meetings with the organisers of different festivals, potential partners for future projects, and interacted with visitors at the stand."

It is important to add that since 2019, the three Baltic States have been hosting their national stands next to each other at the fair, thus increasing the visibility of the region and increasing cooperation between them. "I think that the joint stand was really visible in the context of the whole fair, and the strengthened inter-institutional relations will continue to develop and will continue to generate interest in Baltic creators," Arlauskas shared his impressions.

Donatas Bielkauskas, a first-time visitor and Golden Stage Cross winner found WOMEX interesting, full of surprises, inspiration and charm. "I had the opportunity to get to know the organisers of festivals and events better. I was most interested in the music of the Baltic region – I wanted to find out what our neighbours live by, what ideas they bring to the world music scene and what sources of inspiration they seek for their festivals. I believe that the connections I have made will open up new opportunities for me and for our culture, and will be the impetus for new work and creative connections."

This year's Lithuanian delegation was also joined by Andrius Šiūrys and Paulina Simutytė of the dark jazz band lazy diamond’s underground, Jausmė, a kanklės player and singer who performed at last year's WOMEX festival, and Vaidas Andriuškevičius, the head of the concert institution Kauno santaka, who in his impressions particularly emphasised Manchester's musicianship and the fact that this music industry event brought together the community for the 30th time.

Laurita Peleniūtė, a performer and nurturer of sutartinės, who has been participating in WOMEX for many years, noticed while working at the stand that a frequent delegate of the fair who visited here mentioned that he was highly recommended to come here. "Our only joint stand featured the mysterious Baltic SPA, where anyone tired of the hustle and bustle of the fair could get a personal treatment session," said L. Peleniūtė.

This ritual, in which a person is wrapped in a scarf and listens to the live performance of the songs by members of the international collective The Baltic Sisters, left no one indifferent and moved some people to tears. L. Peleniūtė, one of the members of this collective, which gathered specifically at WOMEX, also added that most likely these people will not hear sutartinės anywhere else, only at WOMEX.

The Lithuanian umbrella stand at WOMEX, funded this year by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and the Vilnius City Municipality, will travel to Tampere, Finland next year. In October 2025, the event will take place there after a six-year break.

"After the 2019 event in Tampere, all the participants of the first Baltic Pavilion WOMEX were united by strong motivation to work together in this event, but soon after a pandemic struck and spoiled all the work and the planned tours. By inviting us back to their country, the Finns are giving another chance to turn the eyes of the whole WOMEX community towards our region, its organisations and the undiscovered musical treasures that many have yet to discover. We are already starting to prepare for it now and we feel the support of our neighbours from Scandinavia and other countries, which has grown significantly over the last years," Radvilė Buivydienė, Head of the Music Information Centre Lithuania, said about the future plans.

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The Lithuanian umbrella stand was financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Vilnius City Municipality.