• Music from Russia to Senegal, Poland to Tibet booked for the BBC Radio 3 Charlie Gillett stage
• More coverage than ever, with over ten hours of live broadcasts from the festival
• 2016 BBC Introducing Radio 3 world music acts unveiled in their WOMAD debuts
• Joining World on 3 presenters Lopa Kothari and Mary-Ann Kennedy, acclaimed folk performer Kathryn Tickell plus Cerys Matthew
• Live simultaneous broadcast on 6 Music and Radio 3
• Special exclusive WOMAD sessions to be filmed for online audiences

BBC Radio 3 announced today that it will continue its commitment to world and roots music with a series of broadcasts from WOMAD, the leading festival for world music. The broadcasts will include specially curated performances booked by BBC Radio 3 from across the globe on the BBC Radio 3 Charlie Gillett Stage; highlights of performances and interviews from other stages including Siam Tent and Open Air Stage; more bespoke performances from a session tent filmed for online broadcast; and the unveiling of this year’s BBC Introducing Radio 3 world music artists in their WOMAD debut. Alan Davey Controller BBC Radio 3 commented: “World and roots music are a big part of BBC Radio 3’s remit as a place that connects audiences with remarkable music and culture. As the only broadcaster with a dedicated world music programme I’m delighted we have such a strong relationship with WOMAD who are a leading light in bringing interesting music to a broad audience. We too think it’s important and that’s why we’ve increased our coverage this year.” Regular World on 3 presenters, Lopa Kothari and Mary-Ann Kennedy, will present the Radio 3 coverage from 29th July – 31st July and for the first time; acclaimed folk performer Kathryn Tickell will join them. A leading light in Northumbrian folk music and guest presenter for World on 3, Kathryn is a celebrated player of the Northumbrian small pipes and won Musician of the Year at Radio 2 Folk Awards 2013. Cerys Matthews returns to WOMAD, presenting her BBC Radio 6Music programme from 10.00am on Sunday 31st July. Also, following a successful collaboration in 2015, BBC Radio 3 will team up with Cerys for a joint broadcast which will go out simultaneously on both stations from 11.30am – 1.30pm Sunday 31 July. Special artists featured will include Dom La Nena and Bafula, who were discovered by BBC Radio 3 as part of BBC Introducing World Music 2016. This year’s the BBC Radio 3 line up on the Charlie Gillett Stage includes: Alash: Having wowed the audiences at the Sayan Ring Festival in Siberia, WOMAD now encounters some of the best throat singers Tuva has to offer. They were formed from the Tuvan National Orchestra by American scholar and musician Sean Quirk, who lives in Tuva. He has been given the national accolade ‘Merited Artist of Tuva’, and he joined the band in a special fireside performance for President Vladimir Putin in 2007. Amaraterra: Discovered by BBC Radio 3 as part of BBC Introducing World Music 2016, Amaraterra is a group of passionate expats from the Salento. The ensemble has grown into a multi-national group, presenting its audience with a joyful and energetic selection of pizzica and roots music from all over the South of Italy. Bafula: Discovered by BBC Radio 3 as part of BBC Introducing World Music 2016, Bafula are a new group formed when Gambian percussionist, Seneke Sillah, and kora master and griot Jali Bakary Konteh started working together in London in 2015. Their vision was to create a group blending traditional melodies and rhythms from Gambia with western styles of music to create a unique and intoxicating concoction of traditional Mandinka folk, funk, rock and jazz. The name Bafula comes from a confluence of two rivers in West Africa where sweet and salty waters meet and flow together. Diabel Cissokho: Senegalese kora player and singer who first made his name in Baaba Maal’s band, and has since gone solo. His new album is named after the area where he grew up – Tambacounda in Senegal – and his music is rooted in the traditional styles of Senegal and Mali, expressed in a dazzling virtuosity. Dom La Nena: Dominique Pinto, known by her stage name Dom La Nena, is a Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter. She was born in 1989 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and began studying piano at the age of five, before shifting to the cello three years later. After studying with American cellist Christine Walevska in Buenos Aires for several years Dom moved to Paris where she met singer-songwriter Piers Faccini. The results of the partnership were thirteen compositions that would become Dom's debut album, Ela. Kel Assouf: A Brussels-based band founded by Touareg singer and guitarist Aboubacar 'Anana' Harouna, who moved to Europe from Niger. The band members come from Mauritania, Ghana, France and Algeria, and for their new album ‘Tikounen’ they were joined by the distinctive desert singing style of Toulou Kiki. Kel Assouf means ‘the nostalgic ones’, and the band enriches traditional desert blues with rock guitar and Afrobeat styles. Le Vent du Nord: acclaimed as one of the top bands of Quebec, the group have been recording and touring since 2002. They are still rooted in their aim of bringing the energy and fun of a Quebec Saturday night kitchen party to a global audience. Ngawang Lodup with the Monks of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery: BBC Introducing Radio 3 World Music artist, Ngawang Lodup peformed his debut at WOMAD in 2015 and went on to perform at the 02 for the Dalai Lama. This summer he returns to WOMAD to perform for BBC Radio 3 and is touring with the monks of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. The original Tashi Lhunpo Monsatery is one of the most important historical centres of Tibetan Buddhism. Otava Yo: Since the end of the Soviet era, Russia has been rediscovering its folk music, for so long sanitised and commercialised in previous years. Otava Yo are based in St Petersburg, yearning to rediscover folk heritage but who can’t quite get away from the fact that they were brought up in the era of punk. They have taken their anarchic mix across Russia and to India, China and America– the band is coming over especially for Radio 3, and this is their UK Festival debut. Volosi: A Polish string band making their WOMAD debut – the band combines conservatory-trained classical players with rural folk musicians from the Carpathian Mountains, creating a lively blend of traditional folk tunes with new compositions. In their exploration of neglected Polish roots, they describe their style as ‘remembering something we have forgotten.’ Woamd Festival 2016 takes place at Charlton Park, Wiltshire between 28 and 31 July. Tickets are available now.