WOMEX 26 opens to the public in Las Palmas: nine free concerts at the Espigón and an €85 pass for the rest

From tonight, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has free music from Kenya, Togo, Morocco and Colombia by the sea. WOMEX 26, the international world music fair, opens its concerts to the public from Thursday 22 to Saturday 24 October around the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, at the end of Las Canteras beach. Of the 50 concerts scheduled, nine are free, on the Plaza Stage in the Plaza del Espigón; for the rest you need to buy a ticket.

WOMEX (Worldwide Music Expo) is not a typical festival. It is the major professional gathering for world music: it has been organised since 1994 by the Berlin-based company Piranha Arts, it changes host city frequently, and it brings together programmers, labels, agencies and artists for a trade fair, conferences and screenings. More than 2,500 professionals from around 90 countries are expected at this edition, according to RTVC and Canarias7. The fair and the conferences are for accredited delegates. What is open to the public are the evening showcases, 45-minute concerts in which artists present themselves to the people who book tours and festivals.

This is the second time WOMEX has come to Gran Canaria. In 2018 it brought 2,700 delegates from 92 countries to the island, according to RTVC, and Spain had previously hosted it in Sevilla, Santiago de Compostela and, in 2023, A Coruña. The institutions supporting it this year include the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council and the office of the city's bid to be European Capital of Culture in 2031.

The nine free concerts at the Espigón, night by night

The Plaza Stage is the only outdoor stage: it is in the Plaza del Espigón, behind the Auditorio and next to the sea. You do not need to buy anything, as the festival website describes it as "free entry, subject to capacity", although it has not published how many people it holds. There are three concerts a night, always at the same times, and the last one each day starts after midnight.

Thursday 22 October

• 21:45: A Pedreira (Spain), a Galician singer-songwriter, as part of the Sounds From Spain programme.
• 23:15: Saad Tiouly (Morocco), who takes gnawa music towards electronica.
• 00:45: Claudio Rabe (Madagascar and Réunion), somewhere between rock, tsapiky trance and African psychedelia.

Friday 23 October

• 21:45: Kasiva Mutua (Kenya), a percussionist who blends folk tales with a pan-African sound.
• 23:15: Nana Benz du Togo (Togo), an electronic, voodoo and soul quintet who play homemade instruments, such as PVC pipes.
• 00:45: Soba (Burkina Faso, Congo and France), an African blues trio.

Saturday 24 October

• 21:45: Enkelé (Colombia), seven women with marimba and songs of Afro-Colombian heritage.
• 23:15: Saodaj (Réunion), the island's traditional roots with contemporary arrangements.
• 00:45: Baile do Mestre Cupijó (Brazil), with the Amazonian rhythms of the state of Pará.

There is one detail worth knowing: paid tickets include priority access to the front of the Plaza Stage. With limited capacity and no public figure, anyone going without a ticket who wants to see the first concert up close would do well to arrive before 21:45.

€85 pass or a ticket per night: what each includes

Official sales are on the event page at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, and the organisers warn that tickets bought elsewhere may not be valid. Prices do not include booking fees:

• Full pass, €85: all three nights, with every concert, freedom to move between stages, priority access to the front and to the seating area, and all the film screenings.
• Day pass, €25 on Thursday and €30 on Friday or Saturday: that night's concerts and film. The Friday and Saturday passes also include the Club Summit, the DJ session that starts at around 01:30. Priority access is limited to the Plaza Stage.

The maths is simple: 25 + 30 + 30 adds up to 85, exactly what the pass costs. Buying it saves nothing; it is worth it for the convenience and the priority access, and anyone who can only go one night just needs that day's ticket. The website does not make clear whether the full pass also includes the Club Summit, which does appear on the Friday and Saturday tickets.

The Auditorio announces doors opening at 20:30 and the first concerts at 21:00. On the event page it also states that under-16s may only enter accompanied by an adult or guardian, and that 16- and 17-year-olds need written authorisation to enter on their own.

What you can hear on the paid stages

The other five stages host 41 concerts. Four are at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus (Theatre, Borondón, Atlantic Connections and Club Summit) and the fifth, offWOMEX, is at the Sala Gabriel Rodó. Start times are staggered: Theatre and Borondón start at 21:00, Atlantic Connections at 21:30 and offWOMEX at 21:45, at the same time as the Espigón. With a ticket you can hop between venues, although several concerts overlap in each slot and you have to choose.

Atlantic Connections brings together Spanish, Portuguese and Cuban artists. On Thursday, Canarian artist Lula Mora, a Sonora 2026 finalist, opens at 21:30. On Friday it is Ketekalles (21:30) and L'arannà (23:00). On Saturday it is the turn of Fillas de Cassandra (21:30), who share a night with Rodrigo Cuevas in March at CoraSons in Santiago, followed by Bi-Fado and Le Parody.

In the other venues, the programme covers half the map: Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté (Mali) and Daoirí Farrell Trio (Ireland) on Thursday; Tiganá Santana (Brazil and France) and Ahmed Moneka (Iraq and Canada) on Friday; and Mai Dhai (Pakistan) and Robinson Khoury (France) on Saturday. The Club Summit closes Friday with Aziz Konkrite and Puppy Sierna, until 03:30, and Saturday with Taiga, DJ Fantôme and Crystn Hunt Akron, until 04:30.

The weather: a dry night tonight and a risk of light rain on Friday

AEMET's forecast for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, updated this morning, has Thursday dry at night: after a day of cloudy spells and some light rain, the probability drops to 0% between 18:00 and midnight, with mostly clear skies and temperatures between 21 and 26 degrees.

On Friday the picture changes. AEMET forecasts a cloudy day with light rain, a 40% chance between 18:00 and midnight and overcast skies at night. For the early hours and morning of Saturday it rises to 75%, just when Soba are playing at the Espigón, and from midday to midnight it drops to 35%. Temperatures stay between 23 and 26 degrees, with northerly winds of 15 to 20 kilometres per hour.

There is no roof at the Espigón and the organisers have not explained what happens to the Plaza Stage if it rains. For Friday night, a rain jacket takes up less space than an umbrella and does not block anyone's view.

Where each stage is and how to get there

The three venues are a few minutes' walk from each other: the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, on avenida Príncipe de Asturias; the Sala Gabriel Rodó, on paseo Príncipe de Asturias; and the Plaza del Espigón, behind the Auditorio. Since the network reorganisation in June 2025, the Auditorio area has been an interchange for Guaguas Municipales: lines that stop there include the 17, which comes from Triana; the 47, from Tamaraceite; and the 49, which runs along Las Canteras from the Puerto. The concerts finish at 01:30, and later at the Club Summit, so it is worth checking the night service on the Guaguas website or app before setting off.

The organisers describe WOMEX 26 as highly accessible for wheelchair users and people with reduced mobility, and acknowledge that there is less support for people with hearing or visual impairments. In Gran Canaria, October had already brought the piano and orchestras of the Finca Festival; upcoming events in the eastern islands are listed in the festivals in Las Palmas guide.

Sources: WOMEX 26 public website (programme, tickets, venues and accessibility) and WOMEX website; event page at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, consulted on 22 October 2026; Canarias7 (20 October 2026), on the Plaza Stage concerts; RTVC (29 September 2026), on the 2018 edition and expected attendance; RTVC (19 June 2025), on the Guaguas Municipales lines; AEMET forecast for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria of 22 October 2026.