Statement on the Postponement of World Groove Festival

It’s with a heavy heart that we share this news: World Groove Festival, originally scheduled for Saturday 27th September 2025 at Reading Minster, will be postponed until further notice.

Despite the incredible energy and passion behind this event — from the artists, the team, and our community — lower-than-expected pre-sale numbers, combined with the realities of being a fully self-funded festival, mean we have not reached the minimum financial target required to proceed with confidence this year.

This was not an easy decision. Every detail of this festival — especially the lineup — was curated with care and intention. We truly believed this would be a spectacular, spirit-lifting day for the town and a celebration of global music, community, and connection. To not share it with you all, at least for now, is heartbreaking.

We want to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who’s supported us so far — especially the phenomenal artists who believed in this vision, our volunteers, our partners, and everyone who bought a ticket or helped spread the word. Your support means more than we can say, and as a gesture of goodwill, we’ll still be awarding our raffle prize as planned — we’ll be announcing and contacting the winner shortly.

If you’ve already bought a ticket, you’ll be contacted shortly regarding a full refund.

Some of you have kindly asked if you can support the festival by donating instead. Refunds will be issued automatically, but if you’d like to make a donation, please get in touch with us via the online form at https://www.worldgroove.co.uk/contactus. Any contributions will help us recover from this year and secure the festival’s future.

You can also use the same form to share your feedback, as we’d really love to hear from you. If you were interested in the event but didn’t get a ticket — we’d be so grateful to hear your thoughts. Was it timing? Pricing? Line-up? Location? Your insights will help shape the next chapter of World Groove Festival.

Please bear with us as we work through emails and responses — we’re a very small team, and it may take a little time to reply to everyone.

This is a postponement — not a goodbye. We still believe in this festival’s power to bring people together, and we’re exploring ways to make it happen in the future, with the right support behind it.

With warmth and gratitude,
The World Groove Festival Team

World Groove CIC proudly present

WORLDGROOVE

FESTIVAL 2025

A celebration of music and culture from around the globe

SATURDAY 27th SEPTEMBER

To be held in Central Reading within the beautiful surroundings of:

Reading Minster

St Mary's Butts, Reading, RG1 2LG

Live music with bar available >> Doors open 6pm - 11pm

In partnership with:

The Line-Up

World Groove are so proud and excited to be bringing you the opportunity to see such an eclectic range of artists from all around the world in one place on one night in Reading. Here is a bit more about them:

Ganda Boys

The Ganda Boys (formerly known as Da Twinz) formed during 2008 through an exciting collaboration on the highly acclaimed 2009 BBC-TV drama series, Moses Jones.

Originally from Uganda, London based lead singers Denis Mugagga and Daniel Sewagudde are internationally recognised, with 21 GRAMMY artists joining their song “The Forgotten People” in Studio City, Los Angeles.

Stevie Wonder is a big fan of the Ganda Boys, appearing in public with the band during 2019 to support their work.

https://gandaboys.com/

Imperio Bamba

London Latin Rebel Music from South America.

Psychedelic, Afro-Peruvian, Chicha! Imperio Bamba is a representation of Latin American music diversity, with members from the Cono Sur. Telling their stories through songs they conjure a feeling of community and of creating a home far away from home.

https://www.imperiobamba.com/

Cheng Yu

An internationally renowned pipa and guqin virtuoso and scholar.

Since coming to the UK Cheng Yu has performed at various prestigious venues and with artists such as Lang Lang, Damon Albarn, Tan Dun, and Gabriel Prokofiev.

https://chengyumusic.com/