THERE is just one week to go until the global party that is WOMAD kicks off in fields of Charlton Park in Malmesbury.

Wiltshire's premier festival promises a colourful kaleidoscope of artists, who will take to the stage for over three days of music, dance and culture.

But as seasoned festival goers will know, there is more than just music on offer at WOMAD.

The World of Children will be buzzing with fun and games as this year’s theme is Insects, celebrating insects and their important role in our ecosystem.

There is everything from the festival’s smallest Marionette Insect Circus to Aerial Bug Fun where children can have a go at flying, gliding and swinging away on a giant trapeze, with workshops and activities in between.

There is also world of adventure to discover including dancing your socks off with Bollywood fitness or Ska Aerobics, strumming along with Family Ukulele, enjoying Dance Music Collective UK’s dance stories or being entranced by African Sambistas.

There are also circus skills, den building, slacklining, parachute games and more to get stuck into.

But it is not just children who will be encouraged to have fun, with diverse workshops for everyone across the WOMAD site.

And if this builds up an appetite a mouth-watering menu is being rustled up at the Taste the World stage this year, with dishes from five continents being knocked up by some of WOMAD’s top artists, with off the cuff performances and personal anecdotes thrown in.

WOMAD’S World of Words will be a lively place to let off steam with brimming with vibrant and diverse discussions, poetry slams, interviews and author chats, with some of the literary world’s top stars taking to the stage.

Authors Chibundu Onuzo, Roma Tearne and Anbara Salam talk about their latest novels, with top-notch comedy and storytelling from Jess Thom and James Rowland, as well as insightful an interview with and all-female Latin American supergroup LADAMA, whilst Buddhist monk Gelong Thubten gives audiences an insight into mindfulness and meditation – join him on Saturday morning in the Big Red tent at 9:25am.

Over in the Physics Pavilion, it’s a world of adventure as CERN, the Institute of Physics and Lancaster University present a programme packed full of mind-boggling experiments and wondrous workshops for everyone to enjoy. From the Physics of Gin to Science Rap from biology beatboxer Jon Chase to the Physics of Football with Dr Ken Bray to an insight into hacking by mastermind Freaky Clown, it’s a whole galaxy for festival-goers to explore.

WOMAD runs July 26-29

womad.co.uk