The cream of international artists descends on an unlikely corner of southern England this weekend for the planet’s biggest celebration of world music.

WOMAD – the World of Music and Dance – returns to Charlton Park, Malmesbury, today for the first of four packed days of performances from artists as far away as Sudan, Colombia, Iran and Finland.

Big names include Django Django, Gilles Peterson, Leftfield playing Leftism Live and drum & bass pioneer Goldie, all from Britain; The Original Gypsies of Carmague, Mali’s Amadou & Mariam, Dobet Gnahoré from Côte d’Ivoire and Ireland’s Sharon Shannon.

The global party kicks off today with the sound of Jamaican megastar Ken Boothe bringing his reggae beats, and genre-defying collective Jazzanova featuring Paul Randolph who will perform a fusion of super-cool nu-jazz and soul.

Tomorrow will see a rich kaleidoscope of sounds from all over the world: the glorious Hashmat Sultana, two Punjabi sisters making their UK debut as winners of India’s X Factor equivalent in an incredible rags-to-riches story; the fabulous K.O.G & the Zongo Brigade (UK via Ghana) also making their first WOMAD appearance with their sensational full-on afrobeat, dancehall, reggae, jazz and dub nine-piece and then former members of the Gipsy Kings The Original Gypsies of Carmague whose rumba infused flamenco and guitars will conjure up Mediterranean vibes.

Also warming things up will be homegrown talent Kojey Radical, South American female supergroup LADAMA, shimmering soul and folk from Estonian Mari Kalkun, Polish punk rockers Hańba!, dance music legend Leftfield and a DJ set from Goldie.

Big-hitters from Saturday’s line up include Cuban-Jamaican collective Havana Meets Kingston, West African songstress Dobet Gnahoré, new funk and soul project from Bombay Bicycle Club’s Mr Jukes, Malian music’s golden couple Amadou & Mariam, as well as tour-de-force Parisian Camille, the ‘French Bjork’.

Electric Fields blend electronica, soul and indigenous sound, while punk meets country country with the Well Oiled Sisters.

Things certainly don’t wind down on Sunday, with sets from rockers Django Django, smooth jazz and soul sounds from Ethiopian-American Meklit, Afro-psychedelic seven-piece BCUC and DJ Gilles Peterson.

Spain’s Amparanoia mixes up bolero, rumba, pop and son, while Melissa Laveaux explores her Haitian roots.

Then there are spoken word performances and incredible food and shopping, a Physics Pavilion, World of Wellbeing and WOMAD Spa – making it the most chilled festival on the planet.

WOMAD, Charlton Park, Malmesbury. Today-Sunday.

Go to womad.co.uk