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For anyone and everyone inspired by International Women’s Day last weekend (March 8) to keep the conversation around equality going, we have good news for you. Billed as ‘the world’s biggest, most comprehensive festival celebrating women, girls and non-binary people’, Women of the World festival, or WOW for short, has announced its return to the Southbank Centre next year.
WOW is the brainchild of theatre director Jude Kelly CBE, who launched the festival in 2010 when she was artistic director at the Southbank Centre. Since its debut, it’s fair to say the festival has had serious global success, putting on 150 festivals around the world in places like Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Finland, Greece, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Somaliland and the USA.
Luckily for us Londoners, WOW is returning to its hometown in 2027. The flagship festival is set to take over Royal Festival Hall on March 5-7 2027.
The lineup for next year’s event is still under wraps, but speakers, activists, musicians, artists and comedians are all expected to take the stage over three days. Previous guests include mighty names like Angela Davis, Annie Lennox, Patrick Stewart, Malala Yousafzai and Salma Hayek.
Ahead of next year’s fest, WOW hosted a roundtable this week (on March 10) to address violence against women and girls. According to the National Police Chief's Council, one woman was killed by a man every three days in 2025 and one in 12 women experienced violence.
WOW brought together more than 20 experts from government, business, philanthropy, the arts and the third sector to discuss what can be done to inspire collaborative action, and outcomes from the discussion will shape the programming for the 2027 festival.
One thing we can say for sure about the 2027 event is that WOW’s Shameless! Festival of Activism Against Sexual Violence, which first took place in 2021, will be returning for a second time.
Plus, the festival is also committed to bringing boys and men into the gender equality conversation and reshaping the narrative around masculinity. To tackle this, it’s co-presenting a MenCare Changemaker Summit with global gender equality charity Equimundo in Rio de Janeiro in May 2026.
As for Women of the World’s London festival 2027, the initial line-up will be announced in the coming months with early bird passes going on sale in the summer.
Women of the World 2027, Royal Festival Hall, March 5-7 2027.
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