WOW London Festival 2027 Reveals Further Lineup

WOW - Women of the World has announced the initial Day Pass Programme for WOW London 2027; the world's biggest festival celebrating women, girls and non-binary people, returning to London from 5 - 7 March to mark International Women's Day 2027.

Across three days WOW will take over London's Southbank Centre for a weekend of joy, urgency, laughter and rage, featuring a packed line-up of world-class speakers, inspirational activists, musicians, artists and comedians. Through discussions, workshops, performances and debates, the festival line-up will collectively explore solutions to the pressing issues of gender inequality and delve into the urgent questions shaping our lives.

Featuring a different line-up each day, WOW's Day Pass Programme will provide audiences with the opportunity to choose from a wide variety of events and discussions. Spanning the personal and the political, the serious and the joyful, the festival sessions will cover a broad spectrum of topics from climate change to technology, housing precarity to choosing not to have children, political instability to reproductive justice, the mental load, learning to code, dating apps, sex and pleasure, sporting heroes, trad wives, pay and pension gaps and much more.

For the first time WOW will also incorporate two distinct programme strands into its London festival. Inspired by the organisation's Shameless! Festival, one strand will focus on how to end sexual violence, while the other, inspired by WOW's Men & Boys events, will address everything from whats happening to boys online to men's pivotal role in the fight to achieve gender equity. Festival-goers can choose to explore and engage with these themes as part of the festival's Day Pass Programme.

WOW founder Jude Kelly CBE will open the festival on the Friday morning, setting the tone for a day of big questions and bold ideas. Acclaimed author Laura Bates, founder of Everyday Sexism joins educator and speaker Ben Hurst, to dissect misogyny, its impact and how we challenge the cultures that allow it to thrive. Author and journalist Poorna Bell discusses what it means to build a meaningful life outside motherhood, whilst further sessions throughout the day will delve into issues such as the booming weight-loss drug phenomenon, exploring body image, diet culture and eating disorders, alongside the links between beauty pressures, power and sexual violence.

BBC Radio 1Xtra broadcaster Richie Brave will take part in a moving conversation about sibling loss as part of the Saturday Day Pass Programme, exploring the unique grief of losing someone who has been part of your story from the very beginning. Activist and artist Joeli Brearley brings her expertise and campaigning spirit to conversations about work, equality and parenthood whilst artist and educator Kay Rufai explores identity, vulnerability and self-expression through his playful Mask On, Mask Off workshop. Other sessions throughout the Saturday will explore topics such as bonesmashing and bigorexia, unpack   looksmaxxing and the pursuit of the 'perfect' face and body, and consider how to counter some of the pressures facing young people online. Additional speakers who will form part of the Saturday line up include comedian and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig and writer, speaker and model Maxine Heron and podcaster Freddie Feltham, host of What's Left Podcast with more to be announced.

On the final day of the Festival, the Sunday Day Pass Programme will bring together acclaimed authors Aja Barber, Natasha Walter, Angela Saini and journalist and activist Zahra Joya to discuss what feminism can offer in turbulent times, exploring solidarity, inequality, power and possibilities for building a fairer future. Professor Joanna Bourke will join the conversation around “Himpathy”, whose pain gets centred, who gets humanised and how gender shapes the stories we tell about people who cause harm. The session will examine why men who harm women can so often receive sympathetic backstories, while victims are pushed out of the frame. Further sessions will feature performances by poet Hollie McNish as part of her 2027 UK tour, musician, artist, writer and activist Jordan Stephens will discuss masculinity, mental health, identity and change.

Throughout the weekend there'll be music, joyful pop ups, laughter and ways to get involved - more to be announced.

Headlining the Friday night in the Royal Festival Hall, WOW presents two of the most influential names in gender equity, French activist and author Gisèle Pelicot and US activist and founder of the #MeToo movement Tarana Burke who will share the stage for the first time in a conversation hosted by WOW Founder Jude Kelly. As the world marks ten years since the MeToo hashtag sparked a global movement, Burke and Pelicot will explore how shame begins to change sides, and what it takes to build a world where justice is possible. The headline events for Saturday and Sunday are to be announced. A second headline event on Saturday night will be announced in the coming months.

Founded by Jude Kelly, WOW is a global alliance of 33 partners working together to drive an equal and inclusive future for women, girls and non-binary people. Since its inception in 2010, WOW has delivered 150 festivals and programmes, across 71 places and six continents, inspiring millions of participants to take action and make change.

Jude Kelly, said: “We are delighted to be bringing the WOW Festival back to London in 2027 for what will be a truly unforgettable festival – bringing thousands of people of all genders together to explore how to imagine and build an equal world. For more than 15 years, WOW - Women of the World has brought people together in cities across the world, from Sydney to Karachi and Rio, to have meaningful and open conversations. As always, we'll be discussing the most critical subjects of our time alongside moments of pure joy and celebration.”

Attracting five million people worldwide to date, WOW has supported thousands of activists, brought previously taboo subjects into mainstream dialogue and acted as a catalyst for the launch and success of countless campaigns. WOW's unique methodology connects a diverse range of people and audiences to a multitude of stories and perspectives, both informing and galvanising them to make positive change, including through WOW 365, a Membership programme for supporters to stay connected to WOW all year round, belong to the global WOW community and help make WOW's work possible.

After attending a WOW event 64% take action and 84% of people feel a gender equal world is possible compared to just 58% who haven't attended. Upcoming 2026 festivals and events include WOW Cairns in Australia this September, Day of the Girl celebrations in London and Brisbane, Reclaim the Night in Rotherham in November, and WOW Kathmandu in December. 

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