Annie Lennox, Sandi Toksvig, Anoushka Shankar, Jordan Stephens and Liz Carrhave today joined the line-up for WOW at 15, our 15th anniversary year celebration, which will take place on International Women’s Day Saturday 8 March, at the Royal Albert Hall.

Led by WOW Founder Jude Kelly CBE, this special one-off event, filled with big ideas and conversations, laughter, joy, stories, music and performance, will celebrate the significant impact WOW has made by shifting the dial on gender equity, and look to the future to discuss the urgent challenges that still need to be overcome.

Following her sold out concert at the Royal Albert Hall earlier that week, iconic singer-songwriter, activist and Founder of the global feminist organisation, The Circle Annie Lennox will join Jude Kelly for a conversation about her life and work. She will talk about her vision for the future, and what a lifetime of pushing boundaries and activism have taught her.

Also announced today is a performance by 11 times GRAMMY-nominated composer, activist and sitarist Anoushka Shankar.

As well as performing, she will join Annie Lennox, multi-award-winning composer Errollyn Wallen CBE and musician Jordan Stephens in a fascinating discussion exploring the power of music in activism. The panel, which is made up of speakers who have played a significant part in WOW’s history, will feature celebrated comedian and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig, actor and disability activist Liz Carr. Together they will discuss what brings them joy, freedom and their hopes and optimism for the future.

They join previously announced headliner Angela Davis, who will make a rare UK appearance in a conversation with Jude Kelly, honouring Angela’s life and achievements. Angela will discuss the role of love in activism, hope and healing, her dreams for the future - and her love of the Blues.

Opening the event is the world premiere of a new choral commission by Errollyn Wallen commissioned by WOW to celebrate the global movement’s 15 year history. With music and lyrics inspired by the work of WOW, the piece will be performed by organist Rachel Mahon and an intergenerational choir made up of 150 women, girls and non-binary people aged between eight and 80 years from Mulberry School for Girls, St Boniface School and Lips Choir, a London based trans-inclusive women’s choir.

The evening will also feature the world premiere of a newly commissioned fanfare for the Royal Albert Hall’s 153-year-old 9,999 pipe organ written by award-winning composer Isobel Waller-Bridge and performed by renowned organist, conductor and broadcaster Anna Lapwood.

Annie Lennox said: “I’m thrilled to be celebrating International Women’s Day at WOW’s 15th anniversary event – WOW at 15. I’m passionately dedicated to amplifying the concept of ‘Global Feminism’ – in supporting and empowering women and girls everywhere around the world, especially in countries where gender parity is still so far from being realised. I can’t wait to be in the company of thousands of other people who share the same perspective at the Royal Albert Hall, as we look to the future with resilience and determination. It’s going to be such a joyful evening.”

Tickets for WOW at 15 start from £20 with 200 £10 tickets allocated for community groups.