Today we've announced the initial line-up for WOW North East, a two-day festival taking place from Friday 17 October - Saturday 18 October 2025.

Marking WOW’s first time in the region, we'll be taking over Gala Durham for a weekend packed with unmissable talks, performances, and workshops celebrating the voices of women, girls and non-binary people across the North East, as part of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the first journey on the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR200). The collaboration between WOW and S&DR200 reflects not only the movement of goods and people, but also the movement of ideas, equality and opportunity, celebrating how far we’ve come - and how far we still have to travel in order to build a more inclusive and connected future. Further WOW events and programmes will take place across the North East of England from August, in the lead up to the festival.

On Friday 17 October, we'll host a Business Breakfast for local leaders in the morning, followed by a free WOW Schools Day which will welcome 400 young people from across the region for a series of inspiring talks, interactive sessions and creative workshops spanning dance, movement and music, designed to spark new ideas and big conversations. Working with the Life Centre, the day will also explore the world of women and STEM, highlighting women from past and present.

On Saturday 18 October, WOW North East Festival will open its doors to people of all ages, for a free, all-day festival brimming with energy, ideas, and inspiration which will explore what it means to be a woman and non-binary person in the North East today. Free festival passes will be available to book in September.

Festival-pass holders will be able to explore everything from politics to pop culture, sex to sport, and activism to art through personal, local stories of resilience and activism, events, performances, panels, headline interviews and workshops. There will also be thought-provoking moments, joy and celebration at every turn with mindfulness painting and radical song-making, surprise poetry pop-ups and music, dance and theatre performances.

Joy and injustice will sit side by side as the festival looks at how both economic innovation and economic hardship is shaping women’s lives in the North East, our work, wages, health, and futures and the stories that too often go unheard. We’ll travel back 200 years to spotlight women’s roles in the birth of the railway and look ahead to the future of tech and innovation.

Festival pass holders can explore poetry through Tees Women Poets, get creative in a floral painting workshop, attend a Climate Café, or join mass sing-alongs and dance classes. In addition, audiences can explore youth activism from the North East to Brazil, hear moving stories in Beyond the Riots, as we take a timely look at life after unrest, and join The Consent Collective for their wildly clever gameshow “How to Be Good in Bed”.

On the Saturday evening, WOW will be joined by broadcaster, DJ, and outspoken feminist Ashley James for a powerful and personal conversation exploring what it means to be a woman in today’s world. Known for her honesty about everything from postpartum realities to online misogyny, Ashley has built a platform rooted in authenticity, activism, and breaking down stigma.

In this intimate session, Ashley will open up about the pressures modern women face, from the contradictions of motherhood and identity, to how social media and public life have shaped her journey. She’ll delve into what it means to raise boys in an inequitable world, and why unlearning the norms we’ve inherited is one of the most radical things we can do. Tickets for An Evening with Ashley James at WOW are on sale now.

Friday evening will also see a special guest joining WOW North East, with the line-up to be announced later this summer alongside further line-up and events.

Ahead of all WOW Festivals, WOW runs the WOWsers programme, a six week young people's engagement project. Running from September – a group of young people from Sunderland will be invited to take part in weekly workshops to explore creative careers and take over a session at the festival on 18 October. If you'd like to find out more about getting involved in the WOWsers programme, please email emma@thewowfoundation.com.

Additionally, in the build-up to the festival, WOW will run a series of arts workshops with young people at Bright Futures, a charity providing support services to young women in South Shields, focused on building resilience through banner making. Using the region's mining history as a starting point for inspiration, participants will explore social justice and resistance, artistic creativity and community engagement. Culminating in a showcase at WOW North East, these workshops will run in tandem with a series of workshops and events taking place with young people in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as part of a project developing innovative arts-based approaches to prevent gender-based violence through feminist activism.

As part of the cross-exchange programme, two participants from Maré in Brazil will travel to the UK to take part in WOW North East. The project is a partnership between King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London, People’s Palace Projects, Associação Redes De Desenvolvimento Da Maré and The WOW Foundation, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

As part of the wider programme of WOW North East events taking part across the region, on Friday 17 October at Live Theatre in Newcastle, WOW and Live Theatre presents the world premiere reading of Astell and Woolf, a sharp new comedy by Shelagh Stephenson. When pioneering feminist Mary Astell meets Virginia Woolf in the afterlife, the result is a riotous, thought-provoking clash of minds.

Jude Kelly, Founder Director of The WOW Foundation says: "In WOW's 15th anniversary year, I'm delighted WOW is finding a new home in the North East, in partnership with S&DR200. It's a region close to my heart, full of creativity and innovation. When I founded WOW in 2010, I had huge ambitions for raising the voices of women across the world, and 15 years on, I'm so proud that more than 150 WOW Festivals and events have taken place in 71 locations across six continents, creating change and joy in so many communities and for so many people."

Niccy Hallifax, S&DR200 Festival Director, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome WOW to the North East as part of the S&DR200 celebrations. The Stockton & Darlington Railway changed the world 200 years ago, and this partnership with WOW brings that spirit of innovation and progress into the present. By spotlighting on all voices but especially experiences of women, girls and non-binary people, WOW North East is helping us reimagine the future while honouring the past. It’s a powerful reminder that the region’s legacy of transformation continues today – in our communities, our conversations, and our creativity. This is about moving forward positively and with confidence and I know all those who attend will feel empowered and inspired.”