PRESS RELEASE – 7 FEBRUARY 2024

• WOW – WOMEN OF THE WORLD TO CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY ON 8 MARCH AT SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL WITH ONE NIGHT LIVE IN LONDON.

• LED BY WOW’S FOUNDER JUDE KELLY, THE EVENING WILL FEATURE WRITERS, THINKERS, PERFORMERS AND ACTIVISTS SHARING URGENT STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

• THE EVENING WILL ALSO LAUNCH THE REMARKABLE AUDIOBOOK OF A HISTORY OF WOMEN IN 101 OBJECTS

• WOW - ONE NIGHT LIVE IN LONDON TICKETS WILL GO ON GENERAL SALE HERE FROM 11AM ON 7 FEBRUARY 2024.

On 8 March 2024, WOW – Women of the World will present WOW: One Night Live in London; an evening filled with optimism, determination and laughter to celebrate International Women’s Day 2024. Led by WOW’s Founder Jude Kelly, the evening will feature writers, thinkers, performers and activists and tell urgent stories from around the world, coming together to celebrate the achievements of women, girls and non-binary people, take a frank look at the obstacles they face and discuss solutions for change.

As part of the evening WOW’s Founder Kelly will interview Annabelle Hirsch, the author of A History of Women in 101 Objects – a groundbreaking audiobook involving 101 remarkable women readers – that explores the fascinating, too-often-overlooked, manifold histories of women via the stories of objects that changed the world. Martha Wainwright, Salena Godden and other surprise guests will join to perform special readings from the book, which Gillian Anderson described as “A reminder that women are and have always been, whether quietly or vociferously, whether on the periphery or centre stage, the engine, the glue, the inspiration.”

To celebrate the launch of the A History of Women in 101 Objects audiobook on 5 March, Audible and Canongate will give each ticket holder an exclusive free Audible download (worth £35).

Proceeds from the event will support Refuge and the work of WOW’s Global network with women, girls and non-binary people.

Jude Kelly said, “Since its beginnings WOW has celebrated International Women's Day in London with the best speakers, activists and performers around and we continue that tradition this year with WOW: One Night Live in London. I am especially excited that we can showcase Annabelle Hirsch's extraordinary A History of Women in 101 Objects and bring the audiobook - and the vital stories it tells - to life. It’s going to be a fantastic evening.”

The WOW Foundation is supported by its Global Founding Partner Bloomberg.

This event is supported by Audible.

Tickets are available here:

https://shoreditchtownhall.com/whats-on/wow-one-night-live-in-london

For further information please contact

Kate Hassell kate@breadandbutterpr.uk

Skye Redman skye@breadandbutterpr.uk

@breadandbutterpr

IMAGES CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE.

LISTINGS
WOW – One Night Live in London

Friday 8 March, Shoreditch Town Hall, 7:30pm

NOTES TO EDITORS

About The WOW Foundation
The WOW Foundation was created by Jude Kelly CBE in 2018 to run the global movement that is WOW – Women of the World Festivals. The Festivals began in the UK in 2010, launched by Kelly at the Southbank Centre London, where she was Artistic Director, to celebrate women and girls, taking a frank look at what prevents them from achieving their potential, raising awareness globally of the issues they face, and discussing solutions together.

To date, WOW has reached five million people in 45 locations on six continents, in locations including Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Finland, Greece, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Somaliland, the UK and the USA.

Over the last 13 years the Festivals have developed a reputation as a space for world renowned artists, activists, thinkers and performers including Angela Davis, Malala Yousafzai, Annie Lennox, Patrick Stewart, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Salma Hayek, to come and participate, alongside thousands of women and girls who don’t have public profiles but are doing amazing things. WOW provides platforms for people of all kinds, changes attitudes, brings communities together and provides a unique space for people to work together towards gender equity in their own communities. One example of the Festival’s impact came in 2015, with the founding of the Women’s Equality Party by Sandi Toksvig and Catherine Mayer.

In 2018 Kelly left the Southbank Centre to run The WOW Foundation full time as a charity working to build, convene and sustain a global movement that believes a gender equal world is possible and desirable through festivals and empowering women and girls. The unique festival model creates numerous pathways for participants to take part in WOW projects, amplify their own causes, or start new initiatives which have a wide impact on communities. It is the biggest, most comprehensive and most significant festival dedicated to presenting work by women and promoting equity for women and girls.

WOW Festival was originally produced and presented by Southbank Centre.

The President of WOW – Women of the World is Her Majesty The Queen.

WOW Festivals will be taking place around the world in the next 12 months:

• WOW Pakistan (Lahore): 1-3 March 2024

• WOW Istanbul: 1-3 March 2024

• WOW Athens: 6-8 April 2024

• WOW Rotherham 11 May 2024

• WOW Kathmandu: 2024 tbc

• WOW Baltimore: April 2025 tbc

A History of Women in 101 Objects

This is a neglected history. No attempt at a sweeping, definitive, exhaustive history of the world but something quieter, more intimate and particular, told by Annabelle Hirsch through her selection of 101 objects, and now brought thrillingly alive for you by a chorus of 101 remarkable women in this ground-breaking audio release.

Open up this cabinet of curiosities and you’ll discover objects that have been highly esteemed and others that are humble and domestic. Some (like a sixteenth-century glass dildo, as read by Miriam Margolyes) are objects of female pleasure, some (a thumbscrew, as read by Val McDermid) of female subjugation. There are artefacts of women celebrated by history (The Brontë Sisters’ miniature books, as read by Rebecca Hall) and of women unfairly forgotten by it (a dish with the likeness of Roxelana, as read by Elif Shafak); examples of female rebellion (a bunch of hair, as read by Shirin Neshat) and of self-revelation (an unusual portrait, as read by Daisy Ridley); objects that are inspiring (Aretha Franklin’s song ‘Respect’, as read by Cynthia Erivo), curious (George Sand’s right arm, as read by Jeanette Winterson) or just fundamentally ill-conceived (like radium-laced chocolate, as read by Meera Syal).

This highly acclaimed and very overdue corrective reveals what a healed femur (Gillian Anderson) says about civilisation, what men have to fear from hat pins (Helena Bonham Carter), and it shows that the past has always been as complicated and fascinating as the women that peopled it.

A quarter of all proceeds from this audiobook is donated to Refuge UK, thereby supporting its vital work to empower women and children experiencing domestic violence.

Annabelle Hirsch, born in 1986, has German and French roots. She studied art history, dramatics and philosophy in Munich and Paris, and worked as a freelance journalist for FAS, FAZ, ZeitOnline and several other magazines. She writes short stories and translates French literature. She lives in Paris, Rome and Berlin.