Our story so far

A group of people stand around candles arranged to spell "WOW" on the ground at night, creating a warm glow against the dark

Since 2010, with 33 global delivery partners, we’ve delivered 150 festivals and programmes, across 71 places and six continents, inspiring millions of participants to take action and make change. Here’s a taste of the story so far…

2010

  • The idea of the WOW - Women of the World Festival is hatched by Jude Kelly CBE in her role as Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, London
  • In September, the first set of WOW Think Ins take place to help shape the idea and over 500 people get involved
A woman wearing a dark suit speaks at a podium with "WOW" displayed on a colourful background.

2011

  • The first WOW - Women of the World Festival takes place in March, launched on International Women’s Day 2011
  • Home Secretary Theresa May, musician Annie Lennox, actor Patrick Stewart and conductor Marin Alsop all took part
  • Survivor Nimco Ali speaks about FGM for the first time in public and was inspired to start a campaign which resulted four years later in the UK Government making the largest financial commitment of any government to ending FGM
Four women stand on stage clapping, wearing diverse, stylish outfits; the mood is celebratory and joyful.

2012

  • The second WOW - Women of the World Festival takes place in March 2012
  • Bloomberg becomes WOW’s Global Founding Partner - the beginning of an impactful partnership that continues to this day
  • The desire and need for the WOW movement is palpable - over 8,000 people attend
  • Baroness Scotland launched The Global Foundation for the Elimination of Domestic Violence
  • At the same time, the first global WOW Festival takes place in Baltimore, USA
A vibrant concert hall is filled with a standing audience, applauding enthusiastically. The stage is lit warmly, showcasing musicians and performers.

2013

  • The third WOW - Women of the World Festival, now called WOW London, takes place as WOW expands across the UK and overseas
  • WOW events take place in Derry-Londonderry, UK, and Sydney and Katherine in Australia
  • WOW builds its programme with young people, launching our first WOWsers programme and the now annual WOW Speed Mentoring on the London Eye with hundreds of girls and non-binary young people to celebrate International Day of the Girl
A diverse group of smiling people inside a large observation wheel pod.

2014

Young woman in a purple headscarf sits on stage, smiling warmly beside a microphone.

2015

  • The fifth WOW London Festival
  • The UK’s Women’s Equality Party is launched, born out of a session with Sandi Toksvig and Catherine Mayer in the previous year
  • Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall (now Her Majesty The Queen) becomes WOW’s President
  • The WOW movement continues to grow, adding the Apollo Theatre in New York, Dhaka, Bangladesh and Brisbane, Australia to its list of partners
  • After five years, more than 1,000 women, girls and non-binary people have been mentored through WOW activities
  • The second WOW Cambridge and Cardiff, and third WOW Derry-Londonderry take place

2016

  • The sixth WOW London Festival continues to attract fantastic contributors including Bridget Christie, Caitlin Moran, Charlotte Church, Doreen Lawrence, Eve Ensler, Gemma Cairney, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Marvin Gaye Chetwynd and Sadiq Khan
  • Gemma Cairney goes on a tour of the UK talking to 500 girls to explore their triumphs, challenges and the barriers faced to inform our ongoing work with young people
  • The WOW movement continues to expand, adding Karachi in Pakistan, Hargeysa, Somalia, and Bradford and Folkestone in the UK to its growing partners
  • WOW Festivals also return to Baltimore, Cambridge, Cardiff, Katherine and Derry-Londonderry
A diverse group of people celebrating energetically indoors. They hold colourful signs expressing joy and excitement.

2017

Two women are seated on stage in conversation. One wears a blue blazer, the other a yellow scarf. Both appear engaged, with a warm atmosphere.

2018

Two people are seated on stage in a discussion. Both sit on blue armchairs with microphones and water glasses on tables.

2019

  • The ninth WOW London Festival asks our audiences two questions: What Now? What Next? as we continue our journey as an independent organisation
  • Lily Allen and Munroe Bergdorf take part
  • The WOW movement adds Madhesh in Nepal, and Milton Keynes, and Falmouth, Rotherham and Southend in the UK to its list of partners
  • WOW Festivals and events also take place in New York, Dhaka, Rio de Janeiro, Perth, Brisbane, Norwich, Exeter, Bradford and Karachi
Young DJ with curly hair focuses intently on mixing tracks at an outdoor event. She wears headphones and a colourful skirt.

2020

  • The tenth anniversary WOW London Festival takes place just days before the UK lockdown
  • The world all but closed as the Covid-19 global pandemic took hold
  • WOW responds with an online WOW x BBC Festival in May
  • WOW Global 24 – an ambitious 24-hour, online festival across cultures, countries and time zones followed in June
  • 100% of WOW’s online programme uses STT and/or BSL interpretation to maximise access
  • The first WOW Young Leaders Directory is launched highlighting the activism of 40 girls, young women and non-binary people across the world
  • In partnership with Google Arts & Culture WOW launches The Hope Brigade, a digital exhibition celebrating 100 women from 10 countries and the impact they’re having for women, girls and non-binary people across WOW’s 10 pillars
  • WOW Festivals and events also take place in Hull and Rio de Janeiro
Two women speak in a video call for the WOW Festival, with subtitles discussing reduced fossil fuel consumption.

2021

  • WOW UK and Global Festivals take place online as the world remains in various levels of lockdown with online Festivals and events in Nepal, Pakistan and New York
  • Against the odds – though more vitally needed than ever – the WOW movement continues to grow, adding Istanbul in Tukey, Kaohsiung in Taiwan and Charleville in Australia as new partners
  • WOW presents Another Pandemic - an online event in response to the murders of Sarah Everard, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry; the dismissal of legal challenges to how rape policy is prosecuted in the UK; rising domestic abuse statistics; and protests across India and Australia
  • WOW begins a new partnership with Birkbeck University to create Shameless! a festival dedicated to the issue of sexual violence and the first ever Shameless! Festival takes place at Battersea Arts Centre, London with speakers including Emily Ratajkowski
  • At this point, 10 years since the first WOW Festival in 2011, over three million people have attended WOW Festivals and events
  • The second edition of the WOW Young Leaders Directory is published
Emily Ratajkowski sits on a blue sofa, smiling while holding a microphone. She wears red boots and a black and white skirt, conveying a cheerful mood.

2022

  • The 12th WOW London Festival takes place back in person at the Southbank Centre
  • WOW Sounds’ first Artist in Residence, Miss Baby Sol, performs across the festival programme
  • The Urgent Conversation addresses the outbreak of war in Ukraine and its impact on women and girls
  • The WOW movement adds Longreach, Cairns and Logan in Australia, Lumbini in Nepal and The Seychelles to its list of partners
  • WOW Festivals also take place in Pakistan, Istanbul, Bangladesh and Rotherham
  • The third edition of the WOW Young Leaders Directory is published
  • Shameless! Festival takes place in Rio de Janeiro, in partnership with WOW’s longstanding Brazilian partner Redes de Maré
A singer with long braided hair performs on stage, holding a microphone. A podium with a "WOW" logo is visible in the foreground.

2023

  • Standard Chartered become WOW’s Global Girls Champion – a partnership to make our transformative work with young people possible
  • The 13th WOW London Festival takes place 10-12 March
  • Key partnerships with charities Beyond Equality and Equimundo build greater involvement of men and boys, in response to audience feedback
  • WOW Festivals and events return to Bangladesh, Karachi, Rio de Janeiro and Brisbane, and WOW comes to Athens for the first time
  • 300 women and non-binary people raise a community barn in just 24 hours at the first WOW Leeds to raise awareness of women in construction
  • The first ever WOW Girls Festival takes place, engaging 35,000 people from all four nations of the UK
  • The WOW Bus tours the UK reaching thousands of young people in schools, community groups and local high streets
  • The Hope Brigade is exhibited in Kings Cross and Angel, London
  • The fourth edition of the WOW Young Leaders Directory is published and celebrated at the World Economic Forum in Davos
A large group of people in yellow vests and hard hats cheerily pose under a timber structure.

2024

  • WOW Founder Jude Kelly is invited to the World Economic Forum in Davos as a Cultural Leader to speak on fathers and daughters
  • The WOW Bus visits Buckingham Palace for an International Women’s Day event hosted by WOW’s President Her Majesty The Queen
  • The global movement adds partners in Manchester, UK, Lahore in Pakistan, Biloela in Australia, and Kigali, Rwanda
  • WOW Festivals and events also return to Istanbul, Athens, Rotherham, Rio de Janeiro, Brisbane and Kathmandu
  • For the first time our global audience tops 1.2 million in one year
  • WOW celebrates four years of the Young Leaders Directory with a campaign that reaches 1 million people across the world
  • The Hope Brigade travels to Athens where it is displayed across the Athens Metro system
  • WOW publishes Girls to the World: Letters for Change, an anthology of letters from girls aged 8-23 from across the globe, covering everything from war, child marriage, domesticity, the toxicity of social media and climate, to a love of sharks
A group of people, including Her Majesty The Queen, Her Majesty Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester & Jude Kelly, stand smiling inside a colourful, brightly-lit room. The atmosphere is cheerful and welcoming.

2025

  • WOW celebrates its 15th anniversary
  • 4,000 people attend the International Women’s Day event at the Royal Albert Hall, headlined by Angela Davis, to kick off a year of exciting programme to mark the milestone
  • WOW makes its Edinburgh Fringe debut with The WOW Show with Jude Kelly and a line-up of guests including Nicola Sturgeon, Desiree Burch and Sindhu Vee
  • WOW launches a major new membership programme and digital Global Knowledge Hub to power our growing global alliance
  • WOW Festivals and events take place in Lahore, Athens, Baltimore, Istanbul, Rotherham, Gladstone, Rio de Janeiro, Brisbane and across the North East of England
Concert in a grand hall with a large choir dressed in red, grey, and black. The lighting is vibrant and the audience is engaged