• Iconic artist and activist Annie Lennox joins WOW at 15 line-up in conversation with host Jude Kelly.
  • Grammy nominated artist Anoushka Sankar
  • Broadcaster and comedian Sandi Toksvig will join
  • Celebrating 15 years of WOW’s global movement, the commission will be performed by an intergenerational choir of 150 women, girls and non-binary people aged between 5 – 70.
  • New choral commission by multi-award winning composer Errollyn Wallen CBE will open WOW and the Royal Albert Hall’s special one-off event.  
  • Taking place on International Women’s Day 2025, WOW at 15 will also feature a rare UK appearance by legendary activist Angela Davis, with further speakers and performances to be announced. 
  • Tickets for WOW at 15 are on sale now.

WOW – Women of the World and the Royal Albert Hall have today announced iconic singer-songwriter and activist Annie Lennox has joined the line-up for WOW at 15, which will take place on International Women’s Day, at the Royal Albert Hall. Also announced is a new choral work by multi-award winning composer Errollyn Wallen CBE commissioned by WOW to celebrate the global movement’s 15 year history which will receive its world premiere as part of the event.

The WOW Foundation is a UK-based charity dedicated to celebrating women, girls, and non-binary people while advocating for gender equality. It was founded by Jude Kelly CBE in 2018, evolving from the WOW – Women of the World Festival, which she launched in 2010 at the Southbank Centre in London.

The foundation runs WOW Festivals and events around the world, providing a platform for discussions on gender equality, activism, and representation. Over the past 15 years, WOW has taken place in 45 locations across six continents, attracting over five million people globally. The foundation champions inspirational speakers, artists, and changemakers, supporting grassroots activism and amplifying voices that are often underrepresented.

A major highlight of WOW’s 15th anniversary year, WOW at 15 is a special one-off event presented by WOW and the Royal Albert Hall, which will celebrate the significant impact WOW has made shifting the dial on gender equity, and look to the future to discuss the urgent challenges that still need to be overcome. WOW Founder Jude Kelly CBE will lead this huge celebration with an evening of big ideas and conversations, laughter, joy, stories, music and performance. 

Following her sold out concert at Royal Albert Hall earlier that week, Annie Lennox will join Jude Kelly in a conversation about her life and work. She’ll talk about her optimism for the future, and what a lifetime of pushing boundaries and activism have taught her. Lennox joins previously announced headliner, Angela Davis who will make a rare UK appearance to headline the second half of the event in a conversation with Jude Kelly honouring her life and achievements. Further guests including world-class speakers, activists and artists to be announced. 

Wallen’s new piece for choir, organ and percussion is a celebration of women, girls and non-binary people everywhere, with music and lyrics inspired by the work of WOW, the worldwide global equity movement founded in 2010. Opening the event, the choral commission will be performed by an intergenerational choir made up of 150 women, girls and non-binary people aged between 5 – 70 from Mulberry School, St Boniface School and Lips, London’s trans inclusive women’s choir. 

One of the most performed living composers of classical music in the world, Errollyn Wallen is a celebrated composer and performer with a prolific output that spans orchestral, chamber and vocal works. Groundbreaking in the history of classical music, Wallen was the first living female composer and first Black woman to have a work featured in the Proms, as well as the first woman to receive an Ivor Novello award for Classical Music. The evening will also feature the world premiere of a newly commissioned fanfare for the Royal Albert Hall’s spectacular organ written by award-winning composer Isobel Waller-Bridge and performed by renowned organist, conductor, broadcaster and composer Anna Lapwood on the Hall’s 153-year-old 9,999 pipe organ.

Annie Lennox said: “I’m thrilled to be celebrating International Women’s Day at WOW’s 15th anniversary event WOW at 15. I’m dedicated to fighting for a gender equal world and I can’t wait to be in the company of thousands of other people who feel the same at the Royal Albert Hall, as we look to the future with optimism and determination. It’s going to be such a joyful evening. ” 

Over the past 15 years, WOW Festivals and events have taken place in 45 locations on six continents celebrating women, girls and non-binary people. Attracting five million people worldwide, 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 at 15 will be the first of several events in 2025 marking WOW’s 15th anniversary, further details will be announced in the new year.

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WRITTEN BY: Nura Arooj