WOW - Women Of The World Festival Launches In Bradford

2018 is the centenary of female suffrage in the UK and London’s Southbank Centre is marking this milestone with WOW Spirit, a series of festivals across the UK with Bradford as the first host city this November.

WOW Spirit is developing and producing nine locally-owned WOW festivals in five towns or cities across the UK between 2016 and 2018, the first of which takes place in Bradford from 11-13 November 2016.

Founded at Southbank Centre in 2011, WOW - Women of the World is the world's largest festival network of its kind, reaching over a million people across five continents. Each festival – made up of various talks, debates, music, activism, comedy, workshops, mentoring, pop ups and major concerts – celebrates women and girls, takes a frank look at what prevents them from achieving their potential, raises awareness globally of the issues they face and discusses possible solutions. In 2015 HRH the Duchess of Cornwall became the president of WOW, and now the festival aims to work closely with all 53 Commonwealth countries by 2018.

As one of the most diverse cities in the UK with a rich history of activism and social change, Bradford is an exciting location to launch this new development. Southbank Centre will work closely with the people of Bradford over the coming months to deliver WOW Bradford in November.  Participants will have an opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas about what WOW in Bradford should look like and include during a series of Thinkin planning sessions in May 2016. Details of these sessions are as follows:

THURSDAY 19^th MAY

10am – 12pm - Keighley

MONDAY 23^rd MAY

10am – 12pm - Carlisle Business Centre, Manningham

1pm – 2:30pm - Karmand Centre, Leeds Road, BD3

TUESDAY 24^th MAY

10am – 12pm - Park Lane Centre, Canterbury

1pm – 2:30pm - Rockwell Centre, Thorpe Edge

Further Thinkins will be arranged on Friday 20^th, Saturday 21^st and Sunday 22^nd May in community centres, youth centres, and public spaces in the city and surrounding area to ensure that as many people as possible have a chance to contribute and be involved. Details of these events will be available on Twitter at @wow_bradford in the coming weeks. WOW Bradford will also provide education and participation opportunities in the lead up to the festival. This includes a Volunteer Programme for ten volunteers aged 18 and over, a training programme that will equip them with skills to be part of the festival delivery team.

Leading the festival programme is the director Evie Manning, whose award-winning theatre production of No Guts, No Heart, No Glory — telling the story of five Muslim female boxers from Bradford — was featured at Southbank Centre’s 2015 WOW - Women of the World festival to great acclaim.

Jude Kelly CBE, Artistic Director of Southbank Centre, said: ‘Today’s launch marks a significant step in the expansion of the WOW – Women of the World festival network.  The support of Spirit of 2012 is enabling Bradford and other communities across the UK to establish WOW festivals where women’s stories and experiences can be heard, laughs shared, awareness raised, and obstacles creatively challenged to foster a fairer, more equal society.’

Debbie Lye, Chief Executive of Spirit of 2012, said:  ‘As a trust that funds projects that empower people by connecting them with each other and their communities, we are thrilled to support WOW Spirit. WOW is a proven model for bringing people together to celebrate the diverse experiences and achievements of women and girls, to highlight challenges they face, to discuss possible solutions to these and to take action.  WOW Spirit is a wonderful opportunity to engage people and communities across the UK in creative and positive change.’

Evie Manning, Programmer for WOW Bradford, said: ‘It’s very exciting that WOW is coming to Bradford – this is an opportunity for Bradford to celebrate women and girls in an inspiring way that brings people together from across the city to create something memorable and important.’