- Date
- 24 - 26 May 2024
- Venue
- Aviva Studios
Accessibility features available for this event: Wheelchair Access
Celebrate women, girls and non-binary people with the first WOW - Women of the World Festival in Manchester
The first ever WOW Manchester Festival is your chance to be part of a global movement and see world-class speakers, activists, musicians and comedians.
Join us for an energising and uplifting weekend celebrating women, girls and non-binary people through important conversations, hands-on workshops and joyful performances, as well as exploring some brilliant businesses and organisations making change in Manchester.
Come and explore our bustling Marketplace, get stuck into a creative Workshop or have your say at our Conversation Station.
From leaving toxic relationships to celebrating sisterhood, and from better boyhoods to championing creativity and motherhood, nothing is off the cards at WOW – the world’s biggest, most comprehensive festival celebrating women, girls and non-binary people.
The line-up includes music icons Mel B and Jordan Stephens, Australia’s first woman Prime Minister Julia Gillard, actors Maxine Peake, Sophie Willan and Zawe Ashton, author and former hostage Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Manchester legend DJ Paulette, the Deputy Mayor of Kathmandu Sunita Dangol, broadcaster Gemma Cairney and author Chimene Suleyman. Come together with the people of Greater Manchester and beyond for three days of life-changing conversations, incredible performances and more.
You can also pop by the Social for a range of free events across the weekend – featuring WOW pop-ups, poetry, workshops and artwork. There’s plenty to stumble upon all weekend.
WOW Manchester welcomes people of all ages and genders. Whether you’re a seasoned activist or dipping your toes into ideas about gender equity for the first time, WOW Manchester is for you.
Check out the programme for Saturday and Sunday below.
What's On
-
WOW Manchester: Brutally Honest – An Evening with Mel B
- Talks
- Captioning
- BSL Interpreting
- Wheelchair Access
-
WOW Manchester: An Evening with Jordan Stephens
- Talks
- Captioning
- BSL Interpreting
- Wheelchair Access
-
WOW Manchester: Speed Mentoring
- Courses & Workshops
- Free
- Wheelchair Access
-
WOW Manchester: Women in Footnotes
- Talks
- Free
- Wheelchair Access
Ticket information
You need a ticket to access the main WOW Manchester day programme. This includes access to the South Warehouse bustling marketplace, where you’ll find a whole host of different creative workshops, conversation stations, talks, performances and work from artists across the globe.
Day tickets are available for Saturday and Sunday. Each day features a different line-up so take your pick, or bag a Weekend Ticket and come along to both.
WOW Manchester 2024 also includes an exciting programme of evening events and workshops that you can purchase tickets for separately as well as a free programme of events in the Social. If you want to access everything, you will need to book multiple tickets. Keep your eyes peeled for more events coming soon!
Bringing the next gen along with you? Kids under 12 can attend for free across the weekend.
Callout: WOW Marketplace
Credits
WOW Manchester commissioned and produced by Factory International and The WOW Foundation.
WOW Festival was originally produced and presented by Southbank Centre.
Access information
Our full address is Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester M3 4JQ and the what3words is chop.feeds.chase.
You can approach Aviva Studios along Water Street (coming from Quay Street) or along Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield). Both entrances to the building have double sets of glass doors.
Once inside Aviva Studios, there is step-free access to all areas of the venue. The flooring throughout the building is smooth concrete.
The entrance to the Hall is by lift, escalator or stairs from one side of the Social beside the brick arches. There is only one escalator, and this will take you up to the Hall before the show, and will be reversed so that you can travel down at the end of the performance.
The Social has a range of seating, including those with arms and backs.
The bars in the Social and Hall Foyer have lowered accessible service points.
Our building is large. We have portable stools available to borrow if you would benefit from resting along the way during your visit.
We have wheelchair spaces and seats at standing events for all events.
There are accessible toilets on all public levels of our building.
Accessible toilets are located inside the main toilets space in the brick arches of the Social.
Here you’ll find a mixture of accessible cubicles with left- or right-hand transfer, towards the back of the space, as well as ambulant accessible cubicles with grab rails, as well as a Changing Places facility.
The toilets in the brick arches of the Social are split into male, female and gender neutral – all of which contain accessible cubicles. There are shared handwashing facilities in each arch – they have soap dispensers under the mirrors to your left and dryers to the right. There are separate handwashing facilities inside the accessible cubicles.
There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in both Hall Foyers, at stalls and circle level.
There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in the Warehouse Foyer.
You do not need a key to use the accessible toilets at Aviva Studios.
Assistance dogs are welcome in our building, and we can provide mats and water bowls on request, just ask a host when you arrive. We can also take care of your assistance dog if you do not want to take your dog into the performance space. Please also refer to our assistance dogs policy.
If you are bringing an assistance dog to a ticketed event, please let us know in advance by contacting access@factoryinternational.org or calling our access phone number: 0161 817 4531 (phone lines are open 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday).
Travel information
Aviva Studios can be approached along Water Street (coming from Quay Street) or along Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield).
Our closest stations are:
Salford Central station: 0.4 miles
Deansgate station and Deansgate-Castlefield tram: 0.6 miles
St Peter’s Square tram: 0.6 miles
Manchester Victoria station is approximately one mile from Aviva Studios
Manchester Piccadilly station is approximately 1.3 miles from Aviva Studios
Click on the links above to find detailed access information for each station.
By Bike
There are 40 bike parking spaces at Aviva Studios including space for two accessible bikes.
National Cycling Route 6 passes close to the venue and this TfGM webpage can help with route planning.
You can also hire bikes from on-street docking stations across the city centre. The closest docking stations to our venue are currently on Deansgate by Liverpool Road and (400m from the building) and by King Street (500m from the building). Take a look at Transport for Greater Manchester’s webpage for advice on cycle hire.
By Walking and Other Active Means
Aviva Studios can be approached along Water Street via Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield).
If you're coming from Quay Street, the safest route to avoid construction works is via the cut-through opposite Gartside Street and past Booking.com.
All footways in the surrounding area are well lit and there are appropriate crossings across all main roads.
Pedestrians with visual impairment are recommended to approach the building via Water Street, from Liverpool Road. This route has traditional carriageway and footway design with fixed street furniture which should help with navigation to the entrance.
A footbridge at Left Bank in Spinningfields provides an accessible link across the River Irwell to Salford Central station, and a further footbridge also links Aviva Studios with the Salford area of Middlewood Locks.
Free bus services stop at all city-centre stations, and near to Aviva Studios along Deansgate, Bridge St and Quay St. Buses on these free routes are wheelchair accessible. For full details of the free bus routes, please visit the TfGM website.
Free bus services stop at all city-centre stations, and near to Aviva Studios along Deansgate, Bridge St and Quay St. Buses on these free routes are wheelchair accessible. For full details of the free bus routes, please visit the TfGM website.
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