The GREAT Inititiative - Gender Right & Equality Trust

Annie Lennox to host EQUALS Live at Southbank Centre, joined by Katy B, Jess Mills and Emeli Sandé on stage to champion equality

February 13, 2012  Events, News

Royal Festival Hall, 7.30pm, Friday 9^th March

To celebrate International Women’s Day, EQUALS and Southbank Centre’s WOW – Women of the World festival present a unique concert showcasing the power of British female recording artists.

Hosted and curated by Annie Lennox, who will be joined by Katy B, Jess Mills and Emeli Sandé on stage, EQUALS Live on 9^th March will be a unique night of music that steps up the call for equality between men and women.

Annie Lennox said, “I’m proud to be presenting an evening of British female artists in celebration of International Women’s Day. EQUALS Live will shine a spotlight on an incredible new generation of women in music who are raising their voices in solidarity with women across the globe. International Women’s Day is the perfect time to reignite debate about what a more equal world would look like with a new generation and to finish the work of the women and men who paved the way before us.”

EQUALS Live takes place as part of Southbank Centre’s Women of the World festival. Featuring award-winning female artists and guest speakers, the evening will raise awareness of the inequalities that women still face around the world and inspire people to share their vision of what an equal world could look like.

EQUALS is a partnership of more than 30 leading charities and arts organisations brought together by Annie Lennox to celebrate International Women’s Day and step up the call for a more equal world.

Last year, for the first EQUALS Live concert at Southbank Centre, Annie Lennox was joined on stage by Paloma Faith, Kate Nash, V V Brown, as well as Gemma Cairney, Miquita Oliver, Shazia Mirza, Southbank Centre’s Artistic Director Jude Kelly and Baroness Helena Kennedy. The event also featured a screening of the EQUALS Bond film starring Daniel Craig, which made headlines across the globe.

WOW – Women of the World 2012 is Southbank Centre’s annual festival to promote, recognise and celebrate women. Jude Kelly OBE, Artistic Director of Southbank Centre said:

“Throughout history, many women’s achievements have gone unnoticed or unsung. I created WOW - Women of the World Festival to celebrate the formidable power of women to make change happen, to remind us of our history, to draw attention to injustice, to enjoy each other’s company and to encourage men to add their support as we set out to achieve a fairer world. I was overwhelmed by the positive response to WOW in 2011 and am excited to build on this success with another great festival at Southbank Centre in 2012.”

Notes to editors

Southbank Centre presents EQUALS Live takes place on Friday 9 March 2012 at the Royal Festival Hall, at 7.30pm. To purchase tickets please go to www.southbankcentre.co.uk/wow or call 0844 847 9910. Tickets from £17.50 (concessions) or from £35 (full price).

About EQUALS
EQUALS is a partnership of over 30 charities and arts organisations brought together by Annie Lennox to celebrate International Women’s Day and encourage a new generation of women and men to step up the call for a more equal world. EQUALS believes that men and women should have equal rights, opportunities and representation in politics, education, health, employment, family life and media and culture. Through music, film and social media, we will be inviting everyone to join the big inequality debate and ask, in 2012, are we really equals?
Miles Evans for Southbank Centre:

8^th March 2012 is the 101^st International Women’s Day. Originally created as a day to demand greater equality between men and women, today it is also a celebration of women’s strengths and achievements.

EQUALS partnership is made up of ActionAid, Oxfam, Save the Children, Women’s Aid, Women for Women International, Amnesty International, Birds Eye View, Care, Clean Break, End Violence Against Women, Everywoman, Fawcett Society, Film Club, First Light, Funny Women, Gender Action for Peace and Security, Good Screenings, The GREAT Initiative, MADE in Europe, Media Parents, Mumsnet, NUS, OBJECT, Plan, Platform 51, Sphinx Theatre Company, Southbank Centre, Royal Commonwealth Society, TUC, UK Feminista, White Ribbon Campaign, White Ribbon Alliance, Womankind and Women for Refugee Women.

For gender facts and figures, a history of International Women’s Day, and more information about the EQUALS coalition and its activities, visit www.weareequals.org.

About WOW

WOW – Women of the World festival features a series of performances with gigs, films, comedy, classical music, theatre, poetry and readings, alongside debates, talks, networking, mentoring opportunities, workshops and many free, participatory events across Southbank Centre’s site in the many rooms and spaces of the Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall. Led by Southbank Centre’s Artistic Director Jude Kelly, the festival emerged from an unprecedented series of consultations with hundreds of individuals, organisations and figureheads, with input from a steering committee including Rosie Boycott, Shami Chakrabati, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, Catherine Mayer, Gauri Sharma Tripathi, Kate Mosse, Gail Rebuck, Frances Osborne and Sandi Toksvig. Over 8,000 people attended more than 100 events the launch festival in 2011, which was a huge success. WOW launches in Baltimore USA for the first time in 2012, co-produced by Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Music Director and Southbank Centre Artist in Residence Marin Alsop and Southbank Centre Artistic Director Jude Kelly.

Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre, occupying a 21-acre site that sits in the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. The site has an extraordinary creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Southbank Centre is home to the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery as well as The Saison Poetry Library and the Arts Council Collection. The Royal Festival Hall reopened in June 2007 following the major refurbishment of the Hall and redevelopment of the surrounding area and facilities.

For further press information, interviews and images please contact:

Helen Hector for EQUALS:

07955 569582 / helen.hector@weareequals.org

Katie Toms for Southbank Centre:

020 7921 0926 / katie.toms@southbankcentre.co.uk

020 7921 0676 / miles.evans@southbankcentre.co.uk