How to celebrate International Women’s Day 2025
8 March marks International Women's Day, and this year celebrations will be taking place across the capital, with talks, workshops, events and exhibitions being held in honour of women around the world. Here's how you can
‘Accelerate Action’ is the theme of International Women’s Day 2025, chosen to inspire everyone nto to just talk about the need for a world that is more inclusive, equitable and diverse, btu actually take the practical steps towards making it a reality. Founded in 1911, International Women’s Day serves to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness for women’s equality, lobby for gender parity and fundraise for female-focused charities. In 2025, this equates to a host of exciting talks, festivals, events and exhibitions, which are being held throughout March in honour of women around the world. Here’s how you can get involved…
Celebrate 15 years of Women of the World
Women of the World (WOW) will celebrate its 15th anniversary this year with a speciall one-off event at the Royal Albert Hall on International Women’s Day. Taking its format from the original WOW Festival, WOW at 15 will feature an array of inspiring speakers, conversations, and performances headlined by legendary activist Angela Davis.
Also featuring Annie Lennox, Sandi Toksvig, and Liz Carr, with music from Grammy nominee Anoushka Shankar and celebrated composers Errollyn Wallen and Isobel Waller-Bridge, the day will compered by WOW’s pioneering founder Jude Kelly. If you’re looking to mark IWD with a day of laughter, joy, hope and inspiration, this is the event for you.
Tickets from £20, visit royalalberthall.com
Be inspired in Marylebone
From 3 March 2025, Marylebone Village will be hosting a week of events aimed at championing female-founded and led businesses. Taking place at locations across the neighbourhood, the campaign will kick off with a panel discussion at The Marylebone Hotel moderated by broadcaster Jo Good and featuring incsight from Rixo co-founder Henrietta Rix (pictured), Wyse London founder Marielle Wyse, Jennie Sage of Bayley & Sage, and Platform founder Stacy Chan. In addition to raising the profile of female business founder, the evening will also raise funds for Marylebone’s Project Sanctuary – the UK’s only womens-only 24/7 drop-in centre – with attendees encouraged to donate toiletries at the event.
Visit marylebonevillage.com
Hit the town with Mumble Forum
Tamara Beckwith
Mary Charteris
Head to immersive art gallery, the Moco Museum, on 6 March 2025 for a glamorous evening of culture, empowerment and good causes in the form of the Mumble Forum's fifth annual gala. The London-based women's networking club has enlisted a number of its A-list friends to help raise money for the Lady Garden Foundation – a women's health charity supporting research into five gynaecological cancers. The evening will begin with an insightful panel discussion featuring Moco Museum co-founder Kim Logchies-Prins, art collector maria Sukkar, and artists Martha Freud and Charlotte Colbert. There will then be a silent auctioned compered by Mark-Francis Vandelli, accompanied by champagne and canapes, before DJ Mary Charteris takes to the decks to get the party truly started.
Tickets from £220, visit lu.ma
Upgrade your wardrobe with Bella Freud
Luxury clothing brand Bella Freud – famous for its joyful hand-illustrated clothing and accessories – has released a limited edition T-shirt in honour of International Women's Day. Part of its ongoing partnership with The King's Trust, 20 per cent of sales from the T-shirt throughout March will be donated to support the charity's work helping young women facing disadvantage and adversity.
Support female artists with Sarabande
Tom, Bex Massey
Tale of Home, Semin Wong (2024)
Running from 6-12 March 2025 in Haggerston, Sarabande's third annual International Women's Day exhibition will bring together 11 of the creative arts foundation's female artists to present works exploring the idea of home. Titled Homesick, the show will be curated by Sarabande alumni Shirin Fathi and feature pieces by emerging talents including Rosie Gibbens, textile artist Jennifer Jones, and painter Bex Massey, who interrogate notions of domesticity through the lens of queerness, migration, and nostalgia. Like what you see? Many of the pieces will be available to buy at Sarabande's House of Bandits until 23 March.
Visit sarabandefoundation.org
Raise a toast at July
July – the chic Alsatian-inspired restaurant and wine bar in Fitzrovia – will be celebrating the brilliant women working in the wine industry with a special trade-style tasting evening on 10 March 2025. Partnering with Collecte Eve, a female-founded and led wine importer, the guided wine tasting will feature bottles from a selection of female producers, each of whom will be in the room to tell the story of their pour.
Tickets £15, book at eventbrite.com
Pamper yourself with Elemis
As part of an ongoing partnership with The King's Trust, Elemis will be donating £10 from each of its Dynamic Suo set sold online to support the charity's female-focused work. Featuring the brand's Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Wash and Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Pads, these tri-enzyme powered products promise smooth, radiant and more toned skin so you can look as good as your charitable donation makes you feel.
Celebrate female chefs at Firebird
Firebird – Soho’s female-owned, open-fire restaurant – is excited to announce the return of its Firebird & Friends series, which, this March, will invite Savannah Hagendijk of Amsterdam's celebrated Restaurant de Kas to London for a one-night-only pop-up in celebration of International Women’s Month. Taking place on 8 March, a sensational five-course menu that combines de Kas' plant-to-plate ethos with Firebird's flame and fire cooking will see guests treated to an array of innovative dishes, including pumpkin and mussel yakitori, braised pork cheek with garlic cream and nduja, and Jerusalem artichoke ice cream with rosemary caramel, anise pannacotta and coffee cacao crumble.
Visit firebird.co.uk
Indulge in an IWD special at Boxcar
In celebration of International Women’s Day, Marylebone's upscale bar and grill Boxcar is celebrating the talent of its female chefs with a special dish designed by sous chef Sara Dongiovanni. Inspired by her Italain heritage, the Pasta e Ceci signaure will be available for a week from 8 March 2025 and promises an indulgent way to celebrate women's achievements this IWD.
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