AN event celebrating women from all backgrounds is set to be “bigger and better” when it makes a return to Bradford later this year.

The Women of the World (WOW) Festival will take place across the city on November 18 and 19 after making its debut last year, the first time the event had been held anywhere in the north of England.

The festival is an annual event held at the Southbank Centre in London that in recent years has spread to other cities across the world, including five in the UK.

Full details of the festival programme are yet to be announced, but organisers say the event will again recognise the achievements of women and girls and take a frank look at what stops them from achieving their potential.

A spokesman for the festival said: “WOW marks the centenary of female suffrage in 2018, and this year it is expected to be bigger and better than ever. The festival creates an opportunity for hundreds of women and men, boys and girls from across the city to come together under one roof and celebrate the achievements of women and girls.”

Last year, events looked at issues such as body image, the concept of “shame,” and female sporting figures, and included music and dance workshops and talks by “badass women of Bradford.” The programme was shaped by women from across Bradford’s different communities, including a group of teenage girls known as the ‘Wowsers’.

This year’s event is set to consist of more than 45 different talks, performances, and workshops at the Kala Sangam arts centre and Bradford Cathedral.

Music and dance will also feature throughout, alongside debates over hard-hitting issues which affect women on local, national, and international levels.

Saliha Rubani, WOW Bradford festival programmer, said: “Bradford is so easily overlooked as a city that has nothing going for it. But as a proud Bradfordian, I know there is so much beauty here. This festival is a great way of showing what Bradford has to offer and how amazing the women of this city are.”

Jude Kelly, artistic director at the Southbank Centre and founder of WOW, said: “WOW festivals are designed to be agents of change in their host cities, providing a space for women to participate in discussion, education, and collaboration on the issues that most impact their lives. WOW is the biggest gathering of women and girls across the globe, and I’m so pleased that Bradford is part of this story for change.”