February 18, 2026

International Women’s Day And Women’s History Month 2026 Events In London

The Royal Albert Hall holds an International Women’s Day concert. Photo: Matt Brown/Londonist

March is Women’s History Month, while 8 March is International Women’s Day 2026 — and there are loads of events celebrating women and girls, non-binary and female-identifying people this month.

These are our picks of events and things to do in London:

An Open Letter To My Younger Self at The Barbary

Hear from Mary Portas OBE at The Barbary

Ahead of International Women’s Day, Mary Portas OBE is interviewed by comedian and cultural critic Viv Groskop at The Barbary in Notting Hill. The event, An Open Letter To My Younger Self, raises money for the King’s Trust’s Change a Girl’s Life, while inviting the retail businesswoman and broadcaster to pass on her wisdom and experience.

An Open Letter To My Younger Self at The Barbary in Notting Hill, 4 March 2026.

Women’s History Month at Poplar Union

East London community centre Poplar Union hosts a programme of Women’s History Month events, including a Women Building Futures panel discussion (5 March); the EmpowerHer Market celebrating female-makers and women-led grassroots organisations (15 March); a wellness workshop and empowering panel talk for female entrepreneurs (21 March); and a guided canal walk and coffee morning led by Women Building Futures.

Women’s History Month at Poplar Union, 5-21 March 2026.

EVE Wrestling: Women Behaving Badly at Big Penny Social

EVE: Riot Grrrls of Wrestling was founded to destroy misconceptions that wrestling is a male-dominated industry. It’s described as a “punk-rock, women’s wrestling and cabaret night out”, and comes to Big Penny Social in Walthamstow for a special International Women’s Day event.

Eve Wrestling at Big Penny Social, 6 March 2026.

International Women’s Day at Cavita

Marylebone Mexican restaurant Cavita celebrates International Women’s Day with a special lunch, bringing together five trailblazing female chefs from all over the world. Adriana Cavita, Ayesha Kalaji, Keshia Sakarah, Maria Bradford and Sabrina Gidda whip up a collaborative feast, to be enjoyed alongside a Q&A hosted by entrepreneur, cookbook author and podcast host Justine Murphy, focusing on the chefs’ journeys, their influences — and their experiences building careers in the UK food industry today.

Profits from the event go to women’s and children’s charity Refuge.

International Women’s Day at Cavita, 8 March 2026.

International Women’s Day at the Royal Albert Hall

Described as “classical music’s Taylor Swift”, Royal Albert Hall organist Anna Lapwood MBE rose to fame with her online videos of performances during lockdown. For International Women’s Day 2026, she hosts a special concert showcasing the work of female composers, particularly in the film scores genre, with performances by trailblazing saxophonist Jess Gillam and singer-songwriter Katie Melua.

International Women’s Day Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, 8 March 2026.

Women’s Spring Open Exhibition at Brady Arts Centre

Whitechapel’s Brady Arts & Community Centre holds the Women’s Spring Open Exhibition, a group art show celebrating the talents of both amateur and professional female artists from across Tower Hamlets. The work includes pastels and watercolours, prints and collages, acrylics, photography and more, across a variety of topics and styles.

Women’s Spring Open Exhibition at Brady Arts Centre, 8-23 March 2026.

Women in Jazz at Southbank Centre

Musician Celeste discusses her career. Image: Siam Coy

Over one weekend in the middle of March, Southbank Centre hosts the Montreux Jazz Festival Residency, an offshoot of the annual music festival in Switzerland. There are two Women in Jazz events on the programme this year: vocalist Lucy-Anne Daniels showcases her talent in a live performance on 13 March, while music journalist Emma Warren speaks to singer-songwriter Celeste about her career on 14 March.

Women in Jazz at Southbank Centre, 13-14 March 2026

Iranian Women’s Voices at the British Library

WritersMosaic presents an evening of conversation, poetry, film and music at the British Library to celebrate new publication Iranian Women’s Voices. Writers Marjorie Lotfi, Sana Nassari and Shara Atashi take part, along with Iranian musicians, and there’s a chance to view the photography of Hengameh Golestan, documenting women protesting the oppression of the Iranian authorities.

Iranian Women’s Voices at the British Library, 16 March 2026.

Threads of Liberation at Mile End Library

Queen Mary Archives and Tower Hamlets Archives team up to showcase materials from their collections relating to women’s liberation in east London. Get an insight into local women who have fought for justice, and the lasting impact they had, through presentations from the archive teams. That’s followed by a nakshi kantha (traditional Bengali embroidery) workshop led by Oitij-jo Collective, an organisation platforming British/Bangla women.

Threads of Liberation at Mile End Library, FREE, 25 March 2026.

Insight: Portraits of Women in Surgery at the Hunterian Museum

Anusha Edwards, by Rebecca Sellick and Dawn White, North Bristol NHS Trust

In 2025, for the first time ever, the UK had more female than male doctors, something celebrated in the Hunterian Museum’s current (FREE!) exhibition, Insight: Portraits of Women in Surgery, which happens to run though Women’s History Month. The exhibition shines a spotlight (or should that be operating light) on women in surgery working across the UK today, offering an intimate and contemporary look at surgical life through photographic portraits taken by NHS trust staff, including specialist clinical photographers and, in one case, a fellow surgeon.

Insight: Portraits of Women in Surgery at the Hunterian Museum, FREE, until 18 April 2026.

TfL renames some of its hire cycles

As we reported in January, TfL is marking International Women’s Day 2026 by renaming 10 of its cycle-hire bikes after notable women cyclists. Some will be named after famous women (think Olympians Victoria Pendleton and Dame Laura Kenny), while others will be unsung heroes.

International Women’s Day 2026 walking tours

Hear about women linked to Southwark Cathedral and the surrounding area. Photo: Matt Brown/Londonist

WOMEN OF LONDON: A history tour company focusing on women’s history, Women of London offers female-centric tours all year round, including one focusing on women in the British Museum, and another telling the stories of working women in the East End. Keep an eye on the website for Women’s History Month/International Women’s Day specials.

WARRIOR WOMEN: Tour company Footprints of London offers two different Warrior Women themed tours, each one taking place several times throughout the month. Warrior Women at the National Portrait Gallery takes you through the institution, hearing about women who have shaped history by fighting for what they thought was right. Elsewhere, the Warrior Women Walking Tour begins at Westminster Millennium Pier and takes you through Westminster and Whitehall focusing on queens, campaigners and spies — and the monuments and buildings marking their achievements. Throughout March 2026

SHOREDITCH TOWN HALL: Tour the Grade II listed Shoreditch Town Hall, with a focus on the stories of Suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst, women’s rights advocate Helen Taylor, and Shoreditch’s first woman mayor Henrietta Girling OBE. 8 March 2026. The venue also holds a talk about the women historically linked to Shoreditch Town Hall, on the same day.

WOMEN OF SOUTHWARK: A Southwark Cathedral guide leads an hour-long Women of Southwark tour, focusing on women whose lives were connected to the cathedral, including Victorian educator Octavia Hill and Queen Mary. 9 March 2026

HERSTORY AT ROYAL OPERA HOUSE: Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House offers regular HerStory tours, telling the stories of women who shaped the legacy of the building and institution since the 18th century, through managing, directing and performing in shows — or otherwise exerting their influence. Hear about women who defied gender convention, visionary choreographers, and those who supported the Allied war effort. Currently booking until 18 April 2026

Women’s History Month 2026 talks, lectures and debates

Hallie Rubenhold takes part in The Conversation

OLD MASTERS: Art historian Franny Moyle kickstarts Women’s History Month at the National Gallery with an illustrated talk reassessing the work of two of the most significant and innovative painters of the 18th century: Angelica Kauffman and Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun. Find out how these women referenced Old Masters in their work, inviting positive comparison while showcasing their considerable talents, at a time when the professional cards were stacked against women in the art world. 2 March 2026

THE BRONTES: Author Sharon Wright marks International Women’s Day with the story of the iconic and much-loved Brontë portraits in the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection. Hear the artworks’ stories, including their long journey from West Yorkshire to London via Ireland, and some of the questions which surround them. 5 March 2026

BLACK WOMEN SPEAK VOLUMES: Celebrate the launch of two powerful new books, which showcase the stories of older Black women, at the British Library. The books are Yvvette Edwards’ tragi-comic novel, Good Good Loving, and creative entrepreneur Joy Francis’ Challenging Britannia, where she interviews seven ground-breaking older black women in the arts. Broadcaster and author Andi Oliver takes part in the event, chaired by writer Bernardine Evaristo. 6 March 2026

DEEDS NOT WORDS: Hear about the Suffragettes’ radical fight for the vote, the women behind the protests, and their lasting impact, in a talk by art historian and Blue Badge guide Eleanor Jackson, at Wilderness Kitchen in Clerkenwell. 8 March 2026

STATUES OF GEORGIAN WOMEN: Juliet Rix, author of London’s Statues of Women, gives a talk about both London’s Georgian statues of women and London’s statues of Georgian women. Among those mentioned are celebrity actress Sarah Siddons — the first named non-royal woman to get a statue in London — as well as the more recent depiction of Mary Wollstonecraft by Maggi Hambling. 10 March 2026

WOMEN IN WILDLIFE: The Zoological Society of London, the charity which runs London Zoo as well as various conservation projects around the world, offers a free talk about the women who shaped the organisation’s history, and those working within it today. Zoologist, author and broadcaster Julie Cooke hosts. 10 March 2026

HALLIE RUBENHOLD: Best known for her book The Five, which gave a voice to the women who became victims of Jack the Ripper, author Hallie Rubenhold is guest speaker at The Conversation, a weekly series of talks at St Martin-in-the-Fields. She discusses what their stories tell us about gender and social justice in 19th and 20th century London, and what that means for today. 24 March 2026