15 June, 2018

Last Sunday I went down to the Processions 2018 march from Park Lane to Parliament Square in London. For those unaware, Processions was a mass artwork event to celebrate 100 years of women having the right vote in the UK.

The Artichoke Trust in collaboration with various governmental agencies and corporate sponsors organised the event, and as women turned up we were given a long stretch of fabric to wrap around our heads or bodies in either green, white or violet (standing for the Suffragette premise: ‘Give Women Votes’). We were then organised by our colours to replicate the Suffragette flag.

It was a terrific atmosphere and overall a roaring success, with hundreds of thousands of women turning up across the three Processions held in London, Edinburgh and Belfast. The press coverage has been vast, a google search alone of ‘Processions’ can provide you with an insight.

Organisers spoke with press about the events and how it took them years rather than months to plan. The motivation behind Processions was one of celebration, with the locations chosen the UK capitals, so that each route ensured the women would walk past the seat of power in each city.

Processions managed to deliver a wide array of coverage across the media landscape. This highlights the importance of planning and strategising in delivering a great campaign, as well as the power of images in generating coverage and social media buzz.

Eleanor Wilson