What's the World Water Wedding?

For people around the world to publicly commit to water for life, because water is life!

A month of actions to launch this campaign between Sun 24 Aug to Sun 28 Sept.

Then nurture your relationship with your chosen water source before a day of water commitment ceremonies and weddings across the world on Sun 22 Mar 2026.

The initial idea of a 'wedding' was inspired by Meg Avon, a writer and campaigner from Bristol. The XRUK Dirty Water team have created this action pack to support you in getting involved by creating your own actions and events around water.

Key dates and calendar of actions and events.

Marriage vows often include a commitment to love ‘for better or worse, in sickness and in health’. The World Water Wedding will both celebrate this miraculous basis of life and grieve the sickness facing many of our bodies of water.

Find Your Flow

There are many ways that you can be involved in the World Water Wedding; from organising a joyous hand-fasting / commitment / ceremony, through to NVDA actions, such as occupations, blockades, mass trespass and Citizen’s Arrests and anything in between.

The World Water Wedding can apply to any body of water, from the smallest puddle to the biggest ocean. The Earth is mostly made up of water; rain, glaciers, the polar icecaps, springs, mist and much more are all part of our global water cycle. Despite this, only 2.5% of it is freshwater, and less than 1% is easily accessible and safe for humans to use.

“Rivers are the arteries of our planet; they are lifelines in the truest sense.” Mark Angelo

Ambition

The campaign will build through 2025 and 2026 to a global day of action and weddings on Sun 22 March, to coincide with World Water Day. Everyone around the world commits to water for life.

Key campaign dates are deliberately connected to international water dates, which helps to bring media attention to water-related activities.

Inspiration from Meg

In 2023 Meg Avon, inspired by the Conham Bathing Campaign in Bristol UK, organised a wedding ceremony to symbolise her commitment to the River Avon. The ceremony was a unique way to draw attention to the problem of sewage pollution in the River Avon and to advocate for cleaner water.

By ‘marrying’ the river, Meg aimed to create a sense of guardianship and inspire others to take action. The wedding was filmed as part of the documentary ‘Rave On for the Avon’ - watch the trailer above.

Meg Avon subsequently appeared on ‘This Morning’ to share her story.

Please upload all the events you plan for the World Water Wedding to the XR Map and Calendar. You can do this by filling in this simple online form. You can also use the form to request any additional support you might need for your event.