Lord Mayor of London Parade

Posted by Jackie Hewett on Thu 18th September 2008 at 02:46 AM, Filed in Europe,  November

This event has been going for around 800 years - since 1215 (including Dick Whittington in 1397).  Since 1959 it has taken place on the second Saturday every November.  In 2008 it will be on the 8th November.  It’s a great procession - about 3 miles long which is longer than the route the procession takes!  The procession starts at around 11.00am after an RAF flypast and a 2 minute silence to commemorate Armistice Day. Dick Whittington did in 1397

Twenty horse-drawn carriages, Welsh Guards, Household Cavalry, Royal Navy and Royal Gurkha Rifles all participate in addition to floats by a large number of businesses and charities.  The route starts at Mansion house and winds its way to the Royal Courts of Justice where the Lord Mayor swears allegiance to the Queen.  At 1.00pm the procession then makes a return journey from Victoria Embankment to Mansion House.

For the best view of the procession you can book in advance seats in the Grandstand which is situated outside St Paul’s Cathedral – but these do sell out a few weeks in advance and you have to be in your seats by 10.45am.  At 5pm in the evening there is a huge firework display on the river Thames between Blackfriars and Waterloo bridges.

The day finishes with one of London’s grandest firework displays at 5 o’clock from a barge moored in the Thames between Blackfriars and Waterloo bridges.
Take note though – the Lord Mayor of London has an administrative role within the City of London (the financial district also known as the square mile) and is completely different to the Mayor of London (currently Boris Johnson) who is the elected head of the Greater London Authority.

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