The world’s oldest civic procession
The world’s oldest civic procession has been an annual feature of London life for almost 800 years.
On November 13th, join the throngs lining the streets to see 220 vehicles, 71 floats, 13 marching bands and 21 carriages including the Lord Mayor’s gilded State Coach. The parade begins at 11am after an immaculately timed flypast by the armed forces and winds its way for over three miles from Guildhall, past St Pauls Cathedral to the Royal Courts of Justice. After the ceremony the procession returns to Mansion House.
On the day, there will also be entertainment including acrobats from Hong Kong, Zulu warriors, samba dancers and free guided walks of the City of London where ancient churches and hidden pubs rub shoulders with modern office blocks. But perhaps the biggest draw is the enormous fireworks display that thunders over the River Thames at 5pm. The display takes a team of eight pyrotechnicians two days to set up and includes more than half a tonne of giant fireworks, some of which shoot over 600ft into the sky.