Dating back to 1535, the Lord Mayor’s Show is one of the oldest, longest established and best known annual events in London.
The show takes place on Saturday 10th November throughout the streets of the City. The lively 3-mile procession features 6,000 participants with a wide and colourful array of floats, cheered along by hundreds of people who line the streets to enjoy the spectacle. Gog and Magog, two enormous wicker figures, will make their return to menace spectators as part of their guise as guardians of the City of London.
The show is fun and provides an exciting display, as well as the perfect excuse to explore London’s Square Mile. If you’re hoping to make a weekend of it, the Travelodge Liverpool Street hotel provides nearby low-cost accommodation in the area. However the City is well-connected and if you choose to stay further out, in a cheaper location or perhaps one that’s closer to the key tourist sites, the sheer number of underground stations makes it incredibly easy to move around.
Photo So what’s it all about?
Back in 1213, King John gave permission to the City to choose its own Mayor. The only condition was that the new Mayor must take a procession upriver to pledge loyalty to the Crown - and today’s festival has grown out of this tradition. The current Mayor is not required to travel by boat, but instead makes the journey to the Royal Courts in Aldwych accompanied by all manners of different floats, marching bands, dancers and general pomp and ceremony, just as it was hundreds of years ago. If you’re hoping to catch the procession this year, you can take your place on a number of roads in and around the City. The procession leaves Mansion House just after 11.00am, following the traditional route through the Square Mile via Bank, St Pauls and Fleet Street to the Royal Courts of Justice at Aldwych. This is where the oath is taken before the Mayor embarks on the return journey back to Mansion House. Later in the day a spectacular firework display will light up the Thames from its lift-off point between Blackfriars and Waterloo bridges. This alone is well worth watching, even if you don’t catch the procession itself.
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Whether you’re here for the elaborate finery of the procession, the fireworks or you just fancy seeing more of the world-famous financial district, the Lord Mayor’s Show is the perfect excuse to come and spend a little time in the City of London.
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