The Lord Mayor's Show 2011

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Posted 2011-10-09 by Trev M ⇒ follow

Sat 12 Nov 2011

There are few processions on the London events calendar quite as colourful and fun as the Lord Mayor's Show .

It first started way back in the 12th century. Since then, 795 shows have taken place, with this year's procession welcoming the newly elected 684th Lord Mayor of the City of London, David Wootton. Bear in mind, this is the Lord Mayor of the City of London, not the Boris-Johnson Greater London type of mayor.

The Lord Mayor of the City of London has many roles, one of which is to promote around the world the City of London's Square Mile financial district as an attractive place to do business.

The role is, by all accounts, no walk in the park. The unpaid, apolitical position involves some 700 speeches a year and thousands of face-to-face meetings.

Anyway, let's take a closer look at the Lord Mayor's Show, which this year takes place on 12th November.

This is definitely a family event - kids and parents alike will love the procession, which this year comprises around 6,000 participants, 200 vehicles, 20 carriages (including the 254-year-old gold Lord Mayor's State Coach), 70 floats, 150 horses and 20 marching bands.

The procession starts at 11am and covers a distance of three miles, travelling first from Mansion House to the Royal Courts of Justice.

There, the Lord Mayor takes an oath of allegiance to the sovereign before the procession returns to Mansion House via Victoria Embankment.

The fun day reaches a dazzling finale with a spectacular fireworks display over the Thames. The display starts at 5pm and takes place between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge.

The Lord Mayor's Show is free to attend. However, for those who want to guarantee a great view of the procession, a limited number of grandstand seats are available close to St Paul's Cathedral. Seats cost £30 each and come with a complimentary commemorative programme.

To find out how to book a seat, click here . Truth be told, the route is long enough that if you arrive in good time, you should have little trouble finding a spot where you can comfortably see all the floats pass by.

Organisers are keen to stress that there's no point driving to the show as many roads in the area will be closed on the day. Much better to take public transport to the City.