| Event Name: | The Lord Mayor-s Show |
| Description: | Since 1189 (during the rule of King John) there has been a Lord Mayor of London elected each year who represents the City of London, the traditional business centre of London (do not confuse the Lord Mayor with the Mayor of London, the role currently taken by Ken Livingstone). Each year a new mayor is elected and by tradition must travel from the City to Westminster to promise to serve the king or queen (on the second Saturday in November). There is a street parade which starts at the Guildhall at about 10:55am; this is watched by the new Lord Mayor from outside of Mansion House. The parade includes about 200 horses, 60 floats (displays on top of a vehicle), 200 motor vehicles, 20 marching bands and 23 carriages. It takes about one hour to pass. The Lord Mayor follows at the end of this procession in his golden coach (built in 1757). The procession travels past St Paul's Cathedral and ends at the Royal Courts of Justice in Aldwych. At 1.00pm the procession returns, starting near Temple tube station, and following Victoria Embankment and Queen Victoria Street back to the Guildhall, finishing at about 2:30pm. If you cannot go to the parade yourself, you can watch it on television on BBC1 between 10.45am and noon. Later in the day (starting at about 5pm) there are fireworks which are set off from a boat on the River Thames. Good places to see the fireworks are along Victoria Embankment, on Blackfriars Bridge or on Waterloo Bridge (all of these are near Temple tube station). |
| Type of Event: | Festivals - Fairs |
| Event Agenda: | Please leave your car at home! The roads are all closed, the whole of London is clogged up and there’s nowhere to park anyway. Come into town by train or tube (or bike) and you will be delivered to exactly the right spot.
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| Event Location: | Guildhall |
| Event City: | London |
| Type of Venue: | Outdoors - No Venue |
| Station/Stop: | |
| Directions: | Several tube stations will bring you out right on the processional route: St Pauls is on the outward leg, Mansion House on the return leg, and Bank is on both. Please note that Blackfriars Station, normally a good bet, is still closed and will not open in time for the Show.
Several other stations are within a very easy walk: Cannon Street, Monument and Moorgate are only a minute or two away, and Temple is close to the Royal Courts. They’re all on the map.
All these stations - especially Bank and St Pauls - are likely to be busy: leave a bit more time than usual for your journey, and please be patient leaving the station. |
| Event Start Date | 12-Nov-11 |