Local Customs
November 2015Lord Mayor's Show
The ultimate in historic pomp and pageantry, the annual journey of the Lord Mayor from the City to Westminster to swear allegiance to the monarch has taken place since 1215.
Over the 784 years of its history, the Mayor's annual journey became so magnificent that it was known as the Lord Mayor's Show. It involves the participation of City livery companies, charities, Her Majesty's Forces and local Londoners - all of them coming together in a totally unique celebration of the capital's historic traditions.
The 3-mile-long procession winds through the streets of the Square Mile. It starts at Mansion House at 11am, following a military flypast. It then moves down Cheapside to St Paul's Cathedral, where the Lord Mayor receives the blessing of the Church before moving on to the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand, where he swears allegiance to the Sovereign. The procession then makes its way back to the City, finishing at c. 2pm.
Traditionally, the end of the Lord Mayor's Show and the beginning of the new Mayoral year is marked with a magnificent display of fireworks on the River Thames between Blackfriars Bridge and Waterloo Bridge at 5pm.
