▇ "Scenes from the Lord Mayor's Show, City of London" ▇ ★ Lord Mayor's Show The Lord Mayor's Show is one of the longest-established and best-known annual events in London which dates back over 500 years. The Lord Mayor after whom the show is named is the Lord Mayor of the City of London, a city and ceremonial county within Greater London and the historic centre of the metropolis as well as its main modern financial district, informally known as 'the Square Mile'. A new Lord Mayor is appointed every year and the public parade that is made of his or her inauguration reflects the fact that this was once one of the most prominent offices in England. The position of Lord Mayor has a role in the Square Mile, whilst the Mayor of London (a role which has existed only since 2000) is a different individual entirely, namely the elected head of the Greater London Authority. The Lord Mayor's Show is centred on a street parade which in its modern form is a light-hearted combination of traditional British pageantry and elements of carnival. On the day after being sworn in, the Lord Mayor and several others participate in a procession from the Guildhall in the centre of the City of London to the Royal Courts of Justice on the edge of the City of Westminster, where the Lord Mayor swears his or her allegiance to the Crown. ★ Origin and date of the show The office of Lord Mayor dates from 1189 and it was a requirement of the charter establishing it that the mayor travelled the royal enclave at Westminster to present himself to the monarch's representatives, the senior judges as Barons of the Exchequer to take an oath of loyalty to the Sovereign upon beginning his term. The event is officially listed in the City's Civic Calendar as 'The Procession to the Royal Courts of Justice and Presentation of the Lord Mayor to the Chief Justices'; when the Royal Courts moved from Wesminster to the Strand location in 1882 the route was shortened. Originally this journey was mostly made by barge on the River Thames, the usual method of transport for this route in those days. Pageantry and display gradually grew around the trip, comparable to the far less frequent Royal Entry parades that usually followed a coronation or royal wedding, and by the 16th century the "show" was firmly established as a major entertainment for Londoners. In London, the show occurred annually on 29 October. In 1751, Great Britain replaced the Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar; the Lord Mayor's Show was then moved to 9 November. In 1959, another change was made: the Lord Mayor's Show is now held on the second Saturday in November. The Lord Mayor's Show has regularly been held on the scheduled day; it has not been moved since 1852, when the show made way for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington's funeral. The show was not interrupted by the Second World War. The Lord Mayor has been making that journey every year for 477 years, surviving plague and fire and countless wars and insurrections. The modern Lord Mayor's procession is a direct descendant of that first journey to Westminster. The running order for this year: 1 Band of the Scots Guards 2 Commander, City of London Police/DCom LONDIST 3 Women in the City & Livery 4 CMS Cameron McKenna 5 NatWest Mobile Business School 6 The Spice of Life 7 Society of Young Freemen with Gog & Magog 8 Romford Drum & Trumpet Corps 9 City of London Solicitors' Company 10 Clio's Company 11 Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers 12 Worshipful Company of Lightmongers 13 Worshipful Company of Builders' Merchants 14 The Law Society 15 Band of the Royal Air Force 16 Royal Air Force Marching Contingent 17 Royal Air Force 18 600 (City of London) Squadron, Royal Air Force Reserves 19 Spare Tyre 20 Caporales San Simon Londres 21 Raleigh International 22 Air Training Corps Band 23 Air Training Corps 24 Middlesex and North West London Army Cadet Force 25 University of London Officer Training Corps 26 Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers 27 Princess Alice Hospice 28 Bathstore 29 The London Regiment 30 B Company, 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment 31 F & G Companies 7th Battalion The Rifles 32 265 (Home Counties) Battery 106(Y) Regt RA 33 Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths 34 Cherished Memories 35 Corps of Drums Society 36 The Cook & The Butler Event Company 37 Endurance Steel Orchestra 38 Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, London 39 Welcome to Yorkshire 40 Keele University 41 Guild of the Royal Hospital of St Bartholomew 42 Isle of Sheppey St John Ambulance Band 43 St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group 44 City Bridge Trust working with Heart n Soul 45 Dogs Trust 46 Modern Livery Companies 47 Variety, the Children's Charity 48 St Dunstan's CCF Band 49 Worshipful Company of Marketors ..... .... 154 562 Squadron, 151 (London) Transport Regiment 155 City of London Corporation

• published: 13 Nov 2013
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