City Pageantry!

The next Lord Mayor's Show will be held on Saturday 12 November 2022 and is a chance to soak up the atmosphere of tradition, pomp and ceremony in the City of London. St Paul's Cathedral is usually free to enter on the day - visit the Whispering Gallery and see London from a unique perspective from the outside balcony. Did you know St Paul's was the highest building in the City until 1963!

800 years ago, The Lord Mayor’s Show began as an early Medieval power play; bad King John attempts to get London on his side and his Barons use the city as a base from which to mount their rebellion. It started as a procession to Westminster for the King to bless the new Lord Mayor. Originally on the River Thames (hence the origin of the term “floats”), it now passes from Bank, up Fleet Street and the Strand to Aldwych.

The spectacle has inspired many writers and artists over its eight centuries, from diarist Samuel Pepys, playwright William Shakespeare, to artists Canaletto and William Hogarth.

Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC BY-SA 3.0