T
he Lord Mayor’s Show is a yearly event in the City of London, a three-mile procession watched by millions on television and bringing many thousands of visitors on the day. We spoke to Pageantmaster, Dominic Reid OBE about the challenges of keeping this iconic
event secure. An ancient and unique event
The Show began in the early thirteenth century when King John demanded that each newly elected Mayor travel to Westminster to ‘show’ himself and swear loyalty to the crown. This tradition has continued since then. Dominic explained: “The Lord Mayor is escorted from Mansion House, his formal residence in the City, to the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand where the Oath has been sworn since 1883.” The Lord Mayor is accompanied by a lively, diverse, joyous procession. Dominic adds: “An unbroken tradition of 800 years is an extraordinary thing. The Lord Mayor’s Show is the only event of its kind in the world that has taken place annually over eight centuries. The Show occupies a unique place in the culture of London and the nation.”
Facts and Figures
The procession varies each year, but an average of 7,000 people take part – including around 2,000 military personnel and 2,000 under-eighteens, several hundred vehicles and horses.
There are participating organisations from all over the UK and world joining the Lord Mayor, with floats representing City charities, schools, community groups, musicians, performers, financial institutions, military bands, and Livery companies.
Historic risks and threats
The Lord Mayor’s Show has endured through the plague, the Great Fire of London, and Gordon Riots just before the 1832 Show. In 1915, it was used as a military recruiting exercise, with people encouraged to follow the Lord Mayor’s coach to sign up. Unfortunately, they were put off by extreme weather. In World War II, the procession was just a brisk military parade without the coach, but even so, the Lord Mayor succeeded in travelling to Westminster at the height of the Blitz to pledge his loyalty to the Crown.
The bombing of the City of London was the backdrop to the Shows in 1992 and 1993, with a continuing threat from the IRA and PIRA through the rest of the1990s. This backdrop continued into the new millennium with terrorist threats and attacks in the City, including the London bombings in 2005. Occupy London anti-capitalist protestors were camped outside St Paul’s Cathedral in 2011.
9 © CITY SECURITY MAGAZINE – SPRING 2024
www.citysecuritymagazine.com
800 years the Lord Mayor’s
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