Bright start for Lord Mayor
SUN SHINES ON UNVEILING ‘FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1634’
THOUSANDS of people lined the City of London to join in the celebrations as centuries-old tradition met modernity at the Lord Mayor’s Show.
Peter Estlin is the 691st Lord Mayor of London and has an ambition to help champion digital innovation, transforming the way people work and live.
He has taken ‘shaping tomorrow’s City today’ as his theme for the year.
He told the gathering on Saturday: “As a pioneering nation, we have the opportunity to shape this agenda internationally and today is a step in that direction as we celebrate and shine a spotlight on those organisations making this happen.”
The show has its origins in 1215 and is designed to ‘show’ the new Lord Mayor to the people of London.
This year, 7,000 people took part, together with 200 horses and 140 motor and steam-driven vehicles.
The procession included children from the City’s schools, run by the Sir John Cass’s Foundation, as well as the Corporation’s apprentices and staff celebrating diversity.
The Lord Mayor’s charity partners – youth organisation OnSide Youth Zone, Place2Be and Samaritans also joined a float. The City’s worshipful and livery companies representing ancient and modern trades, such as insurers and glove-makers, processed three miles through the streets in the ceremony organised by pageant master Dominic Reid.
There was also a large military presence with the London Regiment and 256 (City of London) Field Hospital RAMC among those joining the parade.
The theme of remembrance was also in evidence as London marked the centenary of the end of the Great War. There was a departure from tradition in one way however.
According to Bishopsgate Deputy Tom Sleigh, this is the first year since 1634 that the sun shone for the Lord Mayor’s Show.
The ceremony started with the Lord Mayor’s departure from his official residence The Mansion House before he set off 691 birds to mark the continuity of history.
He then processed through the City in the Lord Mayor’s Golden State coach to the Royal Courts of Justice where he swore allegiance to the monarch.
This mayoral year will encompass the UK’s departure from the EU in March. The Lord Mayor said he will be promoting business in London at home and internationally during the Brexit period.
“My focus will be on our financial and related professional services, as well as our new emerging industries that are shaping our future,” he said.
He said he wanted to raise awareness of the need to be digitally savvy and help more young people get work experience and a chance to pick up these skills, while making sure that people across the community are not left behind.
This year the spectacular fireworks display which ends the celebrations was cancelled after police said there was a risk of attack by terrorists.
Chief Inspector Wright told the Corporation’s policy and resources committee there was a risk of people getting crushed as they tried to leave and more than an extra 100 police might be needed to protect the public.
Committee chairman Catherine McGuinness told councillors “The advice we have been given is that it is not safe. I do need to be clear with you that’s the advice we have been given.”
City street sweepers brought up the rear of the procession to start the clean up after the celebrations.