New Year’s Day Parade

Celebrate the start of the new year with a mighty procession of marching bands, carnival dancers and (oddly) American trucks. Celebrating all the cultures that make London amazing, the annual event stretches from Piccadilly to Parliament Street and starts at the hangover-friendly time of 1pm. There will be performances by the City of London Brass Band, Skaters, the Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band, All the Queen’s Horses, America’s Clogging Allstars and Carnaval del Pueblo among many, many, others.

Car lovers can enjoy drive-bys of Aston Martins, Rolls Royces, Mini Mokes ad Minis while animals lovers will enjoy seeing the Donkey Breed Society and (maybe?) the Creature Events. No parade is complete without some giant balloons and this year’s will be the distinctly British forms of the black cab and the red phone box.

The parade is part of a festival which includes a concert series and choral festival from the 29th of December to the 2nd of January. WHile some of the events require tickets, the parade is free to watch and we suggest you arrive early to secure a good spot.

Note that when performers pass the cenotaph they will fall silent, so best to find another spot to watch the parade (but ideal if you’re sensitive to noise).

(Lily Crossley-Baxter)