London streets have been filled with punters trying to catch a glimpse of the pomp and ceremony of the Lord Mayor’s Show.
The ancient 800-year-old tradition sees a huge procession of marching bands take over the Square Mile, along with iconic cockney Pearly Queens and Kings and other light-hearted traditional British pageantry.
This year there is even a robot to welcome in the modern age.
It will be led by the brand-new Lord Mayor, Alderman Bronek Masojada, 64, of the Billingsgate ward.
He will be the 698th Lord Mayor of the City of London, succeeding Lady Mayor Dame Susan Langley DBE – the first to take the title Lady Mayor, though not the first female Lord Mayor.
A new one is elected every year on September 29. They are then sworn in the day before the Lord Mayor’s Show to lead the festivities.
The office of Lord Mayor is not to be confused with the Mayor of London, currently Sadiq Khan. The former is largely a ceremonial ambassadorial office which began in 1189, and its jurisdiction is kept within the confines of the City of London.
Lord Mayor Masojada – a global leader in the insurance industry – said: ‘It is a profound honour to be elected as Lord Mayor of the City of London.
‘I will showcase the many British opportunities, persuade British and international capital to invest in those opportunities, and champion talent, both, local and global.’
The 698th Lord Mayor of the City of London Alderman Bronek Masojada, 64, waves to crowds from the State Coach
Iconic cockney East End Pearly Queens and Kings join the procession in the Square Mile
A robot was seen joining the march, welcoming the modern age to this ancient 800-year-old tradition
The Lord Mayor inspects servicemen during the festivities ahead of the march
Members of the Polish community take part in the Lord Mayor’s Show. The Lord Mayor is of Polish descent but was born in South Africa
A marching band plays in their bear-skin hats while following the parade
There are all sorts of whimsical pageantry involved in the parade these days as it has evolved over centuries
The three-mile parade through the heart of the Square Mile features over 6,500 participants, 250 horses, and more than 50 decorated floats
The show is one of the world’s oldest and longest civic procession
Servicemen and women take part, backed by old military vehicles in London’s streets
Liverymen carry oars and escort the coach. The oars are an homage to the Mayor’s barge, which used to be rowed down the Thames by members of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen
While older military vehicles made an appearance, so too did their more modern counterparts
Vintage steam-powered cars made their way through the streets behind
Finely dressed marching bands all added to the busy atmosphere
They started the parade at Mansion House and walked down past St Paul’s Cathedral, then all the way down Fleet Street to the Royal Courts of Justice
The return route began at Temple on the Embankment and went back up to Mansion House
An inflatable balloon shaped as a piece of meat was towed along by butchers in the parade
Bagpipers play as they stride past the west entrance of St Paul’s Cathedral
Children got involved in the marching bands and donned the red ceremonial uniforms
There were 250 horses included in the parade this year
The vibrant annual show dates back to 1215, when King John decreed that each new holder of the position should go to Westminster to swear an oath of loyalty.
King John created the office himself in a hopeless attempt to try to appease the barons as they grew more impatient with his poor leadership.
Since then, the ceremony has changed and grown a great deal.
Lord Mayor Alderman Bronek Masojada waved to crowds from the window of the exquisitely gilded State Coach, as is tradition.
He wore the Lord Mayor’s ceremonial red robes and black feathered hat for the event and inspected the servicemen on show ahead of the parade.
Once this was done, he hopped into the golden State Coach – first used in 1757 for the procession to travel from Mansion House, the Lord Mayor’s official residence, tp the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand.
Once at the Courts, Lord Mayor Masojada was photographed swearing an oath of allegiance to the sovereign – as was done all those years ago when King John began the tradition.
Lord Mayor Masojada is of Polish decsent but was born in South Africa, where he was raised and educated, studying Civil Engineering at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Lord Mayor of the City of London Alderman Bronek Masojada was sworn in as the 698th person to hold the position at Guildhall. His predecessor, Lady Mayoress, Dame Susan Langley, sits on the right
Lord Mayor Masojada and his wife Jane pose for photos after the Silent Ceremony at Guildhall
He also completed national service as a lieutenant in the South African Army.
He then moved into the world of insurance and became the Chief Executive of Hiscox in London in 2000, stepping down in 2021.
He was elected as alderman for the ward of Billingsgate in 2019 and served as one of the two Sheriffs of London for 2023/24 – a mandatory prequisite for being made mayor.
