Sunshine kids are invited to participate in 2007 Lord Mayor's Show

Facts about the Lord Mayor’s Show:

• First Lord Mayor was elected in 1215; the Show is now in its 792nd year.
• It welcomes in the 680th Lord Mayor of the City of London.
• The Show takes place annually on the second Saturday in November.
• At 5pm, the Lord Mayor will light the touch paper to the Lord Mayor’s Fireworks display on the River Thames between Blackfriars and Waterloo Bridge. A team of eight pyrotechnicians takes two days to set more than half a tonne of giant fireworks, some of which shoot more than 600ft into the air. It is the largest firework display in London.
• The word ‘float’, used to describe components of a parade or procession, is derived from the Lord Mayor’s Show when originally the exhibits would do just that – ‘float’ along the Thames in barges.
• The Pageantmaster, Dominic Reid, is responsible for organising the logistics of the Show – this includes arranging for the lifting and checking of 3,500 manhole covers, installation of 4,000 grandstand seats and 6,300 galvanised crowd barriers and laying of 43 tonnes of sand. He also organises the 6,000 participants, 180 vehicles and 20 marching bands.
• Last year there were more than 6,000 participants, 1,550 military personnel, 249 vehicles from Morris Minors to open top buses, 71 floats, 24 bands of all shapes and sizes and a giant mechanical Bengali tiger.
• To enjoy the celebrations, get to the City for the morning of Saturday 10th November and nab a place on the well-marked route. The procession will weave its way from Guildhall in the heart of the City, through the historic streets of the Square Mile, passing the Mansion House and St. Paul’s Cathedral before continuing to the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand.

About the Role of the Lord Mayor

The Lord Mayor of the City of London acts as an international ambassador for the UK business and financial services industry. He spends up to 80 days a year, travelling to around 20 countries to promote this industry and the Square Mile as a place of excellence in which to do business. As head of the City of London the Lord Mayor is involved with local government and London-wide issues, from the City of London’s work in the regeneration of neighbouring boroughs to transport and environmental issues which affect the City. On behalf of the Sovereign and the Government, he also acts as host when the City of London provides hospitality for visiting heads of state and foreign dignitaries.

About the City of London Corporation

The ancient City of London Corporation has a 21st-century role supporting the business city as the world’s leading international financial and business centre. The City of London Corporation provides local government services for the City of London ‘Square Mile’ at the heart of London – but its responsibilities also extend far beyond the City boundaries and include paying for and running the Barbican Centre, Epping Forest, Hampstead Heath, and three wholesale food markets, as well as acting as the London Port Health Authority.

Press release published Tuesday 02 October 2007

Sunshine International Arts, which has been working with young people in Lambeth and Southwark, is one of six London groups to have received £10,500 in funding from the Lord Mayor of the City of London to create colourful carnival costumes which will feature in the Lord Mayor’s Show.

In the coming weeks, around 30 young people aged 7-19 years from South London will be hard at work learning new skills and developing their creative and artistic flair as the group prepares to entertain around 300,000 spectators when the parade hits the streets of London on Saturday 10th November.

SiA specialises in teaching the design, construction and performance skills associated with carnival, masquerade and street theatre. Around a dozen experts have put on workshops in Peckham for young people to create spectacular costumes to reflect their theme – Dance of a Free Spirit: Rebellion, Resistance and Abolition. This is the final stage of a three-year exploration of the slave triangle, looking at the history of the slave trade and its connections to carnival and the new world.

Workshops also cover dance, music-making stilt-walking and make-up skills, which helps raise the confidence of the young people to participate in some of the highest-profile public events in the UK. In addition to the Lord Mayor’s Show, members of the group have also taken part this year in the Notting Hill Carnival and the Mayor’s Thames Festival. Participants of the projects will dance alongside the float as it travels the 1.7mile Show route through the Square Mile.

Ray Mahabir, Artistic Director at SiA, said: “We are delighted that Sunshine International Arts has been selected for the Lord Mayor’s Show community float scheme.

“The workshops really help to boost the esteem of all those who take part and events like the Lord Mayor’s Show provide an international platform for them to show off all they have learned.”

The Lord Mayor’s community float scheme extends links between the Square Mile and neighbouring City fringe boroughs. Sponsorship in terms of finance and through expert workshops allows group participants’ to develop their talents – which are demonstrated on the day to the Show’s audience across the world.

ENDS