Procession 2009 Processional Timings

The timetable for 2010 will be published in September. The details vary each year according to the length of the procession and the other events going on at the same time, but the journey is essentially the same and the timetable will be similar.

The route of the procession is the same each year, as it has been since 1952. The timings vary each year depending on the length of the procession and other factors such as the fact that in 2006 the Show fell on Armistice day and began with a 2 minute silence. The date of the Show is always the second Saturday in November, by the way.

The Lord Mayor stops at St Paul's for about six minutes before continuing on to the Royal Courts, and will be delayed by that much at subsequent stops. Those timings are shown in italics. The Lord Mayor spends just over an hour and a quarter at the Royal Courts, then there is a five and a half minute journey to Temple Place, where the coach rejoins the end of the procession:

Frightening though it may seem to anyone like me who can't catch a train without running most of the way, the times really are worked out to the second and the procession really does stick to them. The Show has over 6,000 people in a procession that stretches over 3 miles, some of whom are used to marching and some of whom are used to rollerskating. It takes a huge amount of invisible effort to keep everything in step and everyone in the right place. When you see the Pageantmaster he will wave from a Land Rover and look calm, but you can assume that he was a lot less relaxed first thing that morning.