To mark the 20th anniversary of City Bridge Trust grant-making, on Saturday 14th November we have been invited to take part in the longest, grandest and most meticulously organised procession in the world that is the Lord Mayor’s Show.

And if that’s not enough, this year will be the 800th anniversary of the parade, which means that the Lord Mayor has been making this journey since 1215, keeping going in the face of plagues, fires, wars, student protests and tube strikes.

Green Candle is working in partnership with three other leading arts organisations promoting an inclusive London and funded by City Bridge Trust – Drake Music, Greenwich & Lewisham Young People’s Theatre and Castlehaven Community Association. Our float will showcase a variety of performers – dancers, musicians and street performers of all ages and abilities.

Performers from the organisations, spanning an age range of 16 to 86, will perform an exuberant carnival dance on and around the float with fluttering blue pennants reflecting the waves of the Thames in full flow.

Choreographed by Vicki Busfield from Green Candle Dance Company and performed to the joyful live music of Drake Music musicians from Eastway Care led by associate musician Dave Darch. The performance will cover everything from Country, Rock ‘n Roll and Samba to Dance and Hip-hop.

The Lord Mayor’s Show is a procession of more than 7,000 people, 200 horses and 155 floats. It’s over three miles long, but it can never be fully assembled because the route from Mansion House to the Royal Course is less than two miles.

Our float (number 59: City Bridge Trust) will appear between Seafarers UK and ASDAN and can be easily spotted by its iconic representation of Tower Bridge and other screen printed décor created by the participants, all of which has been chosen to represent four organisations on both sides of the river bridging communities.

The float has been designed and produced by Emergency Exit Arts – an arts organisation specialising in creating events and participatory experiences using visual performance, processions, puppetry, music and pyrotechnics. The float, carrying up to 30 performers, will be built upon a 13.7m (45ft) curtain-sider trailer.

The procession will set off at 11am from Mansion House. A downloadable route map and other information about the parade can be found on the Lord Mayor’s Show website.

If you are planning to come down, the organisers recommend leaving your car at home. The roads will be closed and the whole of London clogged up (and there’s nowhere to park anyway!). Come into town by train, tube or bike and you will be delivered to exactly the right spot. More information about access is provided here.

If you are unable to join us on the day, please follow our live updates from the float on Green Candle’s twitter page. And, who knows, you might even catch us live on the BBC!

Article written by Inga Tillere, Regional Project Coordinator for Drake Music