The Lord Mayor's Show takes place in London on the second Saturday in November, to mark the start of the new Lord Mayor of London's year in office.

What is a Lord Mayor?

The Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city, with special recognition. Thirty of the sixty-six cities in the United Kingdom have Lord Mayors (or, in Scotland, Lords Provost).

The first English Mayor was the Mayor of London, appointed in 1189 by Richard I.

Two Mayors of London

London has a Lord Mayor and a Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and as such governs a much larger area.

Lord Mayor of London

The Lord Mayor's main role is, as it has been for centuries, to represent, support and promote the businesses and the people of the City of London.

The Lord Mayor is elected for one year and the position is unpaid and not political. On the day after being sworn in, the Lord Mayor participates in a procession from the City of London to the Royal Courts of Justice in the City of Westminster, where the Lord Mayor swears his allegiance to the Crown. This procession is known as the "Lord Mayor's Show" and is one of the longest established and best known annual events in London.

The Lord Mayor's Show

The Lord Mayor's Show is a fairly light-hearted combination of traditional British pageantry and elements of carnival. The Lord Mayor travels in a State Coach that was built in 1757. Other participants in the show include the Livery Companies, bands and members of the military, charities and schools. In the evening, a fireworks display is held.

Also on this day ....

13 November 1850 - Robert Louis Stevenson was born

Stevenson was a Scottish author who wrote the Child's Garden of Verses and Treasure Island, among others.

13 November 1985 - Colombian Volcano killed thousands

Four towns were buried and 23,000 people killed when ash spewed out of the volcano, Nevado del Ruiz causing a mudslide.