Be near Bank Station, St Paul's or Fleet Street in good time for an 11am start, or head to the Embankment and Victoria from 1pm onwards to watch the return leg.

The Lord Mayor's Show is much longer than its route and it moves all the time, so it can be quite hard to answer apparently simple questions like 'where is the Show' and 'what time?' It all depends where you stand.

The Route

The procession travels from Mansion House to the Royal Courts by way of St Paul's, Cheapside and Fleet Street. It returns up the Embankment and Victoria Street. See our handy one page map for details.

The date

This is also a bit of a long story, but these days it is always the second Saturday in November. This is often but not necessarily the day before Remembrance Sunday.

The Start

The procession sets off from Mansion House at 11am, when the leading band turns the corner from Princes Street to march past the new Lord Mayor on the balcony, the BBC cameras overhead and the very busy crowd around Bank junction. The pavement is more roomy than it used to be, but if you want to watch from Bank, be early.

It will take the bands 12 minutes to march from there to St Paul's, so if you are near the Cathedral then the procession starts at 11:13. After another 15 minutes the bands will reach the Royal Courts of Justice: if you are standing at the Aldwych end, the procession starts at 11:26.

The middle

When the leading bands reach the Royal Courts, most of the procession has not yet set off. The route is completely full of the Show's unique mixture of ancient and modern pageantry but the Lord Mayor is still on the balcony at Mansion House with his or her guests. The BBC are interviewing participants at Bank and there are around 80 floats still waiting to enter the route. From here on it doesn't really matter where on the route you stand; there is always something to see.

The State Coach

After an hour, the procession is still passing Mansion House. There are 10-12 serials still to go, including the household cavalry and the Pikemen of the Honourable Artillery Company. The Lord Mayor descends, passing an honour guard to climb into the State Coach and prepare to join the procession. 

The Coach sets off a minute later and arrives at St Paul's at 12:11. It waits there for a few minutes while the new Lord Mayor receives a blessing, then sets off again to depart from the City at Temple Bar and arrive at the Royal Courts of Justice (in Westminster) at 12:31.

The end

Behind the State Coach there follow a few more serials; several support vehicles and of course the City's redoubtable cleaners, who have a lot to do on Show day. The final ash cart will reach the Royal Courts at 12:35, but the Show is not over yet.

The Return

While the new Lord Mayor swears an oath of allegiance to the Queens Bench, the procession reforms itself in the streets of Temple. At 1:10 the leading bands will set off again from Temple Place and march up the Embankment and Victoria Street to lead the Lord Mayor back to Mansion House. If you are standing at the top of Blackfriars Bridge, the procession starts at 1:18pm.

The head of the procession returns to Mansion House at 1:33pm and finally, an hour later, the Lord Mayor will return home to begin his or her year in office with a ferocious display of mediaeval pageantry from the Pikemen.

Summary

Wherever you stand, the procession will take over an hour to march past. You can be anywhere from Bank to Aldwych, along Fleet Street or Victoria Street. If Bank, you want to be there by about 10:30. If Aldwych, about 11:15. For the Embankment or Victoria Street, about 1:15. It all depends how much you want to be in a crowd and how long a day you would like to have. Please see our where to go page for suggestions.