Chesney Hawkes and Paddington Bear are joining 8,000 performers from around the world for the annual New Year’s Day parade marching through London today.
The celebration through the capital’s West End from Green Park to Westminster will fill the streets with marching bands, cheerleaders, acrobats, kites and more.
More than 250,000 spectators are expected to watch from the roadside from 12pm while there will be a television audience of 500million, according to the organisers.
The London’s New Year’s Day Parade (LNYDP) runs along Piccadilly, Regent Street, St James’s, Pall Mall, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall, and will be shown on London Live.
Scotland Yard said police would be ‘on patrol to respond to any concerns’ and asked attendees to ‘stay vigilant and report anything suspicious to them or by calling 999’.
Chesney Hawkes prepares for the annual London’s New Year’s Day Parade (LNYDP) today
Paddington Bear joins performers from Peru at the London’s New Year’s Day Parade today
Joining British singer Hawkes as headliners will be supergroup Boyzlife, the Irish duo consisting of Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden from Boyzone and Westlife.
Hawkes, 52, has flown into London from his home in Los Angeles for the event, which first began in 1987 with 2,000 performers – but now has 8,000 taking part.
Also involved today will be Rachael O’Connor, a singer from Northern Ireland who appeared in series three of The Voice aged 16 and reached the quarter finals.
O’Connor, who has worked in Stockholm for the past few years, has also been a backing vocalist with Duran Duran and is now embarking on a new solo project.
Organisers added that performers from London’s School of Samba would appear, telling spectators to ‘brace yourselves for a collision of rhythms and beats’.
The parade in London will start at Green Park station before heading down to Piccadilly Circus, turning left down Regent Street St James’s, along to Trafalgar Square, then right into Whitehall
Organisers said there will be the ‘very best in American marching bands and cheerleaders’
Also on the billing is dance troupe Boogie Storm, who became known as the dancing Stormtroopers on Britain’s Got Talent in 2016 and will ‘add a dash of sci-fi flair’.
Parade organisers Destination Events, who are based in the capital, said there would be ‘huge giant inflatables, a myriad of performance and community groups will be joined by a phalanx of the very best in American marching bands and cheerleaders’.
The parade will start at 12pm near Green Park station before heading down to Piccadilly Circus, turning left down Regent Street St James’s, along Cockspur Street to Trafalgar Square, then right into Whitehall and through to Parliament Square.
Hundreds of thousands of freestanding places were available next to barriers along the two-mile route today after 4,000 grandstand seats sold out last September.
The London’s New Year’s Day Parade (LNYDP) runs through the West End of London today
Chesney Hawkes has flown into London from his home in Los Angeles for the parade today
Parade director Joe Bone said: ‘We always have a blast on New Year’s Day, but this time round promises to be the biggest and best yet.’
He added: ‘We are going to party like it’s 2024, and to have such a top talent with Chesney and Boyzlife leading the way, it’s going to be the icing on the cake.’
A Metropolitan Police spokesman posted on X: ‘Heading to London’s New Year’s Day Parade today? Officers will be on patrol to respond to any concerns.
‘We ask that you stay vigilant and report anything suspicious to them or by calling 999. Road closures will be in place while the parade takes place.’
The London’s New Year’s Day Parade is on London Live in the UK and PBS in the US