On the first day of every year, London puts on the most spectacular street celebration in the world: The New Year’s Day Parade. Up to 10,000 performers from 20 countries worldwide and half a million street-side spectators turn up to take part in the colossal celebration, as over a hundred million more watch live television coverage of the event.

Marching bands, cheerleaders, acrobats, clowns, choirs, fantastic costumes, motorbikes, elaborate themed floats and much more make their way through London’s famous streets to usher in the New Year.

The Parade begins just before midday on Piccadilly, at the junction with Berkeley Street and travels along a two-mile journey to Parliament Street. The route includes Piccadilly, Piccadilly Circus, Lower Regent Street, Waterloo Place, Pall Mall, Cockspur Street, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and finally Parliament Street. From start to finish, the amazing spectacle takes three hours to complete.

The London parade has been a New Year’s Day tradition since 1987, when the first "Lord Mayor of Westminster's Big Parade”, as it was known then, hit the streets. While the original parade was a relatively humble affair in comparison to the magnitude of today’s event, it was still unlike anything the British capital had ever experienced.

The debut parade provided free entertainment for Londoners and tourists alike, with hundreds of local and international dancers and musicians bringing American-style showmanship to the dreary streets of London. The parade was an overwhelming success and quickly became a permanent and anticipated fixture on the United Kingdom’s event calendar. The following 25 years saw London’s New Year’s Day Parade balloon in size and reputation and it is now the largest event of its kind in the world.

Visiting London to witness the New Year’s Day Parade is a great way to usher in the New Year with high spirits. Public transportation during the parade can be quite busy, so it is a good idea to look for London hotels within walking distance to the parade route. You might even find a hotel with rooms overlooking the event and enjoy an enviable bird’s eye view of the celebrations!

The parade is the most anticipated event of Festival London, the city’s series of Christmas and New Year’s celebrations, which also includes gala concerts taking place around the city.

The New Year's Day Parade is one of the capital’s biggest fundraising events, with over one million pounds for London charities being raised since the first parade. The event is also supported by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Whether you are taking part in the parade itself or cheering from the sidelines, there is no doubt that the New Years Day Parade London is a truly spectacular experience.

Dave MacKinder writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.