Big crowds for Lord Mayor's Show

More than 6,000 performers took part in the annual Lord Mayor's Show in the City of London.

Chinese acrobats performed alongside military marching bands in a blend of tradition and modernity.

The three-mile long procession wound through 1.7 miles (2.7km) of streets in the Square Mile to introduce Ian Luder as the 681st Lord Mayor.

Crowds lined the streets for the parade, despite heavy rain, before a huge fireworks display.

Mr Luder was then carried, in the 251-year-old gold State Coach, to St Paul's Cathedral where he was blessed by the Dean of St Paul's.

After swearing an oath of allegiance to the Queen at the Royal Courts of Justice the procession took him back to the Mansion House to be greeted by the City Aldermen and Livery Company Masters.

More than 200 vehicles took part in the parade, including a World War II Sherman tank, vintage buses, two steamrollers, taxis and fleet of Morris Minors and a horse-drawn Santa carriage.

The day culminated in a fireworks extravaganza between Waterloo and Blackfriars bridges on the Thames, with three tons of fireworks set off.

The Lord Mayor of the City of London is the head of the City of London Corporation, which provides its own local government services.

It remains responsible for its open spaces (Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches, Hampstead Heath, West Ham Park and the Kent and Surrey Commons), its five bridges over the Thames, the Barbican Centre and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the quarantine station at Heathrow Airport and port health for the Port of London.

His role differs from that of London's elected Mayor, currently Boris Johnson, covering the City of London and the 32 boroughs.

Along with the London Assembly of 25 members, Mr Johnson is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London.

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