Lord Mayor's Show and Fireworks Display 2011

These fireworks take place the week after Bonfire Night, offering a second chance to anyone who can't make the main displays on the weekend of November 5. The show welcomes into office the new Lord Mayor of the City of London – this year, it's the turn of the 684th Mayor. The three-mile-long parade involves carriages (including the 253-year-old, gold Lord Mayor's State Coach), marching bands and floats featuring people from a huge variety of London communities – groups this year include Bromley-by-Bow Centre, steel pan band Pan Nation, and Paraiso School of Samba. The procession begins at Mansion House at 11am with an aircraft fly-past. It then weaves its way through the historic streets of the Square Mile, via St Paul's Cathedral where the Lord Mayor receives a blessing at 12.10pm, and arrives at 12.30pm at the Royal Courts of Justice where he swears his allegiance to the Sovereign. The return procession starts at 1pm, arriving back at Mansion House at 2.30pm (all times are approximate). The fireworks display is at 5pm from a barge moored between Waterloo and Blackfriars bridges. Watch from the banks or grab a prime position on one of the bridges.