Huge crowds packed the streets of London (Jan 1) for the 25th Anniversary New Year\’s Day Parade – smashing records left right and centre.
Organisers were hoping for a street audience of around 500,000 – a figure which was easily exceeded.
Spectators along the 2.2 mile route from The Ritz to Parliament Sq. were more than 20 deep along both sides of the road.
Many millions more watched live on TV around the World as over 600 stations were fed live pictures.
The BBC streamed the entire event live on its website and lifted the bar on international access due to unprecedented interest overseas.
More than 8,500 performers participated ~ a thousand of which gathered at the Whitehall performance area for a massed band finale.
Next year\’s event will be the first event in the Cultural Olympiad.
Executive Director of the Parade Bob Bone said: “it was the biggest and best parade in our history. It has truly come of age.”
