Lord Mayor’s fireworks axed to save £100,000

 
Lord Mayor Show Parade 2011
Getty
Ross Lydall @RossLydall24 October 2012

A fireworks display that provides a spectacular finale to the Lord Mayor’s Show has been axed to save cash.

The City of London Corporation — arguably the wealthiest local authority in the country — says it cannot afford the £100,000 cost. Organisers also claimed Londoners have already seen enough fireworks this year, during the Olympics and Diamond Jubilee.

It will disappoint crowds of up to 400,000 who have gathered for the past 35 years along the Thames to watch the conclusion to the world’s oldest civic procession on Lord Mayor’s Day.

Some City livery companies, such as the Worshipful Company of Actuaries, had been selling tickets for corporate events that included prime seats to see the pyrotechnics on November 10.

The City of London initially claimed they were axed as “it was felt there’s only so many fireworks we should be sending up in one year”. But it subsequently emerged the move was based on cost and fears over crowd control.

A City spokesman said: “In the current economic climate, attracting a level of sponsorship which would provide a fireworks display comparable to that of the Jubilee and Olympics has proven difficult. There are also concerns over management of the crowds between Waterloo and Blackfriars bridges, as the success of previous fire-works has caused numbers to grow.

“We’ve taken the decision not to hold this year’s display with a view to them returning in future.” Jordan Dias, a management consultant who has been to previous displays, said: “When Bonfire night is in the middle of the week, it’s always nice to find a decent fireworks at the weekend. It was a surprise to find it was being thrown out.”

During the parade new Lord Mayor Roger Gifford, the 685th holder of the post, will travel in the Lord Mayor’s Coach from Mansion House to the Royal Courts of Justice, where he will swear loyalty to the Crown.

The event, which dates to 1215, will feature 6,000 participants, 25 marching bands, 300 horses, 18 vintage cars, 21 carriages, an original US stagecoach and a Japanese Taiko drum band.

'Outgoing man stays in Rio'

The Lord Mayor of London has been invited to test new Olympic facilities in Brazil.

David Wootton has been asked to extend his stay in Rio de Janeiro —where he is hoping to attract business to London — to row with three of the country’s top oarsmen on the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas.

Mr Wootton is understood to have rowed while a student at Cambridge and remains an enthusiast. He is expected to tell Rio how it can emulate London when it stages the 2016 Games.

Luis Fernandes, executive secretary of Brazil’s sports ministry, has invited Mr Wootton to stay on until 16 November.

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