The Lord Mayor’s Show 2026 - Social Media Toolkit

This toolkit gives you everything you need to plan, create, post, and amplify your content

How to use this toolkit

Jump straight to the section you need:

• The basics - date, time, route, what's new and key dates
• Channels and hashtags - who to follow, tag and share
• Sample posts - ready-made posts to get you started
• Photos and videos - official images, video and photography tips
• Working together - partnership principles and editorial boundaries
• Contacts - who to talk to

Newly launched: 

• Guide for City Hospitality Venues
• Guide for Participants and Float Holders

The Basics

Start here for the essential event details, key campaign milestones, and our strategy for making this year's Show an unforgettable shared moment online.

Media Release: Lord Mayor revives historic Thames journey before 811-year-old pageant

Event details at a glance

Share these details freely with your audience, colleagues, and customers.

• Date: Saturday 14 November 2026
• Time: 11am-2.30pm
• Who? The new Lord Mayor is Bronek Masojada
• Procession: 6,500 participants, 70 floats, 20 military and civilian bands
• Route: Mansion House to the Royal Courts of Justice via Cheapside and St Paul's Cathedral, returning via the Embankment and Queen Victoria Street. See the route map on lordmayorsshow.london
• Cost: Free

Marketing and media highlights

World’s oldest, longest, and best-loved civic procession broadcast ‘live’ on BBC One to millions .

• Broadcast: Live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 10.45am
• Audience: 243,000+ footfall; over one million TV viewers; 130,000 website visitors; 10,000 programmes sold
• Footfall: AM/ PM footfall is increasing, with AM showing strongest growth in recent years
• Demographics: 89% of spectators are ABC1 families
• Transactions: Over 171,000 transactions on the day
• Social Media Impact: 1.3 million views in 2025, up 200% on the previous year
• History: Show dates from 1215; BBC broadcast centenary 2026 (radio 1926, TV 1937)

New for 2026

• The river pageant returns. For the first time since 2017, the incoming Lord Mayor, Bronek Masojada, will begin Show Day on the Thames. The journey recalls the route Lord Mayors historically took to Westminster to swear loyalty to the Crown, and is believed to be why we we call parade vehicles “floats".
• A stand against knife crime. A giant bee sculpture made in Manchester from recovered knives appears in support of the No Knives, Better Lives campaign.
• A royal birthday salute. The Royal Navy provides the Guard of Honour and will parade the King’s Colour on His Majesty’s 78th birthday.
• 100 years on air. 2026 marks a century since the BBC first broadcast the Show live, on radio in 1926.
• A global line-up. Performers include Grammy Award-winning South African dance group INALA, a Polish folk band, German and Swiss bands, and the US Navy Band, marking 250 years of the United States.
• Cadets celebrate 80 years. 450 RAF Air Cadets march to mark their 80th anniversary.
• The City Marshal in the saddle. Henry Lee has learned to ride especially for this year’s Show.

Look out for

• A performance from The Lion King outside Mansion House
• The City Marshal in the saddle. Henry Lee has learned to ride especially for this year’s Show.
• A City Bridge Foundation model of Tower Bridge
• A marching drum and bass band from Guildhall School of Music & Drama
• The original Dad’s Army van from Thetford
• The National Police LGBT+ Network

Key dates and milestones

The Show isn't just a single Saturday - it's a six-week story that builds from the election of the new Lord Mayor to the day itself. These are the moments worth planning your content around.

• 29 September 2026: Next Lord Mayor elected
• 14 October 2026: One month to go
• 24 October 2026: Three weeks to go
• Late October 2026: Golden State Coach goes on display at Guildhall Yard (date TBC) - great, iconic photo opportunity.
• 31 October 2026: Two weeks to go
• 11 November 2026: Overnight full-dress rehearsal - behind-the-scenes moments
• 13 November 2026: Silent Ceremony (post after embargo lifts)
• 14 November 2026: Show day - go live with Reels, Stories, photos, interactions
• 15 November 2026: Thank-yous and highlights

Here's how you can get involved online

Here's how your posts, shares, and tags make a difference - and a few simple things we'd love you to do.

• Before the Show Follow our channels and share our countdown posts from mid-October. Tag us in your own build-up content and we'll reshare the best.
• On the day Go live. Post photos, video, Stories, Reels. The more voices telling the story in real time, the bigger the moment feels - for your audience and ours. Tag us and we'll amplify what you share.
• After the Show A thank-you post or highlight reel the following day extends the moment and helps us celebrate what we built together. It also tends to be some of the most-engaged content of the whole campaign.

Before, during, and after - three moments that matter.

The Core Toolkit

Everything you need to craft your posts in one place. Grab our official hashtags, download the latest digital assets, and use our sample copy as a starting point.

Official website and link tree

• Lord Mayor’s Show website – https://lordmayorsshow.london
• Link tree – https://bit.ly/m/lmshow

Social media channels to follow, share and tag

Follow us, tag us, share with us - we're here to amplify great partner content throughout the campaign. These are the accounts to watch and include in your posts.

The Lord Mayor’s Show

• Instagram: @lordmayorsshow
• Facebook: @TheLordMayorsShow
• X (formerly Twitter): @lordmayors_show
• LinkedIn: search for thelordmayorsshow

The City of London Corporation

• Instagram: @cityoflondoncorp
• Facebook: CityofLondonCorp
• X (formerly Twitter): @cityoflondon
• LinkedIn: City of London

Hashtags

Consistent hashtags help us find, reshare, and celebrate your posts - and help your audience connect to the wider Show conversation. Each of ours does a slightly different job; here's how to use them.

• #LordMayorsShow - the primary campaign hashtag. Use on every Show-related post
• #SoulOfLondon - Use to connect the Show to wider City storytelling (community, culture, pride)
• #CityOfLondon - Use for City-wide relevance and discovery

Formatting tip: start lowercase, capitalise EachNewWord. No spaces, no underscores - this helps people using screen readers.

Sample posts

Quick start posts

Below are posts you can use now and links for more.

Float Holders / Parade Participants

We're taking part in the Lord Mayor's Show on Saturday 14 November - one of the world's oldest civic processions, free to attend, right in the heart of London.

Look out for us on the route. Come and find us. Wave us by.

📅 Saturday 14 November | 11am-2.30pm | 📍 City of London

lordmayorsshow.london @lordmayorsshow #LordMayorsShow #SoulOfLondon

More: Guide for Participants and Float Holders. 

City Businesses and Venues

We're open on Lord Mayor's Show day - Saturday 14 November - when hundreds of thousands of visitors come through the City. Come in before, during, or after the parade. You'll find us ready and waiting.

📅 Saturday 14 November | 📍 City of London

lordmayorsshow.london @lordmayorsshow #LordMayorsShow #SoulOfLondon

More: Guide for City Hospitality Venues, with footfall timings, ideas for making the most of Show day, and ready-made social posts.

Community Stakeholders / Supporters

The Lord Mayor's Show is Saturday 14 November - free, spectacular, and one of London's greatest days out. Fun floats, thousands of participants, hundreds of thousands of people celebrating centuries of civic tradition and belonging. Bring your family. Bring your community. Be there.

📅 Saturday 14 November | 11am-2.30pm | 📍 City of London

lordmayorsshow.london @lordmayorsshow #LordMayorsShow #SoulOfLondon

Photos and videos you can use

Please feel free to use the below branded content in your posts.

Using our photos - what we ask

• Credit "Lord Mayor's Show" in your caption or Alt Tag
• Tag @lordmayorsshow so we can see and reshare your post
• Use #LordMayorsShow or #SoulOfLondon hashtags
• Please don't crop out logos, add filters, or change the look of the original image or video
• Share for personal, community or editorial posts about the Show; please don't use our assets to promote a business, product or service.

Photography tips, permissions, and accessibility

Some of our favourite Show content every year comes from partners - a face in the crowd, a float from a new angle, a moment we'd never have captured ourselves.

Here's how to take and share great photos safely, accessibly, and respectfully.

Getting good photos

• Choose vibrant, joyful shots full of energy and people.
• Portrait (4:5, 1080 x 1350) works best on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, where most people scroll on their phones; use square (1:1, 1080 x 1080) for X.
• For video, use MP4 or MOV: portrait (4:5) for feeds, vertical (9:16) for Reels and Stories, and square for X.

Permissions and safeguarding

• PAsk before featuring anyone in close-up, and get consent from a parent or guardian before posting an identifiable photo or video of a child.
• Wide shots of the crowd are generally fine, but if someone asks you not to post their image, respect that and remove it.
• Tell anyone you feature how their image will be used (social media, website or print) and how they’ll be credited.
• If you’re posting on behalf of an organisation, follow your own data protection and safeguarding policies.

Working Together Guidelines

Whether you are marching in the parade or opening your doors to the crowds, here is specific guidance to help you share your unique story safely and effectively.

The Show brings hundreds of partners together every year, and we want your experience of working with us to be as good as the day itself. A few simple principles keep everything running smoothly - and leave room for you to do what you do best.

Partnership principles

• Tag us so we can reshare
• Use official visuals and campaign language where possible
• Let us know in advance about interviews, giveaways, or filming

Editorial boundaries

• No political content
• No commercial piggy-backing unrelated to the Show
• No off-topic posts using Show hashtags

If in doubt, ask us first.

Contacts

There's a person behind every inbox. Whatever you need - a steer on a post, help with assets, press accreditation, or something we haven't thought of - these are the people to come to.

• Social media and partner enquiries: socialmedia@cityoflondon.gov.uk
• Media and press accreditation opens in October: LMS26@pearceinternational.com
• Advertising and sponsorship: lms@cityoflondon.gov.uk
• Parade participation: participation@lordmayorsshow.london