ICE London took part in the Lord Mayor’s Show on Saturday 13 November, entering a float in celebration of the next Lord Mayor of London – civil engineer and ICE Fellow Alderman Michael Bear.
The ICE float, sponsored by engineering consultancies Arup and Balfour Beatty and supported by Tower Hamlets Arts and Music Education Service, consisted of a procession of primary and secondary school students, teachers, and ICE London members and staff.
The students played samba drums and carried models they had made of London’s skyline and iconic infrastructure, including the Gherkin, the Olympic Park Velodrome, the Docklands Light Railway, the Thames Barrier, Millennium Bridge, the London Array, and the O2 Arena. Creative arts organisation Kinetika ran workshops with the students to create the models.
‘Atom’, a three metre high silver puppet and futuristic civil engineer, led the float and waved to the crowds lining the route.
The two hour annual procession weaved its way from Guildhall in the heart of the City, through the historic streets of the Square Mile, passing Mansion House and St. Paul’s Cathedral before continuing to the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand.
Over 300,000 people lined the route of the show, which is now in its 795th year. Its coverage on BBC reaches about 2 million people worldwide.
Miranda Housden, ICE London Director, said:
“With over 6,000 participants and a huge worldwide audience, ICE London’s participation in the Lord Mayor’s Show was noticed by a wide range of people. The show itself was the culmination of nearly a year’s hard work by the ICE London team, in particular Carol Bayne, and enabled us to engage with young people from five schools across London to inspire them about civil engineering.
“We are delighted that the next Lord Mayor of London is a civil engineer and a Fellow of the ICE and wish him every success during his time in this important role. ICE’s float celebrates feats of engineering in London such as the Thames Barrier, 30 St Mary Axe (the Gherkin) and the Olympic Park Velodrome and we are delighted also to introduce our puppet ‘Atom’, a futuristic civil engineer who represents the many unsung heroes working day and night to design, construct and maintain London’s world class infrastructure.”
Marwa and Runelle, both 13 year old students at Central Foundation Girls’ School in Bow, spoke about what they had gained from participating in the model-making workshops and the Lord Mayor’s Show:
Marwa said, “Being involved in The Lord Mayor’s Show is a once in a lifetime opportunity. My dad was a civil engineer making sure roads are safe and I’m proud to be part of a float about engineering.”
Runelle said, “I developed team building skills, and learnt how important engineering is to our lives. Engineers need to work in a team even when they don’t know each other otherwise everything would fall down around us.”
Alderman Michael Bear, Lord Mayor of London, said:
“There are many exciting projects keeping London’s civil engineers busy; from engineering the Olympic Park to delivering Crossrail, the Tube upgrades and the Thames Tunnel. I hope that the students involved in ICE’s float and those watching along the route or at home, will be inspired by the breadth of skills they could develop and the career opportunities offered within this profession.”
ICE President Peter Hansford, who addressed the float participants before the procession started, and gave his support along the processional route.
ICE London’s participation in the Lord Mayor’s Show would not have been possible without the involvement of:
Sponsors Arup and Balfour Beatty
Tower Hamlets Arts & Music Education Service (THAMES)
Central Foundation Girls' School, Bow
Claremont High School, Harrow
Frederick Bremer School, Walthamstow
Malmesbury Primary School, Bow
Newstead Wood School for Girls, Orpington
and the ICE ambassadors:
Paul Bailie, Arup
Jonathan Cox, Balfour Beatty
Jerome Girodet, Balfour Beatty
Kevin Hargreaves, Balfour Beatty
Stephen Hudson, Arup
Liam McGreavy, Balfour Beatty
Austin Richards, Balfour Beatty
Emily Roberts, Arup
Simon Shreeve, Arup
Dave Warley, Balfour Beatty
Many thanks must go to them all for their commitment to this project.
Learn more about ICE London's involvement in the Lord Mayor's Show 2010