Patrons and Supporters

The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols

Archbishop of Westminster

London has a vibrant and eclectic population and the New Year's Day Parade and Festival is the perfect opportunity for that diverse population to come together and celebrate our multi-cultural and multi-faith society. As a resident of Westminster, I will be looking forward to seeing people celebrating the beginning of the New Year together, while also enjoying the different forms of entertainment that can be found during the festival. That this is all for a good cause can only help the festivities. I hope that the event will have widespread support and that it will be a significant success for all involved. I thank those that have organised the New Year's Day Parade and Festival and I hope that everyone that partakes has a wonderful time.

 

Roger Bramble

Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London

"It is possible that New Years Day 2009 will be remembered for the many negative things which led up to it. That makes it all the more important that positive, life-enhancing events like this great Parade should shine out through the gloom.   Let us all, performers, spectators and organisers revel in it.   And may it prove to be the base of an ascending slope of achievement and satisfaction for all of us in the year ahead."

Ambassador Susman

His Excellency, The Ambassador of the United States of America

I am honored be a patron of the London New Year’s Day Parade – a fitting way to conclude 2009 as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. This wonderful parade, blending American and British tradition, is an excellent way to begin another year while celebrating the common history, culture and shared values that underpin the deep friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom. Our American bands are honored to receive London’s invitation to help you ring in the New Year. I am particularly proud to see London welcome musicians from my part of the country, the Midwest. These performers from Nebraska, Ohio and Illinois represent the heartland, and some of what’s best about America. On behalf of all Americans, I wish you all the best in the New Year.

The Right Worshipful The Lord Mayor of Westminster Councillor Louise

Hyams

On behalf of the City of Westminster, I should like most warmly to welcome Londoners and visitors, from the UK and abroad, to the New Year’s Day Parade. We are proud to host this event in our City which, over the last 23 years, has grown to become the largest celebration of its kind anywhere in the world.

I am delighted to host the Parade, and I am confident that it will be a great spectacle and a marvellous day out for everyone. There are participants from all over the world, helping to raise much needed funds for local charities across the whole of London.

The Parade makes our City a focal point for the world at the start of the New Year. My best wishes for the year ahead to all who are here to witness this fantastic event, and my congratulations to all the participants and those involved in making the Parade the great spectacle that it is.

The Very Revd Canon John Robert Hall.

The Dean of Westminster

With each passing New Year the headlong rush of our daily lives seems to increase. And yet, as we await the chimes of Big Ben heralding 2010, let’s not forget that it is in stillness that we can trully allow ourselves to see life in all its richness around us. It is in these moments that we can appreciate the small gestures of kindness so easily overlooked. This year, let’s grasp those precious opportunities of enhancing the lives of others by taking the time to be kind to one another.  

May God bless us all in the year to come.