LONDON, England – Philippine culture is taking center stage at the annual Lord Mayor’s Show in the City of London with a lavish floral float and traditional folk dance street parade.
The Lord Mayor’s Show is one of the biggest public event
s in London with an estimated 500,000 street audience, and watched by over 2 million people through a live nationwide broadcast.
The Philippines is among the 6,500 participants from 153 entities at the 2011 procession, alongside places like Hong Kong and India, as well as hundreds of British groups from various sectors like the armed forces, health services, schools and private companies.
“This is a great opportunity to showcase our culture and traditions, and we thought that this is an opportunity that we should take advantage of this year,” said Reynaldo Catapang, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Philippine Embassy in London, which organized and funded the Philippine delegation.
The centerpiece of the Philippine presentation is a nature-inspired float designed by London-based Filipino graphic artist Roderick Enriquez, who also designed the 2012 Olympic Wrestling Coin.