Macy's Day Parade inspires 'Great Christmas Parade' kicking off Christmas 2014 in a number of UK cities
Taking inspiration from New York’s Macy’s Day parade a number of UK cities will kick start the festive season with a spectacular free live parade, in partnership with Make a Wish Foundation.
Just like the American parade commercial brands will have the opportunity to sponsor a float in the first ‘Great Christmas Parade’ 2014. So far logistics have been worked out with Plymouth, Bristol, Hull, London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle.
In a bid to kick start the Christmas shopping period, the parade aims to drive footfall to local High Streets driving sales up and down the country, with local communities urged to come and take part.
“There will be huge excitement about the parades, and they are a great opportunity for businesses of all sizes to benefit from the increased footfall that an event like this can create. The involvement of local communities will ensure sustainability, and we really hope that this can become a big part of the annual festive calendar throughout the country,” said Martin Blackwell, CEO, Association of Town and City Management, of the parades. With Make and Wish Foundation patron, Leslie Rose, OBE, describing the events as “just the ticket to bring communities together for a worthy cause”.
With Nottingham already confirmed as a host, Cllr Nick McDonald, portfolio holder for jobs and growth at Nottingham City Council, commented: “We welcome innovative things that bring people together in our city, and with Nottingham being one of the UK’s top ten retail destinations, this would be a showcase for the great things our legendary city has to offer. I look forward to seeing these plans in more details and working with local trade organisations to help make something special happen in the run up to Christmas 2014.”
Handling the logistics and sponsorship of the annual event is Media Circus, with two parades currently planned for each location one at 12 midday and 5pm. Marching bands and shows will perform in between the sponsored floats to create two miles worth of festive entertainment.