EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville High School’s marching band will perform in the 40th annual London’s New Year’s Day Parade in 2026.
The band will travel to London in December 2025 and spend a week exploring the city. The trip will culminate in the band’s performance in the parade from 12–3:30 p.m. local time on Jan. 1, 2026.
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“This was a great opportunity that came up. It was just too good to miss,” said Ryan Lipscomb, director of bands at EHS. “It’s always about the kids and about their experience. I want this to be a really special thing.”
With over 8,500 participants, the London New Year’s Day Parade is about twice the size of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Over 20 countries are represented each year. The parade has a street audience of 750,000 attendees and millions of people around the world who watch on television.
The top high school and college bands in the U.S. are invited to perform at the parade every year. Representatives from London’s New Year’s Day Parade came to EHS on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, to invite students to perform.
Bob Bone, chair of the parade, and Steve Summers, Chair of the London Mayors’ Association and former Lord Mayor of the City of Westminster, explained the significance of the parade. They expressed their eagerness for the EHS marching band’s performance.
“This event is so incredibly important to London. It’s absolutely huge. It’s a really, really important part of our yearly calendar,” Summers said. “If you come to London, which I really hope you will, it means you’re going to get the most amazing welcome. We’re going to roll the red carpet out for each and every one of you because you’re absolute legends, and we want you to perform in our event.”
In addition to the parade, Summers explained that the students will be “Londoners for a week,” with the chance to explore museums, historical landmarks, theaters and more. One student, Savannah Jackson, said she was most excited for the museums.
As the head drum major, Jackson was chosen for a special responsibility: She must hold onto an umbrella until the band’s performance in 2026. Bone teased that this will ensure there is no rain during the parade.
“I’m an art nerd, so the museums are going to be really cool,” Jackson said, adding. “It’s kind of surreal. But I’m glad that the band trusts me enough as their head drum major to hold onto this [umbrella] for them…I really love these guys, and our band is just really amazing to lead.”
Lipscomb coordinated with the district and the London’s New Year’s Day Parade to bring this opportunity to EHS students. He explained that he was looking for a chance for the band to travel, and he wanted a “life-changing, once-in-a-lifetime experience” for his students. He is excited to watch EHS perform on an international stage.
Bone and Summers echoed this idea. Summers promised a week that will be “mind-blowingly brilliant,” and Bone noted that the students’ lives will likely be changed by the opportunity. The two encouraged students to work hard in the 15 months leading up to the parade.
“I hope you’ll all come. I know if you do, you’ll perform brilliantly, and that will be the great, great thing that you do for us,” Bone said. “It will be a life-changing experience for each and every one of you.”
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