Olympic boxer joins Lord Mayor's parade

Olympic boxing star Amir Khan will provide one of the highlights of this year's Lord Mayor's Parade, the biggest ever.

Khan, 17, whose whirling gloves earned him a silver medal at Athens this summer, will help display the Olympic Games "candidate file" during Saturday's colourful procession.

The file is the blueprint containing London's plans to host the 2012 games, which will be making the first stage of its journey to the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland.

The oldest street procession of its kind will once again bring the City of London to life with an eruption of colour and music. This year's show will welcome Alderman Michael Savory into office as the 677th Lord Mayor.

On a route just 1.7 miles long, the procession will involve 6,000 participants and 2,000 servicemen and women, including many who have served in Iraq.

Twenty marching bands will provide the music, and 352 vehicles will rumble through the narrow streets. These include 15 jeeps, each carrying a Chelsea Pensioner, three tanks and 30 Rolls-Royces to mark the Rolls-Royce centenary.

There will also be fire engines, floats and bicycles - while acrobats, horses, comedians and clowns should provide entertainment for the most demanding visitor. Followinga thrilling aircraft fly-past, the procession will weave its way from Guildhall, in the heart of the City, through the Square Mile.

It will pass St Paul's on its way to the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, where the Lord Mayor will swear his allegiance to the Queen before returning to the City.

But the celebrations do not end there. At 5pm the Lord Mayor will light the touch paper to the spectacular fireworks display on the Thames between Blackfriars Bridge and Waterloo Bridge. A ton of fireworks will light up the sky in London's largest display of the year.

The show will raise money for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and their Families Association, and The Fishermen's Mission.

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