In pictures: London's Chinese New Year parade 2026
#Chinese New Year#London parade#Year of the Horse#Lunar festival#Dragon dance#Chinatown#Cultural traditions
📌 Key Takeaways
London hosted the biggest Lunar New Year festival outside of Asia
The parade featured traditional elements including dragons, dancing, and music
The event celebrated the start of the Year of the Horse in 2026
The dragon dance symbolizes prosperity and protection from evil spirits
The parade route went from Trafalgar Square through central London to Chinatown
📖 Full Retelling
Thousands of people lined the streets of central London on February 17, 2026, to watch the spectacular Chinese New Year parade celebrating the start of the Year of the Horse, with the event billed as the biggest Lunar New Year festival outside of Asia. The vibrant parade featured traditional elements including colorful dancing, captivating music, and elaborate dragon performances that captivated spectators as it wound through the city streets. Beginning at Trafalgar Square, the procession made its way up Charing Cross Road to Shaftesbury Avenue before culminating in the historic Chinatown district, where celebrations continued throughout the day. The New Year dragon dance stood out as a particularly significant highlight of the parade, with traditions rooted in ancient customs meant to celebrate prosperity and ward off evil spirits, embodying the cultural significance of the lunar new year celebration.
🏷️ Themes
Cultural celebration, Community event, Cultural traditions
Dragon dance (simplified Chinese: 舞龙; traditional Chinese: 舞龍; pinyin: wǔ lóng; Jyutping: mou5 lung4) is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. Like the lion dance, it is most often seen during festive celebrations. The dance is performed by a team of experienced dancers w...
Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, marks the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture and was placed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2024. Marking the end of win...
In pictures: London's Chinese New Year parade 2026 7 hours ago Share Save Share Save Getty Images Getty Images Thousands of people lined the streets to watch the parade Dragons are a popular feature of the annual parade The Chinese New Year has been marked with a colourful parade in central London featuring, dancing, music and dragons. Billed as the biggest Lunar New Year festival outside of Asia, the Chinatown event drew thousands of spectators. It marks the start of the Year of the Horse, which began on 17 February. The first day of the Chinese New Year falls on the new moon which appears between 21 January and 20 February every year. The London parade began in Trafalgar Square before moving up Charing Cross Road to Shaftesbury Avenue and then into Chinatown. The New Year dragon dance, one of the highlights of the parade, is rooted in traditions which are meant to celebrate prosperity and ward off evil spirits. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook , X and Instagram . Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk More on this story Crowds turn out to welcome Year of the Snake 'We're celebrating Chinese New Year virtually' UK welcomes new year with celebrations across the country London
