New Year's Day parade celebrates momentous year

With the theme Hats Off To London - Celebration Capital of the World, the 2013 parade will commemorate a momentous year that saw London host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Four hundred games makers and performers from the London 2012 Opening and Closing Ceremonies will give the world another wave during the parade.

This event is the 27th New Year's Day Parade in London. It will feature more than 10,000 performers representing the London boroughs and countries from across the globe.

Dancers, acrobats, cheerleaders, musicians and performers will assemble in the heart of the city for a celebration that will combine contemporary performance with pomp and ceremony.

London's New Year's Day Parade Route:

The New Year's Day Parade route starts at The Ritz hotel and ends in Parliament Square.

The parade starts at 11.45am and proceeds along Piccadilly to Piccadilly Circus, then takes in Lower Regent Street, Waterloo Place, Pall Mall, Cockspur Street, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and ends at Parliament Square in front of Big Ben.

More than half a million people are expected to cram into London's most famous streets to see the parade weave its way along the 2.2-mile (3.5km) route.