Charlottesville High School Marching Band to be invited to perform in 2028 London New Year's Day Parade

The Charlottesville High School Marching Band is set to receive an official invitation to participate in the 2028 London New Year’s Day Parade.

A holiday tradition in England’s capital city since 1987, the London New Year’s Day Parade features more than 8,000 performers from across the globe, including marching bands, cheerleaders, dance groups, and stunt performers, as well as giant balloons and parade floats. The parade covers a 2.2-mile route through London and draws more than 500,000 spectators. The parade airs in the United States on PBS. 

The CHS Marching Band will receive a formal invitation to participate in the parade from Bob Bone, the founder and chairman of London’s New Year’s Day Parade, Steve Summers, Chair of the London Mayors’ Association (and former Lord Mayor of the City of Westminster), Dean Oblonsky, Senior American Consultant, and Bill Northen and Jonathan Whaley, Senior Directors of International Participation on Monday, October 5 at 4:30pm at the Martin Luther King Performing Arts Center at Charlottesville High School.

“We only invite the very best US marching bands to participate in the event and the Charlottesville High School Band is no exception,” Bone said. “Their reputation goes before them.”

Directed by Jason Hackworth, the CHS Marching Band is made up of 76 students, which includes 51 wind players, 14 percussionists, 8 color guard members, and 3 student conductors.  

The CHS Marching Band will be performing in the London New Year’s Day Parade for the second time in program history. The band also performed in the parade in 2018. The Marching Knights were also invited to march in the Rome New Year’s Day parade in 2024. In addition to the Rome New Year’s Day parade, the CHS Marching Band also performed elsewhere in the Italian capital, including a performance at the Santa Maria in Portico Campitelli that was featured in the PBS series, “Youth Music of the World.”