Lord Mayor's Livery Companies Dinner
28th March 2019Until the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the Lord Mayor hosted an annual banquet for the heads of the Great Twelve Livery Companies. Today, the dinner for the Masters, Prime Wardens and Upper Bailiff is inclusive of all Livery Companies and provides an excellent opportunity for the Lord Mayor to address the whole community.
The Right Honourable The Lord Mayor Alderman Peter Estlin chose this year to extend the invitation to sister organisations from further afield, to thank the Livery and Guild community for the contribution it makes not only to the City of London, but to the whole of the UK.
In the magnificent setting of Mansion House, we were entertained by the Salon Orchestra of The Honourable Artillery Company Band with a wonderful mix of pieces from many musical genres. We enjoyed topical speeches from the Lord Mayor and the Masters of the Mercers' Company and the Grocers' Company with particular focus on the growth of digital skills for a modern City and the great strengths of the City as it faces Brexit.
The Lord Mayor also took the opportunity to focus on The Lord Mayor's Appeal which is principally supporting three charities, Place2Be which addresses mental health issues in children, InSide Youth Zones which addresses 21st century youth provision including activities ranging from sports to music and enterprise to mentoring services and Samaritans which runs a ground-breaking Wellbeing in the City programme.