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Published: 27 January, 2012

>> Click here for full Chinese New Year 2012 supplement

The Chinese Year of the Dragon will roar into Westminster on Sunday with a parade and festival showcasing the best of Chinese culture.

The festivities will start at 10am with a New Year parade around London’s West End, reaching its final destination of Trafalgar Square at noon.

The Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councillor Susie Burbridge, will then join Mayor of London Boris Johnson and the Chinese Ambassador to London, Liu Xiaoming, to speak at the opening ceremony of the festival.

After the speeches, celebrations will kick off with traditional dragon dancing, music and performances on the Trafalgar Square stage until 6pm.
A second stage in Shaftesbury Avenue will host performances from a range of local community groups and schools.

The capital’s famous Chinatown will also play host to a parade by lion dancers, as well as a range of stalls selling traditional produce throughout the day.

Councillor Colin Barrow, leader of Westminster Council and himself born in the year of the dragon (1952), said: “This Sunday’s parade and festival is not only a great way for our Chinese community in Westminster to see in the new year, but it is a great chance for all Londoners to celebrate the Chinese culture and thank the Chinese community for the fantastic contribution that they make to life in our great city.

“We have an exciting year ahead, and I look forward to working with the local community in showcasing this unique part of Westminster to the wider world during this summer’s Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“I would like to wish all of our residents a very Happy Chinese New Year.”

The year of the dragon is one of the 12-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac and is the only animal that is legendary.

>> Click here for full Chinese New Year 2012 supplement