Going Purple4Polio in the London Parade

Eve Conway, second from left, and other purple-attired participants in the London Parade.

By Eve Conway, past Rotary International Director 2023-25

There’s nothing quite like it — the buzz, the sounds, the sights, the sensation, and the dynamic atmosphere of the London New Year’s Day parade. Where else would you find such a colourful, vibrant assembly of floats, more than 8,000 performers, and an eclectic mix of Kings Horses, marching bands from America, cheerleaders, and dancing Storm Troopers.

Participants come from all the boroughs of London and from around the world — Peru, Poland, China, and more. And Rotary is there too!

I was delighted to once again be a part of our parade presence and look out over a sea of purple as we went Purple4Polio in support of our End Polio Now campaign. What a fantastic way to spread the word about our top priority, ridding the world of this dreadful disease.

About 80 Rotarians, Rotaractors, and Rotary Global Scholars dressed up in purple and joined our district governor and me for the 40^th anniversary of the London parade. We put on our Purple4Polio high-viz vests and tops and waved our oversized Purple4Polio foam hands to give a big Rotary welcome to the crowds. And they loved it. Our life-size polio bear — from a costume I bought at a fancy dress shop — was also a big hit.

Rotary and Rotaract members by the open top London bus.

It was a bitterly cold day as we wound our way from Piccadilly to Westminster in a bright red, open top, double-decker London bus. But being part of this atmosphere made us forget we were freezing. Thankfully, others were more wrapped up than I was!  

I have been organizing Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland’s participation in the parade for 15 years because it is great PR. I believe we need to be in more events like this. And the parade organizers are delighted to have us.

All the commentators along the parade route included a mention of our float and Rotary as we passed by (as part of the script I had written for them — it helps being a journalist!). Record crowds stayed on until 4:30 p.m. Police sources and the Westminster City Council put estimates at more than 700,000, beyond the 500,000 estimated by parade organisers.

Similarly, global television audiences set a record, with more than 27 million people watching live in the US and over 1,100 stations broadcasting the parade live globally. SKY NEWS reached a last-minute deal with parade organisers to broadcast the entire parade live. See a recording. (our Purple4Polio float and bus can be seen at 2 hours, 29 minutes, 40 seconds and we can be seen again at 2 hours, 41 minutes as we’re about to enter the live TV area)

Being a part of the London parade is a great way to start the year and raise the profile of Rotary and our End Polio Now campaign. We have been blessed to be able to take part for many years and it costs nothing to enter. As far as I am concerned, there’s no better way to kick off the new year.

Editor’s note: The “Purple4Polio” campaign gets its name from the purple dye used to mark the little finger of children who have been immunized against polio to show that they have received the vaccine.