ICYMI: University of Northern Iowa Band Shines at Iconic London Parade

Approximately three hundred college students from the University of Northern Iowa started off 2025 thousands of miles from Cedar Falls.

At the end of 2023, the college's marching band was invited to perform in Europe for the London New Year's Day Parade in 2025. This invitation and acceptance were made public on the UNI Panther Marching Band's social media platforms just over a year ago.

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University of Northern Iowa Marching Band Performs in London

The collegiate marching band led by band director Dr. Justin Mertz crossed the pond for this once in a lifetime performance. When these Iowa musicians readied themselves for the parade, they and all of the other participants were alerted to a delay.

Due to the weather conditions and the wind gusts of 50 MPH, the start time for the parade was pushed back thirty minutes, according to reports.

This is not the group's first time performing across the pond though.

The Panthers performed at this parade back in 2015 and a decade later they returned to London for the huge celebration. Other notable places this talented group of students have performed at include Rome in 2017, Ireland in 2019, and Madrid in 2023.

What Even Is This Parade?

This is the UK's official kick off to the new year! It's one of the biggest parties of the holiday season in London.

 London’s New Year’s Day Parade started back in 1987 with just 2,000 performers. Each and every year it continues to grow, and now brings in 10,000 participants from all across the globe.

Officials claim that the parade brings out a street audience of approximately 500,000 over the past few years.

This is a three-hour parade that takes place right in the heart of London. It typically begins at Piccadilly and goes all the way through to Westminster.

ICYMI: You Can Re-watch the Performance

You can watch the full parade and the University of Northern Iowa marching band's performance down below!

The PMB (Panther Marching Band) performs 'Fireball' by Pitbull at just around the fourteen minute mark in the video.

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