LONDON (AA) – Thousands of people came together in London for the annual New Year’s Day parade on the first day of 2023.

The parade, which has been taking place since 1987, was the first since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 8,000 performers from 20 nations participated in the colorful event and this year’s event was filled with marching bands, cheerleaders, pearly kings and queens, dancers, drummers, cycling clubs and giant balloons.

Celebrations started at Piccadilly, then moved east to Piccadilly Circus, before heading south down Regent Street and St James’s, passing Pall Mall, to the final point at Westminster.

London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan said there was “no better place to welcome in the New Year than London.”

Around 500,000 people turn out to see the event in person, the organizers said, adding that it is also watched on TV by more than 500 million people annually.