Edwardsville High School here in picture.

They come from Edwardsville in Illinois, which is quite near to St.

Louis, Illinois.

Is it St.

Louis or St.

Louis?

Sorry, I never know.

Daisy, you should be able to correct me on that.

St.

Louis or St.

Louis?

Well, I think it's St.

Louis.

Well, us St.

Louisans might have a few thoughts about the pronunciation, but when one of the largest cities in the world is announcing your name for millions to hear, an extra vowel can't hurt that accomplishment.

The London New Year's Day Parade is one of the largest New Year's celebrations in the world, marking its 40th anniversary in 2026.

More than 8,000 performers across the globe, a 2.2 route through the heart of the city, and an audience that stretches far beyond the streets, reaching millions of viewers worldwide.

It's part concert, part cultural showcase, and part tradition, one that turns London into a global stage.

And this year, that global stage included a hometown name.

Edwardsville High School Marching Tigers.

♪♪ It's very encouraging to know that we are being put on this big stage, and I think the kids are enjoying the challenge of letting them know, hey, they estimate 500,000 people on the parade route itself, and then however many people watching back at home and wherever they're broadcasting it.

So I think the kids have really relished in the opportunity to be on a stage as big as this.

I just want to hear that first bit.

Dee-da-da-da.

Five, or one, two, three, four, one.

Of course, for a performance this big and far from home, it took much more preparation than the average parade.

We came out to one of the band's extra rehearsals a couple of weeks before the trip, but the planning actually began four years in advance.

In our band program, we go on a trip every four years, and for the last couple cycles, we've gone to Orlando and marched at Disney World, and four years ago when we went, I wanted to kind of up the ante to try to get more students involved, more students wanting to go, and to make a much bigger educational impact for the students.

Ryan talked to fellow band directors who highly recommended the London Parade.

But it wasn't a guaranteed spot.

Bands from around the world apply, submitting performance videos and going through a vetting process just to be considered.

And in September of 2024, that answer arrived, not in an email, but in person.

The official invitation was hand-delivered by Bob Bone himself, the founder of the London New Year's Day Parade.

You are going to be invited to London's New Year's Day Parade 2026.

Are you pleased with that idea?

[applause] The reason we've chosen Edwardsville to come to the parade, and a very special parade for us, it's our 40th anniversary, is because of their reputation.

You know, this is a massive, massive event for us in London, so we want the best performers.

I mean, it's as simple as that.

Have you ever been out of the country?

I've never been out of the country, so... You need to get your passport.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's okay.

It's worth it.

It's worth it.

Yeah.

We've had a lot of reminders of, "Hey, make sure you have you done your passport yet.

Make sure you've done your passport."

Right now we're in the reminders for their electronic travel authorizations, which is another step they have to take.

I mean, it's not cheap going to London.

And you're taking 157 people.

How does that work?

So how that works is every student had a, they have a cost associated with it, and we've offered about a fundraiser every two months for them to participate in if they'd like to, as well as me and the directors and the boosters have kind of taken over a couple of other fundraising efforts to try to help families that have asked for a little financial assistance to get there.

This is the Edwardsville and they have the most interesting and exciting uniforms that I've seen for a color guard for a very, very long time.

The London parade itself also helps support the bands by organizing shipping the larger items -- instruments, uniforms, flags and banners -- via freight overseas.

We packed up all of the big instruments and we put them in these massive shipping containers and they're getting shipped to London.

So this is currently not my personal instrument, but my personal instrument is on its way to London right now.

♪♪ For these students, this isn't just a trip.

It's a payoff for years of early mornings, late nights, long weekends, and countless hours spent perfecting every note and every step.

It's pride, it's validation, and it's proof that dedication in a high school band room can lead all the way to an international stage.

♪♪ - I'm really proud to have the opportunity to represent my school like this.

Like, this isn't an opportunity that everyone or even every school gets to have.

And so I'm really just honored to have that opportunity.

- I really do hope that this gets the kids geared up to play beyond high school.

I hope that it encourages our middle school kids to continue and just keep making people excited to travel the world.