This year’s Orange Lodge Parade will not take place in Southport and Liverpool this year.
The 2020 Orange Lodge march was due to have taken place this weekend.
Every July 12, Orange Lodges from around the UK gather and march in Liverpool before travelling to Southport, where they march from London Street, across Lord Street and onto Nevill Street, then along the Promenade towards Southport Pleasureland. Lodge members and their supporters then enjoy a day out in Southport before reforming and travelling back towards Liverpool and elsewhere in the country.
The 2020 Parade was scheduled to take place this Saturday (July 11). Last year they celebrated the 200th anniversary of the first July 12 Orange Parade in Liverpool, in 1819.
For the first time since the Second World War this weekend’s event has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
In a statement from the Grand Orange Lodge of England, Most Worshipful Grand Master W.R. Bather and Grand Secretary David Taggart said: “Following the Government’s guidelines and instructions concerning large gatherings, it is with much regret to advise you all that all Parades and Functions within the Grand Orange Lodge of England remain cancelled and, for the first time since the Second World War, this year’s Annual 12th July Parade has also, reluctantly, been cancelled.
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“It has not been an easy decision but we feel that under the current circumstances it is important that we continue to follow the guidelines of the Government and medical experts during this epidemic.
“We must look after the safety and welfare of our membership, which is paramount, and we must also consider the safety and welfare of our followers.
“We are all in this together and it is important that we all stay safe at this time.”
In a statement from the Liverpool Provincial Grand Lodge, Provincial Grand Master Steve Kingston and Provincial Grand Secretary Paul Taylor said: “The Provincial Officers and myself are fully aware of the disappointment that this will bring to you all, as we are feeling the same disappointment ourselves, however, I would like to assure you that the Province will return to our streets as soon as practical, once the advice from Government deems that it is safe to do so.
The Orange Lodge Parade in Southport. Photo by Andrew Brown Media
“Many of our plans for the summer months have been ruined due to the unprecedented threat posed to us all by the pandemic we are currently experiencing, but we look forward to the day we can return to our normal activities, and once again parade the streets of our city, and beyond.”
Tens of thousands of people attend parades on the Twelfth, which is held on or around 12 July every year to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.
King William III – the Dutch-born Protestant better known as William of Orange or King Billy – defeated the Catholic King James II in County Meath in Ireland in July 1690.
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