On Friday night, 12th December 2025, a sparkling parade took place to mark the end of a year of events to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the town’s beginnings. The parade assembled at Northumberland Square, where Spark! (illuminated drummers) gave a performance before leading the parade down Howard Street. There was a fantastic crowd at the square and lining the route to cheer them on.
Spark! drummers entertain spectators at Northumberland Square
Spark! drummers lead off the North Shields 800 Parade
Illuminated dance troupe follow on down Howard Street
At the bottom of Howard Street the parade descended to the West Quay via the new ramp. Down on the Quay there were performances from local groups and quotes from some of Remembering the Past’s memories were projected in giant letters on the side of the Ice Factory. We are really proud that our work played a part in the event, which was a fitting conclusion to a special year for North Shields.
The parade proceeds down the new ramp towards the West Quay
Spectators gather on the West Quay for the final entertainment at the Ice Factory
Projections by Jay Halim Studio on the Registry Office
Our work is not yet over however. We are still processing the interviews we carried out for North Shields 800. The first 25 can be listened to on our North Shields Voices page and we will have a further 10 by the end of the year so revisit the page to see more.
In the meantime you might like to see some stunning images from the parade posted by I Love North Shields on their Facebook page by clicking here.