London Horse Guards Parade Ground
Horse Guards Parade is a parade ground located off Whitehall Road in London, UK, at the Horse Guards Road enclosed by the Horse Guards building (once the headquarters of the British Army), the Admiralty Building and the Admiralty Citadel, the Dover House (home of the Scotland Office), the Admirality House, the Treasury Building, the Mountbatten Green, and garden walls of 10 Downing Street.. The site is most known for the annual Trooping the Colour, in which the monarch's official birthday is commemorated, and is also the site of the Beating Retreat ceremony.
The parade ground was formerly the site of Palace of Whitehall's tilt-yard, where various tournaments such as jousting were held. It's also been used for annual celebrations of the Queen Elizabeth I's birthday with reviews, parades and other ceremonies also taking place on the ground. For most of the late 20th Century, Horse Guards Parade was used as a car park for senior civil servants with about 500 granted the privilege. In 1991, PIRA executed a mortar attack at 10 Downing Street, carried out of a vehicle parked at the Horse Guards Avenue, nearly causing casualties and raising concerns over whether or not the area should remain a car park or should be open to public again. In 1993, the Royal Parks Review Group proposed that the parade's public access should be restored and that it should be linked to the Horse Guards Road. In 1996, the ground was cleared for repairs and parking was banned in 1997. The ground is open from the west side, facing the Horse Guards Road and St. James's Park.
The site hosted beach volleyball competitions during the 2012 Summer Olympics, the Polo Championships in 2009 and the Sainsburys Anniversary Games in 2014. In 2015, Horse Guards Parade hosted a 1940s-themed concert, titled A Party to Remember, as part of the 70th anniversary commemorations of the VE Day, the end of WW2 in Europe. The event was hosted by Chris Evans and included performances of Katherine Jenkins, Status Quo and Pixie Lott with appearances of actors John Simm, Julia Sawalha and Laurence Fox.
In 2013, Muse performed a free concert as part of the World War Z premiere (with the film itself screening at Leicester Square).
Muse appearances
Venue address
Horse Guards Parade
Horse Guards Avenue
Westminster
London SW1A 2AX
United Kingdom