London’s New Year’s Day Parade (1 January 2025) saw tens of thousands of people line up to watch floats travel from Piccadilly to their destination of Westminster. Among those taking part in the colourful and vibrant cultural celebration were members of London’s Polish community including around 10 people from Ealing.
This is the second year for Poles in London taking part. Their first participation in the parade took place on 1 January 2024 following the setting up of the Poles in LNYDP Association which was led by Sebastian Wopiński, director of the Polish Saturday School and Tomasz Wiśniewski, president of the Worcestershire Polish Association.
For the 2025 parade 200 Polish participants took part which featured two historic Polonez cars, one in police colours and the other as a fire truck, as well as a car styled after 303 Squadron aircraft. Iconic symbols of Polish cities—the Wawel Dragon from Kraków and the Mermaid of Warsaw also made an appearance.
For more than a decade, Monika Williams has called Ealing her home and joined with others from the Polish community in being on a float. Ms Williams represented Polish physicist and chemist Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie best known as Marie Curie.
Speaking to EALING.NEWS, Ms Williams said: “I’ve called Ealing home since 2013. I’m a registered mental health counsellor and therapist in training, dedicated to supporting the well-being of others. I was there to support my Polish community and I am a proud resident of Ealing.”
