A hot air balloon ship helmed by Admiral Lord Nelson will be representing Merton in the Mayor of London’s New Year’s Day parade next month. 

The council's entry, My Fair London, will celebrate the turn of the 20th century in keeping with the parade's overall theme, Hat's off to London - Celebration Capital of the World, which will highlight the invention of aviation and steam power.

The float is being built by students at the Wimbledon College of Art and is set to feature a hot air balloon made to look like a ship sailing down the road with Admiral Lord Nelson at its helm accompanied by Edwardians dressed in a My Fair Lady style and followed by dancers from the Younger Generation Theatre group based in Pollards Hill.

Last year the council’s entry Horsepower, celebrating the borough’s connection with the first licensed horse drawn railway in the world, the Surrey Iron Railway, came joint first with Westminster Council.

The parade will start at 11.45am on New Year’s Day at Piccadilly Circus at the junction with Berkeley Street outside the Ritz Hotel, finishing at 3pm at Parliament Street.

For more information visit londonparade.co.uk