London Band Week Honours, 2026

14th Eastleigh Scout and Guide Band, Hampshire, United Kingdom

The 14th Eastleigh Scout and Guide Band is a concert and marching band based in Eastleigh, Hampshire. Recognised as one of the top Scout and Guide Bands in the country, the band celebrated its 55th Anniversary in 2023. Starting with only 8 Eb trumpets and a borrowed assortment of percussion instruments, band membership was initially only available to the Scout Group. In the early 1970's band membership was expanded to included the 4th Eastleigh Guides, and later to other members of the associations outside of the group. It has always been the band's policy to make instruments and uniforms available to loan to members and that all new members will immediately join the band to learn by experience.

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Bournemouth Youth Marching Band, Dorset, United Kingdom

The Bournemouth Youth Marching Band celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2024. The band was originally known as the Talbot Corps of Drums and reformed under its current name in 2013. The band's motto is Amici Per Musicam which means Friends Through Music. With core values of musicianship, discipline, teamwork, challenge, reliability, courage and confidence, the traditional British military style marching band has a full range of brass and woodwind instruments plus percussion, bell lyres (glockenspiels) and bugles. Led entirely by volunteers the band was honoured with the King's Award for Voluntary Service in 2023 and is proud to proclaim that it is a community that fosters musical talent, personal growth and lifelong friendships.

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Carolina Band, South Carolina, United States of America

The Carolina Band is the marching band of the University of South Carolina (USC), located in Columbia, South Carolina. Nicknamed “the Mighty Sound of the Southeast,” the ensemble was founded in 1920 as a student-led group with only 20 members. Today, students in the Carolina Band represent nearly every college and school on the USC Columbia campus. Having marched for over a century, it continues to entertain fans, serve the university and community, and provide students with an outlet to represent the very best of what the University of South Carolina has to offer. “The Mighty Sound of the Southeast” performs powerful, exciting and entertaining music designed to reach a wide-ranging audience.

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Christ's Hospital School Band, West Sussex, United Kingdom

Christ's Hospital is a school with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 1553. Since its establishment, Christ's Hospital has been a charity school, with a core aim to offer children from humble backgrounds the chance of a better education. In 1728, Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, suggested to the Governors of Christ’s Hospital in London that thirty boys at the school should be encouraged to take up music in order to provide a pool of talent for national choirs, bands and orchestras. However, it was not until the summer of 1868 that the band was founded that now regularly accompanies the pupils as they march into the quadrangle and to the Dining Hall for lunch. Nevertheless, the modern band is still more than one hundred and fifty years old and now performs not only at the school at Horsham but also off site, especially in London on Saint Matthew’s Day in September.

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Kingston & Malden Scout and Guide Band, Surrey, United Kingdom

The Kingston & Malden Scout and Guide Band celebrated their 75th anniversary in 2025. Located in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, the band supports musicians who are members of Scout or Guide Associations in the borough and local area. Since its formation in 1950, originally as a drum and bugle band, the group has provided an engaging activity for young musicians, alongside the members’ regular Scouting and Guiding activities. In 1997 the band was awarded the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Colours in recognition of the work the band does to represent its hometown. Membership of the band is a parallel activity to regular Scouting and Guiding activities so members have to spread their time accordingly, but it is policy for the youngest or newest recruit to be fully included in all engagements and activities as soon as possible and this has proven to be a winning formula for the Band. Many of the Band’s members progress into leadership roles with older members taking time to teach music to their younger colleagues.

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Liberty High School Grenadier Band, Pennsylvania, United States of America

The Liberty High School Grenadier Band is the marching band of Liberty High School, located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The ensemble dates back to 1926 when their founding Director, Joseph Ricapito, led the band in concert just a few years after the high school was built. To date, there have only been 5 Directors of the band and it was the 2nd Director, Ronald P. Sherry (a Liberty alumnus), who was inspired in 1967 to model the school band upon the British Army's Band of the Coldstream Guards. This decision set the band to become the most unique high school music programme in America, instantly recognisable by their uniforms, repertoire, performance style, culture and values, and least of all their pipes & drum who are based upon the Scots Guards.

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Marching Mizzou, Missouri, United States of America

Marching Mizzou, also known as the “Big ‘M’ of the Midwest,” has grown over its 140-year history to be the most visible and largest ensemble in the School of Music at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri. Although many of its core members are music majors, Marching Mizzou boasts an even higher number of students representing almost every discipline from across the university campus. With powerful music, creative and viral show designs, and a marching style that is clean, precise, quick moving, and entertaining, Marching Mizzou captivates audiences of all ages at football games, parades, and performances both domestic and international. The ensemble rightfully takes its place among the nation’s oldest and finest university band programs.

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Medina Marching Band, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom

Based in the south of England on the Isle of Wight, the Medina Marching Band was founded in 1976 by the late George Urry. Celebrating their 50th year serving the island community, band members come from a contrast of backgrounds and with varying musical knowledge. Over the years the band has enjoyed many competitive successes and is a welcome sight at parades, shows and events across the country. Wearing unmistakable red jackets, white helmets and caps, the band is fiercely proud of their traditional British military performance style. The band's corps of drums were the inaugural winners of the King's Shield at the Battle of Flowerpot Gate, DrumLine London, 2023.

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Royal British Legion Band & Corps of Drums Romford, London, United Kingdom

Founded in 1952 by the late Mr Peter Richardson B.E.M., the community marching band from Romford is one of the longest running independent youth marching bands in the United Kingdom. Their long history has entails an accomplished list of achievements and accolades, including performances  Following a traditional British military performance style, the band is a popular ensemble with an international following with frequent trips to continental Europe. The band rehearses twice a week and is proud to serve the local community with a traditional and accessible music education opportunity.

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The Band of His Majesty's Royal Marines, Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom

The Royal Marines Band Service is the musical wing of the Royal Navy and an independent element of the Royal Marines. It is headquartered at HMS Excellent, Whale Island, Portsmouth, and consists of five bands plus a training wing – the Royal Marines School of Music at HMS Nelson. The RM Bands are world-renowned for their versatility, combining a commitment to excellence, discipline and an active life supporting the Naval Service. This year, RM Band Portsmouth, will participate in London Band Week. RM Band Portsmouth have been known as ‘The Royal Band’ since 1903, when King Edward VII appointed them the Royal Yacht Band – and these versatile and talented musicians more than live up to their regal moniker.

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