colliery was closed the banner was often still marched. In 2020, the Durham Miners Association cancelled the event due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The centenary gala was held in 1983. Present day No deep mines remain in the Durham Coalfield, compared to over a hundred at the coalfield's peak. Despite this, the gala continues to be organised. The 122nd gala, held in 2006, attracted over 50,000 people, and approximately 100,000 attended in 2009, making it one of the biggest political gatherings in Europe. During the morning banners are still marched to the racecourse with its tradition of speeches (recent notable speakers have included Tony Benn, Billy Bragg and Ken Livingstone) then in the afternoon to the cathedral. In 2012 Labour Party leader Ed Miliband addressed the 128th gala; he was the first Labour Party leader to speak at the gala for 23 years, the last one being Neil Kinnock in 1989. He praised the event as "a great North East tradition" and attacked the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, saying it had "lost a generation of young people". In 2015, all four candidates in the Labour leadership election appeared at the gala, but only Jeremy Corbyn, who had already secured the endorsement of the Durham Miners' Association, was asked to give a speech to the gala. After winning the leadership contest, Corbyn addressed the event as Labour leader every year from 2016 to 2019. In September 2019, a feature-length documentary about the gala was released. The Big Meeting screened across the UK and received a host of positive national reviews, including a four-star review from Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, in which he described the film as a "rich, heartfelt and intimate tribute to the Durham Miners’ Gala." in 2022 After being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic the gala returned with attendance being over 200,000 the largest gala since before the miners strike. One of the keynote speakers was Mick lynch general secretary of the RMT union. Who said it was time for the working class to "rise up" and combat the tory government of then prime minister boris johnson. Also said that if Keir Starmer would not support the unions he would be brushed away. Banners Most banners in the gala represent lodges of the National Union of Mineworkers in the Durham Area. However other unions have also been represented, particularly in recent years, as well as union banners