The 105th Lions International Convention was held between the 8th and 11th July 2023 in Boston, MA, USA.
The venue was the stunning Sea Port district of the city, which is the recently redeveloped waterfront industrial area. Sea Port has an amazing array of hotels, restaurants, bars and of course the convention centre.
The convention is an opportunity for Lions from across the world, some 200 countries, to meet and share experiences of how Lions are helping people of the world. In 2022-23 over 500 million people have been helped by Lions.
Let's Play Ball
Friday night was MD105 Social Night. Time for a trip to Fenway Park to see the Red Sox play baseball.
24 Lions enjoyed an evening watching the Red Sox beat the Oakland A's 7-3. Not too sure many understood the rules, but great fun was had by all.
Parade of Nations
Saturday was the Parade of Nations. This is when the Lions of the world parade through Boston to promote and celebrate. This year the parade started on the famous Boston Common.
The Flag Parade
1st Plenary Session
Sunday was time for the first Plenary Session (business session).
This is a very "low key" affair 😁. Just some 5-7000 Lions in the hall for the parade of nations flags! 200 national flags paraded by young people with the precision of a US high school marching band. Very impressive.
Then it was time for International President Brian Sheehan to address the Lions. In his typically shy fashion he appeared on stage on a hoover board and proceeded to roar around the stage on it. Lion Brian gave an impassioned and inspirational speech on the work of Lions across the Globe and how he had been inspired by the work done. During his year in office over 500 million!!! people had been helped by the work of Lions. That is one in every sixteen people on this planet.
