[1] Its highlight consists of a parade of banners, each typically accompanied by a brass band, which are marched to the old Racecourse, where political speeches are delivered.

[3] Despite the decline and eventual closure of all of Britain's deep mines the event has continued and in the 2000s has attracted attendances estimated at 100,000.

[7] 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.

Peter Bradshaw in a review for The Guardian described the documentary as a "rich, heartfelt and intimate tribute" to the gala.

[9] Most banners in the gala represent lodges of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in the Durham Area.

[10] Many banners contain explicit socialist or communist references, having renderings of Marx, Lenin, and other prominent figures such as miners' leaders, or politicians.