London
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| London |
| From upper left: City of London, Tower Bridge and London Eye, Houses of Parliament |
| London region in the United Kingdom |
Coordinates:  51°30′26″N 0°7′39″W / 51.50722°N 0.1275°W / 51.50722; -0.1275Coordinates: 51°30′26″N 0°7′39″W / 51.50722°N 0.1275°W / 51.50722; -0.1275 |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | London |
| Ceremonial counties | City and Greater London |
| Districts | City and 32 boroughs |
| Settled by Romans | as Londinium c. AD 43 |
| Headquarters | City Hall |
| Government |
| - Regional authority | Greater London Authority |
| - Regional assembly | London Assembly |
| - Mayor of London | Boris Johnson |
- UK Parliament
- London Assembly
- European Parliament | 74 constituencies
14 constituencies
London constituency |
| Area |
| - London | 607 sq mi (1,572.1 km2) |
| Elevation[1] | 79 ft (24 m) |
| Population (July 2007 est.)[2][3][4] |
| - London | 7,556,900 |
| - Density | 12,450/sq mi (4,807/km2) |
| - Urban | 8,278,251 |
| - Metro | 12,300,000 to 13,945,000 |
| - Demonym | Londoner |
- Ethnicity
(June 2007 estimates)[5] | |
| Time zone | GMT (UTC0) |
| - Summer (DST) | BST (UTC+1) |
| Postcode areas | E, EC, N, NW, SE, SW, W, WC, BR, CR, DA, EN, HA, IG, KT, RM, SM, TN, TW, UB |
| Area code(s) | 020, 01322, 01689, 01708, 01737, 01895, 01923, 01959, 01992 |
| Website | london.gov.uk |
London (
/ˈlʌndən/) is the
capital of
England and the
United Kingdom, the largest
metropolitan area in the United Kingdom and the largest urban zone in the
European Union by most measures.
[note 1] London has been a major settlement for two millennia,
its history going back to its founding by the
Romans, who called it
Londinium.
[6] London's ancient core, the
City of London, largely retains its square-mile
mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core.
[7] The bulk of this
conurbation forms the London
region[8] and the
Greater London administrative area,
[9][note 2] governed by the elected
Mayor of London and the
London Assembly.
[10]
London is a leading
global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence.
[11] It is the world's largest financial centre alongside
New York,
[12][13][14] has the
largest city GDP in Europe
[15] and is home to the headquarters of more than 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies.
[16] It is the most visited city by international tourists in the world.
[17] London's five international airports make its airspace the busiest of any urban centre worldwide
[18] and
London Heathrow is the
world's busiest airport by number of international passengers.
[19] London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education institutions in
Europe.
[20] In 2012 London will become the first city to host the
Summer Olympics three times.
[21]
London has a diverse range of peoples, cultures and religions, and more than 300 languages are spoken within its boundaries.
[22] In July 2007 it had an official population of 7,556,900 within the boundaries of Greater London,
[23] making it the
most populous municipality in the European Union.
[24] The
Greater London Urban Area is the
second largest in the EU with a population of 8,278,251,
[2] while London's
metropolitan area is the largest in the EU with an estimated total population of between 12 million
[3] and 14 million.
[4]
London contains four
World Heritage Sites: the
Tower of London;
Kew Gardens; the site comprising the
Palace of Westminster,
Westminster Abbey and
St. Margaret's Church; and the historic settlement of
Greenwich (in which the
Royal Observatory marks the
Greenwich Meridian (0° longitude) and
GMT).
[25] Other famous landmarks include
Buckingham Palace, the
London Eye,
Piccadilly Circus,
30 St Mary Axe ("The Gherkin"),
St Paul's Cathedral,
Tower Bridge and
Trafalgar Square. London is home to numerous museums, galleries, libraries, sporting events and other cultural institutions including the
British Museum,
National Gallery,
British Library,
Wimbledon and 40 theatres.
[26] London's
Chinatown is the largest in Europe.
[27] The
London Underground network is the oldest underground railway network in the world
[28] and the most extensive after the
Shanghai Metro.
[29]
History
Toponomy
The
etymology of London is uncertain.
[30] It is an ancient name and can be found in sources from the 2nd century. It is recorded c. 121 as
Londinium, which points to
Romano-British origin.
[30] The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to
Geoffrey of Monmouth in
Historia Regum Britanniae.
[30] This had it that the name originated from a supposed
King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it
Kaerlud.
[31]
From 1899 it was commonly accepted that the name was of
Celtic origin and meant
place belonging to a man called *Londinos; this explanation has since been rejected.
[30] Richard Coates put forward an explanation in 1998 that it is derived from the pre-Celtic
Old European *(p)lowonida, meaning 'river too wide to ford', and suggested that this was a name given to the part of the
River Thames which flows through London; from this, the settlement gained the Celtic form of its name,
*Lowonidonjon.
[32] Until 1889 the name officially only applied to the
City of London but since then it has also referred to the
County of London and now
Greater London.
[7]
The
Welsh word for London is
Llundain from
Middle Welsh Llundein[33] and the
Welsh u descends from either
proto-Celtic oi or
ou.
[34] As with the
Romano-British theonym Nodons from *
Noudont- ",
[35] Celtic ou was sometimes
transcribed as
Latin o. According to established Celtic sound change laws,
[34] if
Llundain were descended from a former *
Londiniom, we would expect to see *
Llondyn or *
Llyndyn in
Welsh, but a hypothetical *
Lou-nd-e-njo-m would yield
Welsh Llundain according to the same
sound change principles.
[34] The element *
lou- is a widely attested
Proto-Indo-European root meaning ‘wash’.
[36][37][38][39]
Prehistory and antiquity
Although there is evidence of scattered
Brythonic settlements in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the
Romans in 43 AD.
[40] This lasted for just seventeen years and around 61, the
Iceni tribe led by
Queen Boudica stormed it, burning it to the ground.
[41] The next, heavily planned incarnation of the city prospered and superseded
Colchester as the capital of the
Roman province of
Britannia in 100. At its height during the 2nd century, Roman London had a population of around 60,000. By the 7th century, the
Anglo-Saxons had created a new settlement called
Lundenwic over a mile (2 km) upstream from the old Roman city, around what is now
Covent Garden.
[42]
It is likely that there was a harbour at the mouth of the
River Fleet for fishing and trading, and this trading grew, until the city was overcome by the
Vikings and forced to move east, back to the location of the Roman
Londinium, in order to use its walls for protection.
[43] Viking attacks continued to increase, until 886 when
Alfred the Great recaptured London and made peace with the Danish leader,
Guthrum.
[44] The original Saxon city of Lundenwic became
Ealdwic ("old city"), a name surviving to the present day as
Aldwych, which is in the modern
City of Westminster.
[45]
Middle Ages
With the collapse of Roman rule in the early 5th century, London was effectively abandoned. However, from the 6th century an
Anglo-Saxon settlement known as
Lundenwic developed slightly to the west of the old Roman city, around what is now
Covent Garden and
the Strand, rising to a likely population of 10–12,000.
[42] In the 9th century London was repeatedly attacked by
Vikings, leading to a relocation of the city back to the location of Roman
Londinium, in order to use its walls for protection.
[43] Following the unification of
England in the 10th century London, already the country's largest city and most important trading centre, became increasingly important as a political centre, although it still faced competition from
Winchester, the traditional centre of the kingdom of
Wessex.
In the 11th century King
Edward the Confessor re-founded and rebuilt
Westminster Abbey and
Westminster, a short distance upstream from London became a favoured royal residence. From this point onward Westminster steadily supplanted the City of London itself as a venue for the business of national government.
[46]
Following his victory in the
Battle of Hastings,
William, Duke of Normandy, was crowned
King of England in the newly finished Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066.
[47] William constructed the
Tower of London, the first of the many Norman castles in England to be rebuilt in stone, in the southeastern corner of the city to intimidate the native inhabitants.
[48] In 1097,
William II began the building of
Westminster Hall, close by the abbey of the same name. The hall became the basis of a new
Palace of Westminster.
[49][50]
During the 12th century the institutions of central government, which had hitherto accompanied the royal court as it moved around the country, grew in size and sophistication and became increasingly fixed in one place. In most cases this was Westminster, although the royal treasury, having been moved from Winchester, came to rest in the Tower. While the
City of Westminster developed into a true capital in governmental terms, its distinct neighbour, the City of London, remained England's largest city and principal commercial centre and flourished under its own unique administration, the
Corporation of London. In 1100 its population was around 18,000; by 1300 it had grown to nearly 100,000.
[51]
Disaster struck during the
Black Death in the mid-14th century, when London lost nearly a third of its population.
[52] Apart from the invasion during the
Peasants' Revolt in 1381,
[53] London remained relatively untouched by the various civil wars during the Middle Ages.
[citation needed]
Early modern
During the
Tudor period the
Reformation produced a gradual shift to Protestantism, with much of London passing from church to private ownership.
[54] Mercantilism grew and monopoly trading companies such as the
British East India Company were established, with trade expanding to the
New World. London became the principal
North Sea port, with migrants arriving from England and abroad. The population rose from an estimated 50,000 in 1530 to about 225,000 in 1605.
[54]
In the 16th century
William Shakespeare and his contemporaries lived in London at a time of hostility to the development of the
theatre. By the end of the Tudor period in 1603, London was still very compact. There was an assassination attempt on
James I in Westminster, through the
Gunpowder Plot on 5 November 1605.
[55] London was
plagued by disease in the early 17th century,
[56] culminating in the
Great Plague of 1665–1666, which killed up to 100,000 people, or a fifth of the population.
[57][58]
The
Great Fire of London broke out in 1666 in Pudding Lane in the city and quickly swept through the wooden buildings.
[58] Rebuilding took over ten years and was supervised by
Robert Hooke[59][60][61] as Surveyor of London.
[62] In 1708
Christopher Wren's masterpiece,
St. Paul's Cathedral was completed. During the
Georgian era new districts such as
Mayfair were formed in the west; and new bridges over the Thames encouraged development in
South London. In the east, the
Port of London expanded downstream.
In 1762
George III acquired
Buckingham House and it was enlarged over the next 75 years. During the 18th century, London was dogged by crime and the
Bow Street Runners were established in 1750 as a professional police force.
[63] In total, more than 200 offenses were punishable by death,
[64] and women and children were hanged for petty theft.
[65] Over 74 per cent of children born in London died before they were five.
[66] The
coffee house became a popular place to debate ideas, with growing
literacy and the development of the
printing press making news widely available; and
Fleet Street became the centre of the British press.
| “ | You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford. | ” |
| |
Late modern and contemporary
A London street hit during
the Blitz of World War II
London was the world's largest city from about 1831 to 1925.
[68] London's overcrowded conditions led to
cholera epidemics,
[69] claiming 14,000 lives in 1848, and 6,000 in 1866.
[70] Rising
traffic congestion led to the creation of the world's first local urban rail network. The
Metropolitan Board of Works oversaw infrastructure expansion. It was replaced in 1889 by the
London County Council, London's first elected city-wide administration.
The Blitz and other bombing by the German
Luftwaffe during World War II killed over 30,000 Londoners and destroyed large tracts of housing and other buildings across London. Immediately after the war, the
1948 Summer Olympics were held at the original
Wembley Stadium, at a time when the city had barely recovered from the war.
In 1951 the
Festival of Britain was held on the
South Bank. The
Great Smog of 1952 led to the
Clean Air Act 1956, which ended the "
pea-souper" fogs for which London had been notorious. From the 1950s onwards, London became home to a large number of immigrants, largely from
Commonwealth countries such as
Jamaica,
India,
Bangladesh and
Pakistan, making London one of the most diverse cities in Europe.
Starting in the mid-1960s, London became a centre for the worldwide
youth culture, exemplified by the
Swinging London subculture associated with
Carnaby Street. The role of trendsetter was revived during the
punk era. In 1965 London's political boundaries were expanded to take into account the growth of the urban area and a new
Greater London Council was created. During
The Troubles in
Northern Ireland, London was subjected to bombing attacks by the
Provisional IRA. Racial inequality was highlighted by the
1981 Brixton riot. Greater London's population declined steadily in the decades after World War II, from an estimated peak of 8.6 million in 1939 to around 6.8 million in the 1980s. The principal ports for London moved downstream to
Felixstowe and
Tilbury, with the
London Docklands area becoming a focus for regeneration.
The
Thames Barrier was completed in the 1980s to protect London against tidal surges from the
North Sea. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, which left London as the only large metropolis in the world without a central administration. In 2000, London-wide government was restored, with the creation of the
Greater London Authority. To celebrate the start of the 21st century, the
Millennium Dome,
London Eye and
Millenium Bridge were constructed. On 7 July 2005, several
London Underground trains and a bus were bombed in a
series of terrorist attacks.
[71]
Government
Local government
The current sub-regions as defined by the GLA
The administration of London is formed of two tiers—a city-wide, strategic tier and a local tier. City-wide administration is coordinated by the
Greater London Authority (GLA), while local administration is carried out by 33 smaller authorities.
[72] The GLA consists of two elected components; the
Mayor of London, who has executive powers, and the
London Assembly, who scrutinise the mayor's decisions and can accept or reject his budget proposals each year. The headquarters of the GLA is
City Hall,
Southwark; the current mayor is
Boris Johnson. The mayor's statutory planning strategy is published as the
London Plan, which as of mid-2009 is being revised, for final publication in 2011. The local authorities are the councils of the 32
London boroughs and the
City of London Corporation.
[73] They are responsible for most local services, such as local planning, schools,
social services, local roads and refuse collection. Certain functions, such as
waste management, are provided through joint arrangements.
Policing in Greater London, with the exception of the
City of London, is provided by the
Metropolitan Police Force, overseen by the
Metropolitan Police Authority. The City of London has its own police force – the
City of London Police.
[74] The
British Transport Police are responsible for police services on
National Rail and
London Underground services in the capital.
[75]
The
London Fire Brigade is the
statutory fire and rescue service for Greater London. It is run by the
London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority and is the third-largest fire service in the world.
[76] National Health Service ambulance services are provided by the
London Ambulance Service (LAS) NHS Trust, the largest free at the point of use emergency ambulance service in the world.
[77] The
London Air Ambulance charity operates in conjunction with the LAS where required.
Her Majesty's Coastguard and the
Royal National Lifeboat Institution operate on the
River Thames.
[78][79]
National government
London is the seat of the
Government of the United Kingdom, which is located around the
Palace of Westminster. Many government departments are located close to Parliament, particularly along
Whitehall, including the
Prime Minister's residence at
10 Downing Street.
[80] The British Parliament is often referred to as the "Mother of Parliaments" (although this
sobriquet was first applied to England itself by
John Bright)
[81] because it has been the model for most other
parliamentary systems, and its Acts have created many other parliaments.
Geography
Scope
Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London. The small, ancient
City of London at its core once contained the whole settlement, but as the urban area grew the
City Corporation resisted attempts to amalgamate it with its suburbs, causing "London" to be defined in a number ways for different purposes; and the situation was once open to legal debate.
[82] Forty per cent of Greater London is covered by the
London post town, within which 'LONDON' forms part of postal addresses.
[83][84]
The London telephone area code (020) covers a larger area, similar in size to Greater London, although some outer districts are omitted and some places just outside are included. The area within the orbital
M25 motorway is normally what is referred to as 'London'.
[85] and the Greater London boundary has been
aligned to it in places.
[86]
Outward urban expansion is now prevented by the
Metropolitan Green Belt,
[87] although the built-up area extends beyond the boundary in places, resulting in a separately defined
Greater London Urban Area. Beyond this is the vast
London commuter belt.
[88] Greater London is split for some purposes into
Inner London and
Outer London.
[89] The city is split by the River Thames into
North and
South, with an informal
Central London area in its interior. The coordinates of the nominal centre of London, traditionally considered to be the original
Eleanor Cross at
Charing Cross near the junction of
Trafalgar Square and
Whitehall, are approximately
51°30′26″N 00°07′39″W / 51.50722°N 0.1275°W / 51.50722; -0.1275.
[90]
Status
Within London, both the
City of London and the
City of Westminster have
city status and both the City of London and the remainder of Greater London are the
ceremonial counties.
[91] The current area of
Greater London has incorporated areas that
were once part of the counties of
Middlesex,
Kent,
Surrey,
Essex and
Hertfordshire.
[92] London's status as the capital of England, and later the United Kingdom, has never been granted or confirmed officially—by
statute or in written form.
[note 3]
Its position was formed through
constitutional convention, making its status as
de facto capital a part of the
UK's unwritten constitution. The capital of England was moved to London from
Winchester as the
Palace of Westminster developed in the 12th and 13th centuries to become the permanent location of the
royal court, and thus the political capital of the nation.
[96] More recently, Greater London has been defined as a
region of England and in this context known as
London.
[8]
Topography
Greater London covers an area of 1,579 square kilometres (610 sq mi), an area which had a population of 7,172,036 in 2001 and a population density of 4,542 inhabitants per square kilometre (11,760 /sq mi). A larger area, referred to as the London Metropolitan Region or the London Metropolitan Agglomeration covers an area of 8,382 square kilometres (3,236 sq mi) has a population of 12,653,500 and a population density of 1,510 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,900 /sq mi).
[97] Modern London stands athwart the
Thames, its primary geographical feature, a
navigable river which crosses the city from the south-west to the east. The
Thames Valley is a
floodplain surrounded by gently rolling hills including
Parliament Hill,
Addington Hills, and
Primrose Hill. The Thames was once a much broader, shallower river with extensive
marshlands; at high tide, its shores reached five times their present width.
[98]
Since the
Victorian era the Thames has been extensively
embanked, and many of its London
tributaries now flow
underground. The Thames is a tidal river, and London is vulnerable to flooding.
[99] The threat has increased over time due to a slow but continuous rise in
high water level by the slow 'tilting' of Britain (up in the north and down in the south) caused by post-
glacial rebound.
[100]
In 1974, a decade of work began on the construction of the
Thames Barrier across the Thames at
Woolwich to deal with this threat. While the barrier is expected to function as designed until roughly 2070, concepts for its future enlargement or redesign are already being discussed.
[101]
Climate
London has a
temperate marine climate (
Köppen climate classification Cfb), like much of the British Isles, so the city rarely sees extremely high or low temperatures. London receives an average of only 1468 hours of sunshine every year.
[102] Despite this, summers are generally warm, with daytime temperatures above 20 °C (68 °F) on over 90% of days. Warm weather can usually be expected from May to September – in recent years, 30 °C (86 °F) has been recorded in early May on several occasions and as late as mid September. On average, London receives 28 days above 25 °C (77 °F) per year, and 4 days above 30 °C (86 °F). All of these weather statistics are based on averages from sheltered suburbs. Taking into effect the UHI effect, Inner London can be up to 5°C warmer than the surrounding areas. During summer it can become very unpleasant to travel in London, for example temperatures in the London Underground can easily reach well above 40 °C (104 °F) on warm days. Heatwaves do occur, although serious heatwaves are not as common. During mild heatwaves, temperatures usually reach above 32 °C (90 °F) for several days and do not drop below 20 °C (68 °F) at night. During more severe heatwaves such as 2006 and 2003, temperatures can reach above 35 °C (95 °F) during the day and at times were as high as 23 °C (73 °F) in some areas at night. June and July 2006 were notable for the intense heat, with temperatures regularly reaching above 33 °C (91 °F) and the mean max for July of that year coming out at above 28 °C (82 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded was 38.5 °C (101 °F)
[103] on 10 August 2003 during the
2003 European heat wave.
Winters in London are chilly, but rarely below freezing, with daytime highs around 6 °C (43 °F) – 8 °C (46 °F). Winter temperatures can reach as high as 16 °C (61 °F) occasionally, and also below 0 °C (32 °F) during daytime, especially in 2010–2011 winter.
[103] The lowest ever recorded temperature was −21.1 °C (−6 °F) in January 1795. Spring is characterised by mild days and cool evenings in March and April, and generally warm days and mild nights during May. Spring is normally a very mixed affair however, with cool weather possible until late April. 29 °C (84 °F) has been recorded in April, and similarly cool temperatures have been recorded in early May. Spring is normally the driest time of year in London. Autumn is usually mild but often unsettled as colder air from the arctic and warmer air from the tropics meet. Temperatures usually remain warm, above 18 °C (64 °F) until late September. London is a relatively dry city with regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year, with an average of 583.6 millimetres (22.98 in) every year. This is lower than many cities such as New York, Paris, Sydney and around the same as
Jerusalem and San Francisco.
Snow is relatively uncommon, particularly because
heat from the urban area can make London up to 5 °C (9 °F) warmer than the surrounding areas in winter. Some snowfall, however, is usually seen up to a few times a year. The
February 2009 Great Britain and Ireland snowfall was the heaviest London had seen for 18 years.
London is in
USDA Hardiness zone 9, and
AHS Heat Zone 2.
[104] Although extreme weather does not happen very often, deep depressions have been known to pass through like the
Great Storm of 1987.
Tornados are rare, but the
Kensal Green area of the city was hit by the
2006 London tornado causing £10 million of damage and injuring 6 people.
In the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, London was noted for its dense fogs and smogs. Following the deadly
Great Smog of 1952, the
Clean Air Act 1956 was passed, leading to the decline of such severe pollution in the capital.
[105] In 2010, the City of London was ranked as one of the most polluted places in Europe.
[106]
| [hide]Climate data for London (Greenwich) |
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.0
(57.2) | 16.0
(60.8) | 21.0
(69.8) | 26.0
(78.8) | 30.0
(86) | 33.0
(91.4) | 34.0
(93.2) | 38.0
(100.4) | 30.0
(86) | 26.0
(78.8) | 19.0
(66.2) | 15.0
(59) | 38.0
(100.4) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 7.9
(46.2) | 8.2
(46.8) | 10.9
(51.6) | 13.3
(55.9) | 17.2
(63) | 20.2
(68.4) | 22.8
(73) | 22.6
(72.7) | 19.3
(66.7) | 15.2
(59.4) | 10.9
(51.6) | 8.8
(47.8) | 14.8
(58.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 2.4
(36.3) | 2.2
(36) | 3.8
(38.8) | 5.2
(41.4) | 8.0
(46.4) | 11.1
(52) | 13.6
(56.5) | 13.3
(55.9) | 10.9
(51.6) | 8.0
(46.4) | 4.8
(40.6) | 3.3
(37.9) | 7.2
(45) |
| Record low °C (°F) | -10.0
(14) | -9.0
(15.8) | -8.0
(17.6) | -2.0
(28.4) | -1.0
(30.2) | 5.0
(41) | 7.0
(44.6) | 6.0
(42.8) | 3.0
(37.4) | -4.0
(24.8) | -5.0
(23) | -7.0
(19.4) | -10.0
(14) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 51.9
(2.043) | 34.0
(1.339) | 42.0
(1.654) | 45.2
(1.78) | 47.2
(1.858) | 53.0
(2.087) | 38.3
(1.508) | 47.3
(1.862) | 56.9
(2.24) | 61.5
(2.421) | 52.3
(2.059) | 54.0
(2.126) | 583.6
(22.976) |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 1 mm) | 10.9 | 8.1 | 9.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 7.0 | 7.2 | 8.7 | 9.3 | 9.3 | 10.1 | 106.6 |
| Sunshine hours | 45.9 | 66.1 | 103.2 | 147.0 | 185.4 | 180.6 | 190.3 | 194.4 | 139.2 | 109.7 | 60.6 | 37.8 | 1,461.0 |
| Source: Met Office [102] |
Districts
London's vast urban area is often described using a set of district names, such as
Bloomsbury,
Mayfair,
Wembley and
Whitechapel. These are either informal designations, reflect the names of villages that have been absorbed by sprawl, or are superseded administrative units such as parishes or
former boroughs.
Such names have remained in use through tradition, each referring to a local area with its own distinctive character, but without current official boundaries. Since 1965 Greater London has been divided into 32
London boroughs in addition to the ancient City of London.
[107][108] The City of London is the main financial district
[109] and
Canary Wharf has recently developed into a new financial and commercial hub, in the
Docklands to the east.
The
West End is London's main entertainment and shopping district, attracting tourists.
[110] West London includes expensive residential areas where properties can sell for tens of millions of pounds.
[111] The average price for properties in
Kensington and Chelsea is £894,000 with similar average outlay in most of
Central London.
[112]
The
East End is the area closest to the original
Port of London, known for its high immigrant population, as well as for being one of the poorest areas in London.
[113] The surrounding
East London area saw much of London's early industrial development; now,
brownfield sites throughout the area are being redeveloped as part of the
Thames Gateway including the
London Riverside and
Lower Lea Valley, which is being developed into the
Olympic Park for the
2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
[113]
Architecture
The Shard, pictured under construction in January 2011, will become the tallest building in the
EU.
London's buildings are too diverse to be characterised by any particular
architectural style, and have been built over a long period of time. Many grand houses and public buildings, such as the
National Gallery, are constructed from
Portland stone. Some areas of the city, particularly those just west of the centre, are characterised by white
stucco or whitewashed buildings. Few structures pre-date the
Great Fire of 1666, except for a few trace
Roman remains, the
Tower of London and a few scattered
Tudor survivors in the City. One notable building that remains from the
Tudor period is
Hampton Court Palace, which is England's oldest surviviving Tudor palace,
[114] built by Cardinal
Thomas Wolsey circa 1515.
[115] Wren's late 17th century churches and the financial institutions of the 18th and 19th centuries such as the
Royal Exchange and the
Bank of England, to the early 20th century
Old Bailey and the 1960s
Barbican Estate form part of the varied architectural heritage.
The disused, but soon to be rejuvenated, 1939
Battersea Power Station by the river in the southwest is a local landmark, while some railway termini are excellent examples of
Victorian architecture, most notably
St. Pancras and
Paddington.
[116] The density of London varies, with high employment density in the
central area, high residential densities in
inner London and lower densities in the
suburbs.
The Monument in the City of London provides views of the surrounding area while commemorating the
Great Fire of London, which originated nearby.
Marble Arch and
Wellington Arch, at the north and south ends of
Park Lane respectively, have royal connections, as do the
Albert Memorial and
Royal Albert Hall in
Kensington.
Nelson's Column is a nationally-recognised monument in
Trafalgar Square, one of the focal points of the city centre.
High-rise development is restricted at certain sites if it would obstruct protected views of
St. Paul's Cathedral. Nevertheless, there are plans for more skyscrapers in
Central London (see Tall buildings in London), including the 72-storey
Shard London Bridge, which will be one of the tallest buildings in Europe. Development temporarily stalled as a result of the recent financial crisis, but is reported to be recovering.
[117] Older buildings are mainly brick built, most commonly the yellow
London stock brick or a warm orange-red variety, often decorated with carvings and white plaster
mouldings.
[118]
In the dense areas, most of the concentration is achieved with medium- and
high-rise buildings. London's skyscrapers such as
30 St Mary Axe,
Tower 42, the
Broadgate Tower and
One Canada Square are usually found in the two financial districts, the
City of London and
Canary Wharf. Other notable modern buildings include
City Hall in
Southwark with its distinctive oval shape,
[119] and the
British Library in
Somers Town/
Kings Cross. What was formerly the
Millennium Dome, located by the Thames to the east of Canary Wharf, is now used as an entertainment venue called
The O2 arena.
Parks and gardens
The largest parks in the central area of London are the
Royal Parks of
Hyde Park, its neighbour
Kensington Gardens at the western edge of
Central London and
Regent's Park on the northern edge.
[120] Regent's Park contains
London Zoo, the world's oldest scientific zoo, and is located near the tourist attraction of
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.
[121][122]
Closer to central London are the smaller Royal Parks of
Green Park and
St. James's Park.
[123] Hyde Park in particular is popular for
sports and sometimes hosts open-air concerts. A number of large parks lie outside the city centre, including the remaining Royal Parks of
Greenwich Park to the south-east
[124] and
Bushy Park and
Richmond Park to the south-west,
[125][126] as well as
Victoria Park, East London to the east.
Primrose Hill to the north of Regent's Park is a popular spot to view the city skyline.
Some more informal, semi-natural open spaces also exist, including the 320-hectare (790-acre)
Hampstead Heath of
North London.
[127] This incorporates
Kenwood House, the former
stately home and a popular location in the summer months where classical musical concerts are held by the lake, attracting thousands of people every weekend to enjoy the music, scenery and fireworks.
[128]
Demography
| Country of birth[129] | Population
(2001) |
 United Kingdom | 5,230,155 |
 India | 172,162 |
 Republic of Ireland | 157,285 |
 Bangladesh | 84,565 |
 Jamaica | 80,319 |
 Nigeria | 68,907 |
 Pakistan | 66,658 |
 Kenya | 66,311 |
 Sri Lanka | 49,932 |
 Ghana | 46,513 |
 Cyprus | 45,888 |
 South Africa | 45,506 |
 United States | 44,622 |
 Australia | 41,488 |
 Germany | 39,818 |
 Turkey | 39,128 |
 Italy | 38,694 |
 France | 38,130 |
 Somalia | 33,831 |
 Uganda | 32,082 |
 New Zealand | 27,494 |
With increasing industrialisation, London's population grew rapidly throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, and it was for some time in the late 19th and early 20th centuries the most populous city in the world until overtaken by New York in 1925. Its population peaked at 8,615,245 in 1939 immediately before the outbreak of the Second World War. There were an estimated 7,556,900 official residents in
Greater London as of mid-2007.
[23]
However, London's continuous urban area extends beyond the borders of Greater London and was home to 8,278,251 people in 2001,
[2] while its wider
metropolitan area has a population of between 12 and 14 million depending on the definition used.
[130] According to
Eurostat, London is the
most populous city and metropolitan area of the European Union and the second
most populous in Europe (or third if
Istanbul is included). During the period 1991–2001 a net 726,000 immigrants arrived in London.
[131]
The region covers an area of 1,579 square kilometres (610 sq mi). The population density is 4,542 inhabitants per square kilometre (11,760 /sq mi),
[132] more than ten times that of any other
British region.
[133] In terms of population, London is the 25th
largest city and the 18th
largest metropolitan region in the world. It is also ranked 4th in the world in number of billionaires (United States Dollars) residing in the city.
[134] London ranks as one of the most expensive cities in the world, alongside Tokyo and Moscow.
[135]
Ethnic groups
According to the
Office for National Statistics, based on 2007 estimates, 69.0 per cent of the 7.5 million inhabitants of London were
White, with 57.7 per cent
White British, 2.4 per cent
White Irish and 8.9 per cent classified as
Other White. Some 13.3 per cent are of
South Asian descent, with
Indians making up 6.6 per cent of London's population, followed by
Pakistanis and
Bangladeshis at 2.4 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively. 2.0 per cent are categorised as "Other Asian". 10.6 per cent of London's population are
Black, with around 5.5 per cent being
Black African, 4.3 per cent as
Black Caribbean and 0.8 per cent as "Other Black". 3.5 per cent of Londoners are of
mixed race; 1.5 per cent are
Chinese; and 2.0 per cent belong to
another ethnic group.
[5] The non-white ethnic minority population of London in 2001 was just over 2 million or 29 per cent: an increase of 722,000 from 1991.
[136]
Across London,
Black and
Asian children outnumber
White British children by about six to four in state schools.
[137] In January 2005, a survey of London's ethnic and religious diversity claimed that there were more than 300 languages spoken and more than 50 non-indigenous communities which have a population of more than 10,000 in London.
[138] Figures from the
Office for National Statistics show that, as of 2006, London's foreign-born population is 2,288,000 (31 per cent), up from 1,630,000 in 1997.
[139]
The 2001 census showed that 27.1 per cent of
Greater London's population were born outside the UK.
[140] The table to the right shows the 20 most common foreign countries of birth of London residents in 2001, the date of the last
UK Census.
[129] A portion of the German-born population are likely to be British nationals born to parents serving in the
British Armed Forces in Germany.
[141]
Religion
The majority of Londoners – 58.2 per cent – identify themselves as
Christians.
[142] This is followed by those of
no religion (15.8 per cent),
Muslims (8.5 per cent),
Hindus (4.1 per cent), Jews (2.1 per cent),
Sikhs (1.5 per cent),
Buddhists (0.8 per cent) and other (0.2 per cent), though 8.7 per cent of people did not answer this question in the 2001 Census.
[142]
London has traditionally been Christian, and has a
large number of churches, particularly in the City of London. The well-known
St Paul's Cathedral in the City and
Southwark Cathedral south of the river are
Anglican administrative centres,
[143] while the
Archbishop of Canterbury, principal bishop of the
Church of England and worldwide
Anglican Communion, has his main residence at
Lambeth Palace in the
London Borough of Lambeth.
[144]
Important national and royal ceremonies are shared between St Paul's and Westminster Abbey.
[145] The Abbey is not to be confused with nearby
Westminster Cathedral, which is the largest Roman Catholic cathedral in
England and Wales.
[146] Despite the prevalence of Anglican churches, observance is very low within the Anglican denomination. Church attendance continues on a long, slow, steady decline, according to Church of England statistics.
[147]
London is also home to sizeable
Muslim,
Hindu,
Sikh, and Jewish communities. Many Muslims live in
Tower Hamlets and
Newham; the most important Muslim edifice is
London Central Mosque on the edge of
Regent's Park.
[148] Following the oil boom, increasing numbers of wealthy
Middle-Eastern Muslims have based themselves around
Mayfair and
Knightsbridge in west London.
[149][150] London is home to the largest mosque in western Europe, the
Baitul Futuh Mosque, of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
London's large Hindu community is found in the north-western boroughs of
Harrow and
Brent, the latter of which is home to one of Europe's largest
Hindu temples,
Neasden Temple.
[151] Sikh communities are located in East and West London, which is also home to the largest Sikh temple in the world outside India.
[152]
The majority of
British Jews live in London, with significant Jewish communities in
Stamford Hill,
Stanmore,
Golders Green,
Hampstead,
Hendon and
Edgware in
North London.
[citation needed] Stanmore and Canons Park Synagogue has the largest membership of any single Orthodox synagogue in the whole of Europe, overtaking
Ilford synagogue (also in London) in 1998.
[153] The community set up the
London Jewish Forum in 2006 in response to the growing significance of devolved London Government.
[154]
Economy
London generates approximately 20 per cent of
the UK's GDP[155] (or $446 billion in 2005); while the economy of the
London metropolitan area—
the largest in Europe—generates approximately 30 per cent of the UK's GDP (or an estimated $669 billion in 2005).
[156] London is one of the pre-eminent financial centres of the world and vies with New York City as the most important location for international finance.
[157][158]
London's largest industry is finance, and its
financial exports make it a large contributor to the UK's
balance of payments. Around 325,000 people were employed in financial services in London until mid-2007. London has over 480 overseas banks, more than any other city in the world. Due to its prominent global role, London's economy has been affected by the
global financial crisis of 2008–2009. The City of London estimates that 70,000 jobs in finance will be cut within a year.
[159]
More than half of the UK's top 100 listed companies (the
FTSE 100) and over 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies are headquartered in Central London. Over 70 per cent of the FTSE 100 are located within London's metropolitan area, and 75 per cent of
Fortune 500 companies have offices in London.
[160] The
City of London is home to the
Bank of England,
London Stock Exchange, and
Lloyds of London insurance market. Along with
professional services, media companies are
concentrated in London and the media distribution industry is London's second most competitive sector.
[161] The
BBC is a significant employer, while other broadcasters also have headquarters around the City. Many
national newspapers are edited in London.
Tourism is one of London's prime industries and employs the equivalent of 350,000 full-time workers in London in 2003,
[162] while annual expenditure by tourists is around £15 billion.
[163] London attracts over 15 million international visitors per year, making it the world's most visited city.
[17] London attracts 27 million overnight-stay visitors every year.
[164] The
Port of London is the second-largest in the United Kingdom, handling 53 million
tonnes of cargo each year.
[165]
Transport
Transport is one of the four main areas of policy administered by the Mayor of London,
[166] however the mayor's financial control does not extend to the longer distance rail network that enters London. In 2007 he assumed responsibility for some local lines, which now form the
London Overground network, adding to the existing responsibility for the London Underground, trams and buses. The
public transport network is administered by
Transport for London (TfL) and is one of the most extensive in the world.
Cycling is an increasingly popular way to get around London. The
London Cycling Campaign lobbies for better provision.
[167]
The lines that formed the London Underground, as well as trams and buses, became part of an integrated transport system in 1933 when the
London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) or
London Transport was created.
Transport for London (TfL), is now the statutory corporation responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London, and is run by a board and a commissioner appointed by the
Mayor of London.
[168]
Railways
The
London Underground — all of which is now commonly referred to as the Tube, though originally this designation referred only to the deep-level lines, as distinct from the sub-surface lines — is the oldest,
[28] and second longest
[29] metro system in the world, dating from 1863. The system serves 270
stations[169] and was formed from several private companies, including the world's first underground electric line, the
City and South London Railway.
[170]
Over three million journeys a day are made on the Underground network, over 1 billion journeys each year.
[171] An investment programme is attempting to address congestion and reliability problems, including £7 billion (€10 billion) of improvements planned for the
Olympics.
[172] London has been commended as the city with the best public transport.
[173] The
Docklands Light Railway, which opened in 1987, is a second, more local metro system using smaller and lighter tram-type vehicles serving
Docklands and
Greenwich.
There is an extensive above-ground suburban railway network, particularly in South London, which has fewer Underground lines. London houses Britain's busiest station –
Waterloo with over 184 million people using the interchange station complex (which includes
Waterloo East station) each year. The stations have services to South East & South West London, and also parts of
South East and
South West England.
[174][175] Most rail lines terminate around the centre of London, running into
fourteen terminal stations with the exception of the
Thameslink trains connecting
Bedford in the north and
Brighton in the south via
Luton and
Gatwick Airports.
[176]
Since 2007 High-speed
Eurostar trains link
St Pancras International with
Lille, Paris, and
Brussels. Journey times to Paris and Brussels of 2h 15 and 1h 51 respectively make London closer to continental Europe than the rest of Britain by virtue of the
High Speed 1 rail link to the
Channel Tunnel[177] while the first
high speed domestic trains started in June 2009 linking
Kent to London.
[178]
Buses and trams
London's
bus network is one of the largest in the world, running 24 hours a day, with 8,000 buses, 700 bus routes, and over 6 million passenger journeys made every weekday. In 2003, the network's ridership was estimated at over 1.5 billion passenger trips per annum, more than the Underground.
[179] Around £850 million is taken in revenue each year. London has the largest wheelchair accessible network in the world
[180] and, from the 3rd quarter of 2007, became more accessible to hearing and visually impaired passengers as audio-visual announcements were introduced. The distinctive red double-decker buses are internationally recognised, and are a trademark of London transport along with
black cabs and the Tube.
[181][182]
London has a modern tram network, known as
Tramlink, based in
Croydon in
South London. The network has 39 stops, three routes and carried 26.5 million people in 2008. Since June 2008
Transport for London has completely owned Tramlink and plans to spend £54m by 2015 on maintenance, renewals, upgrades and capacity enhancements. Since April 2009 all trams have been refurbished.
[183]
Air
London is a major international air transport hub with the largest city airspace in the world. Eight airports use the word
London in their name, but most traffic passes through only five.
London Heathrow Airport, in
Hillingdon, West London, is the
busiest airport in the world for international traffic, and is the major hub of the nation's flag carrier,
British Airways.
[184] In March 2008 its fifth terminal was opened.
[185] There were plans for a third runway and a sixth terminal however these were cancelled by the
Coalition Government on 12 May 2010.
[186] Similar traffic, with the addition of some
low-cost short-haul flights, is also handled at
London Gatwick Airport, located south of London in
West Sussex.
[187]
Stansted Airport, situated north east of London in
Essex, is the main UK hub for
Ryanair and
Luton Airport to the north of London in
Bedfordshire, caters mostly for low-cost short-haul flights.
[188][189] London City Airport, the smallest and most central airport, is focused on business travellers, with a mixture of full service short-haul scheduled flights and considerable
business jet traffic.
[190]
Roads
Although the majority of journeys involving
Central London are made by
public transport, car travel is common in the suburbs. The
inner ring road (around the city centre), the
North and
South Circular roads (in the suburbs), and the outer orbital motorway (the
M25, outside the built-up area) encircle the city and are intersected by a number of busy radial routes—but very few motorways penetrate into
inner London. The M25 is the longest ring-road motorway in the world at 195.5 km (121.5 mi) long.
[191]
A plan for a comprehensive network of motorways throughout the city (the
Ringways Plan) was prepared in the 1960s but was mostly cancelled in the early 1970s. In 2003, a
congestion charge was introduced to reduce traffic volumes in the city centre. With a few exceptions, motorists are required to pay £8 per day to drive within a defined zone encompassing much of congested Central London.
[192][193] Motorists who are residents of the defined zone can buy a vastly reduced season pass which is renewed monthly and is cheaper than a corresponding bus fare.
[194] London is notorious for its traffic congestion, with the M25 motorway the busiest stretch in the country. The average speed of a car in the rush hour is 10.6 mph (17.1 km/h).
[195]
Cycles
Cycling in London has enjoyed a renaissance since the turn of the Millennium. Cyclists enjoy a cheaper, and often quicker, way around town than those by public transport or car, and the launch of the
Barclays Cycle Hire scheme in July 2010 has been successful and generally well-received.
Education
Tertiary education
London is a major centre of higher education teaching and research and its 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe.
[20] In 2008/09 it had a higher education student population of around 412,000 (approximately 17 per cent of the UK total), of whom around 287,000 were registered for undergraduate degrees and 118,000 were studying at postgraduate level.
[196] In 2008/09 there were around 97,150 international students in London, approximately 25 per cent of all international students in the UK.
[196]
A number of world-leading education institutions are based in London. In the 2010
QS World University Rankings,
University College London (UCL) is ranked 4th,
Imperial College London 7th and
King's College London 21st in the world.
[197] The
London School of Economics has been described as the world's leading social science institution for both teaching and research.
[198] The
London Business School is considered one of the world's leading business schools and in 2010 its MBA programme was ranked best in the world by the
Financial Times.
[199]
With 125,000 students, the federal
University of London is the largest contact teaching university in Europe.
[200] It includes four large multi-faculty universities –
King's College London,
Queen Mary,
Royal Holloway and
UCL – and a number of smaller and more specialised institutions including
Birkbeck, the
Courtauld Institute of Art,
Goldsmiths,
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the
Institute of Education, the
London Business School, the
London School of Economics, the
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the
Royal Academy of Music, the
Royal Veterinary College,
The School of Pharmacy and the
School of Oriental and African Studies.
[201] Members of the University of London have their own
admissions procedures, and some award their own degrees.
There are a number of universities in London which are outside of the University of London system, including
Brunel University,
City University London,
Imperial College London,
Kingston University,
London Metropolitan University (with over 34,000 students, the largest unitary university in London),
[202] London South Bank University,
Middlesex University,
Thames Valley University,
University of the Arts London (the largest university of art, design, fashion, communication and the performing arts in Europe),
[203] University of East London and
University of Westminster. In addition there are three international universities in London –
Regent's College,
Richmond University and
Schiller International University.
London is home to
five major medical schools –
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry (part of
Queen Mary),
King's College London School of Medicine and Dentistry (the largest medical school in Europe),
Imperial College School of Medicine,
UCL Medical School and
St George's, University of London – and has a large number of affiliated teaching hospitals. It is also a major centre for biomedical research, and three of the UK's five
academic health science centres are based in the city –
Imperial College Healthcare,
King's Health Partners and
UCL Partners (the largest such centre in Europe).
[204] There are a number of business schools in London, including
Cass Business School (part of
City University London),
ESCP Europe,
European Business School London,
Imperial College Business School and the
London Business School. London is also home to many specialist arts education institutions, including the
Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, the
London Contemporary Dance School,
RADA, the
Royal College of Art, the
Royal College of Music and
Trinity Laban.
Primary and secondary education
The majority of primary and secondary schools in London are state schools and are controlled by the
London Boroughs, although there are also a number of private schools in London, including old and famous schools such as the
City of London School,
Harrow,
St Paul's School,
University College School and
Westminster School.
Culture
Accent
The London accent long ago acquired the
Cockney label, and was similar to many accents of the
South East of England, of which Cockney
rhyming slang is a part. The accent of a 21st century 'Londoner' varies widely; what is becoming more and more common amongst the under 30s however is some fusion of Cockney,
Received Pronunciation, and a whole array of 'ethnic' accents, in particular Caribbean, which form an accent labelled
Multicultural London English (MLE).
[205]
Leisure and entertainment
Within the
City of Westminster, the entertainment district of the
West End has its focus around
Leicester Square, where London and world film
premieres are held, and
Piccadilly Circus, with its giant electronic advertisements.
[206] London's
theatre district is here, as are many cinemas, bars, clubs and restaurants, including the city's
Chinatown district (in
Soho), and just to the east is
Covent Garden, an area housing
speciality shops. The United Kingdom's
Royal Ballet,
English National Ballet,
Royal Opera and
English National Opera are based in London and perform at the
Royal Opera House, the
London Coliseum,
Sadler's Wells Theatre and the
Royal Albert Hall as well as touring the country.
[207]
Islington's 1 mile (1.6 km) long Upper Street, extending northwards from
the Angel, has more bars and restaurants than any other street in the UK.
[208] Europe's busiest shopping area is
Oxford Street, a shopping street nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) long—which makes it the longest shopping street in the UK and home to many shops and
department stores including
Selfridges.
[209] Knightsbridge—home to the
Harrods department store—lies just to the southwest.
London is home to designers
Vivienne Westwood,
Galliano,
Stella McCartney,
Manolo Blahnik, and
Jimmy Choo among others; its renowned art and fashion schools make it an international centre of fashion alongside Paris,
Milan and New York. London offers a great variety of cuisine as a result of its ethnically diverse population. Gastronomic centres include the
Bangladeshi restaurants of
Brick Lane and the
Chinese food restaurants of
Chinatown.
[210]
There are a variety of regular
annual events in the city. The beginning of the year is celebrated with the relatively new
New Year's Day Parade, fireworks display at the
London Eye, and the world's second largest
street party, the
Notting Hill Carnival is held during the late August
Bank holiday each year. Traditional parades include November's
Lord Mayor's Show, a centuries-old event celebrating the annual appointment of a new
Lord Mayor of the City of London with a procession along the streets of the City, and June's
Trooping the Colour, a formal military pageant performed by regiments of the
Commonwealth and
British armies to celebrate the
Queen's Official Birthday.
[211]
Literature, film and television
London has been the setting for many works of literature. The literary centres of London have traditionally been hilly
Hampstead and (since the early 20th century)
Bloomsbury. Writers closely associated with the city are the diarist
Samuel Pepys, noted for his eyewitness account of the
Great Fire,
Charles Dickens, whose representation of a foggy, snowy, grimy London of street sweepers and pickpockets has been a major influence on people's vision of early
Victorian London, and
Virginia Woolf, regarded as one of the foremost
modernist literary figures of the 20th century.
[212]
The pilgrims in
Geoffrey Chaucer's late 14th-century
Canterbury Tales set out for
Canterbury from London - specifically, from the
Tabard inn,
Southwark.
William Shakespeare spent a large part of his life living and working in London; his contemporary
Ben Jonson was also based there, and some of his work—most notably his play
The Alchemist—was set in the city.
[212] A Journal of the Plague Year (1722) by
Daniel Defoe is a fictionalisation of the events of the 1665
Great Plague.
[212] Later important depictions of London from the 19th and early 20th centuries are Dickens' novels, and
Arthur Conan Doyle's
Sherlock Holmes stories.
[212] Modern writers pervasively influenced by the city include
Peter Ackroyd, author of a "biography" of London, and
Iain Sinclair, who writes in the genre of
psychogeography.
London was the setting for the films
Oliver Twist (1948),
Peter Pan (1953),
The Ladykillers (1955),
The 101 Dalmatians (1961),
Mary Poppins (1964),
Blowup (1966),
The Long Good Friday (1980),
Secrets & Lies (1996),
Notting Hill (1999),
Match Point (2005),
V For Vendetta (2005) and
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (2008). The television soap opera
EastEnders, first broadcast in 1985, is also set in the city. London has played a significant role in the film industry, and has major studios at
Ealing and a
special effects and
post-production community centred in
Soho.
Working Title Films has its headquarters in London.
[213]
Museums and art galleries
London is
home to many museums, galleries, and other institutions, many of which are free of admission charges and are major
tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The first of these to be established was the
British Museum in
Bloomsbury, in 1753. Originally containing antiquities, natural history specimens and the national library, the museum now has 7 million artefacts from around the globe. In 1824 the
National Gallery was founded to house the British national collection of Western paintings; this now occupies a prominent position in
Trafalgar Square. In the latter half of the nineteenth century the locale of
South Kensington was developed as "
Albertopolis", a cultural and scientific quarter. Three major national museums are located there: the
Victoria and Albert Museum (for the
applied arts), the
Natural History Museum and the
Science Museum. The national gallery of British art is at
Tate Britain, originally established as an annexe of the National Gallery in 1897. The Tate Gallery, as it was formerly known, also became a major centre for modern art; in 2000 this collection moved to
Tate Modern, a new gallery housed in the former
Bankside Power Station.
Music
London is one of the major
classical and
popular music capitals of the world and is home to major music corporations, such as
EMI, as well as countless bands, musicians and industry professionals. The city is also home to many orchestras and concert halls, such as the
Barbican Arts Centre (principal base of the
London Symphony Orchestra),
Cadogan Hall (
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) and the
Royal Albert Hall (
BBC Promenade Concerts).
[207] London's two main opera houses are the
Royal Opera House and the
Coliseum Theatre.
[207] The UK's largest
pipe organ can be found at the Royal Albert Hall. Other significant instruments are found at the cathedrals and major churches. Several
conservatoires are located within the city:
Royal Academy of Music,
Royal College of Music,
Guildhall School of Music and Drama and
Trinity College of Music.
London has numerous venues for rock and pop concerts, including large arenas such as
Earls Court,
Wembley Arena and the
O2 Arena, as well as many mid-sized venues, such as
Brixton Academy,
Hammersmith Apollo and the
Shepherd's Bush Empire.
[207] Several
music festivals, including the
O2 Wireless Festival, are held in London. The city is home to the first and original
Hard Rock Cafe and the
Abbey Road Studios where
The Beatles recorded many of their hits. In the 1970s and 1980s, musicians and groups like
David Bowie,
Elvis Costello,
Cat Stevens,
Ian Dury and the Blockheads,
The Kinks,
The Rolling Stones,
The Who,
Madness,
The Jam,
The Small Faces,
Led Zeppelin,
Iron Maiden,
Fleetwood Mac,
The Police,
The Cure,
Squeeze and
Sade, took the world by storm, deriving their sound from the streets and rhythms vibrating through London.
[214]
London was instrumental in the development of
punk music,
[215] with figures such as the
Sex Pistols,
The Clash,
[214] and
Vivienne Westwood all based in the city. More recent artists to emerge from the London music scene include
Bananarama,
Bush,
East 17,
Siouxie and the Banshees, the
Spice Girls,
Jamiroquai,
The Libertines,
Babyshambles,
Bloc Party,
Coldplay and
Amy Winehouse.
[216] London is also a centre for urban music. In particular the genres
UK garage,
drum and bass,
dubstep and
grime evolved in the city from the foreign genres of
hip hop and
reggae, alongside local
drum and bass. Black music station
BBC 1Xtra was set up to support the rise of homegrown urban music both in London and the rest of the UK.
In the 1980s London was the main city in the
new wave of British heavy metal era which made bands like
Iron Maiden and
Motörhead famous worldwide.
Sports
London has hosted the
Summer Olympics twice, in
1908 and
1948.
[217][218] In July 2005 London was chosen to host the Olympic and
Paralympic Games in
2012, which will make it the first city in the world to host the Summer Olympics three times.
[21] London was also the host of the
British Empire Games in
1934.
[219] London's most popular sport is
football and it has thirteen
League football clubs, including five in the
Premier League:
Arsenal,
Chelsea,
Fulham,
Tottenham Hotspur and
West Ham United.
[220]
London also has four
rugby union teams in the
Aviva Premiership (
London Irish,
Saracens,
Wasps and
Harlequins), although only the Harlequins play in London (all the other three now play outside Greater London, although Saracens still play within the M25).
[221] The other professional rugby union team in the city is
second division club
London Welsh, that plays home matches in the city. The city has other very traditional rugby union clubs, famously
London Scottish,
Richmond F.C.,
Rosslyn Park F.C. and
Blackheath F.C..
There are currently two professional
rugby league clubs in London –
Harlequins Rugby League who play in the
European Super League at
The Stoop and the
Championship One side the
London Skolars (based in
Wood Green,
London Borough of Haringey).
From 1924, the original
Wembley Stadium was the home of the
English national football team, and served as the venue for the
FA Cup final as well as
rugby league's
Challenge Cup final.
[222] The new
Wembley Stadium serves exactly the same purposes and has a capacity of 90,000.
[223] Twickenham Stadium in south-west London is the national
rugby union stadium, and has a capacity of 84,000 now that the new south stand has been completed.
[224]
Cricket in London is served by two
Test cricket grounds
Lord's (home of
Middlesex C.C.C) in
St John's Wood[225] and
the Oval (home of
Surrey C.C.C) in
Kennington.
[226] Lord's has hosted four finals of the cricket world cups. One of London's best-known annual sports competitions is the
Wimbledon Tennis Championships, held at the
All England Club in the south-western suburb of
Wimbledon.
[227] Other key events are the annual mass-participation
London Marathon which sees some 35,000 runners attempt a 26.2 miles (42.2 km) course around the city,
[228] and the
Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race on the
River Thames between
Putney and
Mortlake.
[229]
Twin cities
There are 46 other places on six continents named after London.
[230] As well as London's twinning, the
London boroughs have
twinnings with parts of other cities across the world. Shown below is the list of cities that the
Greater London Authority has twinning arrangements with:
The following cities have a friendship agreement with London:
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