London
London is the
capital city of
England and of the
United Kingdom, and is the most populous city in the
European Union.
[Office for National Statistics, "Largest EU City" www.statistics.gov.uk]An important settlement for
nearly two millennia, London is an international leader in
finance,
[The Competitive Position of London as a Global Financial Centre (November 2005) cityoflondon.gov.uk] and its involvement in
politics,
education,
entertainment,
fashion,
media and the
arts contribute to its status as a major
global city.
London has an estimated population of 7.5 million (
as of 2005) and a
metropolitan area population of between 12 and 14 million. Its population is very
cosmopolitan, drawing from a diverse range of peoples, cultures and religions, speaking over 300 different languages. Residents of London are referred to as
Londoners.
The city is an international
transport hub and a popular tourist destination, counting iconic landmarks such as the
Houses of Parliament,
Tower Bridge and
Buckingham Palace amongst its many attractions, along with famous institutions such as the
British Museum and the
National Gallery.
Area
Today, "London" usually refers to the London
region of England, which is coterminous with
Greater London. At the heart of the conurbation is the small, ancient
City of London which was historically the entirety of the city. Londoners generally refer to the City of London simply as "the City" or the "Square Mile". London's metropolitan area grew considerably during the
Victorian era and again during the
Interwar period with expansion halted in the 1940s by
World War II and
Green Belt legislation and has been largely static since.
The extent of the
London postal district,
Metropolitan Police District, local government area,
London transport area,
urban sprawl, coverage of the
London telephone area code and
metropolitan area have rarely been coterminous and are not currently. The area delimited by the orbital
M25 motorway is sometimes used to define the "London area" and the Greater London boundary has been aligned to it in places. London is split for some purposes into
Inner London and
Outer London.
The co-ordinates of the centre of London (traditionally considered to be the original
Charing Cross, near the junction of
Trafalgar Square and
Whitehall) are approximately . The
Romans may have marked the centre of
Londinium with the
London Stone in the City.
Status
The entire London urban area may be classed as a "city" using a geographical definition, but politically it is not so. Officially, London is a region containing two smaller cities within its built-up area: the City of London and the
City of Westminster (see City status in the UK).
Unlike most capital cities, London's status as the capital of the UK has never been granted or confirmed officially â€" by
statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through
constitutional convention, making its position as
de facto capital a part of the
UK's unwritten constitution.
Greater London covers an area of 609 square miles (1,579
km²). Its primary geographical feature is the
Thames, a
navigable river which crosses the city from the southwest to the east. The
Thames Valley is a
floodplain surrounded by gently rolling hills such as
Parliament Hill and
Primrose Hill. These hills presented no significant obstacle to the growth of London from its origins as a port on the north side of the river, and therefore London is roughly circular.
The Thames was once a much broader, shallower river with extensive marshlands. It 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.
["Flooding" - Environment Agency. Accessed 19 June 2006.] 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. The
Thames Barrier was constructed across the Thames at
Woolwich in the 1970s to deal with this threat, but a more substantial barrier further downstream may be necessary in the near future.
London has a
temperate climate with regular but generally light
precipitation throughout the year. The warmest month is July, with an average temperature range at
Greenwich of 13.6
°C-22.8 °C (56.5â€"73.0
°F). The coolest month is January, averaging 2.4 °C-7.9 °C (35.6â€"46.2 °F). Average annual
precipitation is 583.6
mm(22.98 inches), with February on average the driest month.
[ 1971-2000 averages, Met Office. Accessed 15 July 2006.] Snow is uncommon, particularly because heat from the urban area can make London 5 °C hotter than the surrounding areas in winter.
Districts
:''Main articles:
Central London,
City of London,
West End,
East London,
East End,
Docklands,
West London,
North London,
South LondonLondon's vast urban area is often divided into a large set of districts (e.g.
Bloomsbury,
Mayfair,
Whitechapel, among dozens of others). These are for the most part informal designations which have become commonplace through tradition, with no official boundaries. One area of London which does have a strict definition is the
City of London (usually just called The City), the principal financial district of the UK. The City has its own governance and boundaries, giving it a distinctive status as a the only completely autonomous borough in London. London's other financial hub is the
Docklands area in the east of the city, dominated by the
Canary Wharf complex, whilst many other businesses locate in the
City of Westminster which is the home of the
UK's national government.
The
West End (actually in
Central London, in the
City of Westminster) is London's main entertainment and shopping district, with locations such as
Oxford Street,
Leicester Square,
Covent Garden and
Piccadilly Circus acting as tourist magnets. The
West London area, further out from the centre, is now known for fashionable and expensive residential areas such as
Notting Hill,
Kensington and
Chelsea â€" where properties sell on average for over £800,000.
["UK house prices ranked by local authority", BBC News. Accessed 19 June 2006.]Meanwhile, the eastern side of London contains the
East End â€" 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. The surrounding
East London area, of which the East End is seen to form a part, saw much of London's early industrial development, and is currently part of the
Thames Gateway regeneration that includes the
2012 Olympics.
North London and
South London are informal divisions of the capital made by the River Thames, although they can define varying areas.
Built environment
The density of London varies across the city, with high employment density in the
city centre, high residential densities in
inner London and lower densities in the
suburbs. In the dense areas, most of this density is achieved with medium-rise buildings; high-rise buildings are not the norm, even in employment centres, and thus skyscrapers such as the City's
"Gherkin" and
Tower 42 and
Canary Wharf's 50-story
One Canada Square generally stand out in the skyline.
However, developments of
tall buildings are encouraged in the
London Plan, which will lead to the erection of many new skyscrapers over the next few years as London goes through a high-rise boom, particularly in the two financial centres, the
City of London and
Canary Wharf. The 72-storey, 310m "
Shard London Bridge" by
London Bridge station, the 288m
Bishopsgate Tower and around 30 other skyscrapers over 150m are either proposed or approved and could transform the city's skyline.
The buildings of London are a collection of different styles accumulated mostly over the time since the
Great Fire in 1666. Although the City is characterised by 18th and 19th century architecture, there are a number of examples of more modern construction, such as the
Lloyd's building. London's focal point is the mid-19th century
Trafalgar Square, marked with
Nelson's Column and the site of major demonstrations and street events in the capital.
Parks and gardens
London has a number of open spaces scattered throughout the city. The largest of these in the central area are the
Royal Parks of
Hyde Park and its neighbour
Kensington Gardens at the western edge of
central London, and
Regent's Park on the northern edge. More central are the smaller Royal Parks of
Green Park and
St. James's Park. Hyde Park in particular is popular for
sports and sometimes hosts open-air concerts. A number of large parks outside the city centre are also notable, including the remaining Royal Parks of
Greenwich Park to the south east, and
Bushy Park and
Richmond Park to the south west. Some more informal, semi-natural open spaces also exist, including the 791-acre
Hampstead Heath of
north London.
Early London
Although there is some evidence of scattered pre-Roman settlement in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the
Romans in AD 43, following the
Roman invasion of Britain. This settlement was called
Londinium, commonly believed to be the origin of the present-day name, although a Celtic origin is also possible.
The first London lasted for just seventeen years. Around AD 61, the
Iceni tribe of
Celts led by Queen
Boudica stormed London, burning it to the ground. The next, heavily-planned incarnation of the city prospered and superseded
Colchester as the capital of the
Roman province of
Britannia in AD 100. However, by the 3rd century AD, the city started a slow decline due to trouble in the
Roman Empire, and by the 5th century AD, it was abandoned.
By 600 AD, the
Anglo-Saxons had created a new settlement (
Lundenwic) about 1km upstream from the old Roman city, around what is now
Covent Garden. There was probably a harbour at the mouth of the
River Fleet for fishing and trading, and this trading grew until disaster struck in 851 AD, when the new city's ramshackle defences were overcome by a massive
Viking raid and it was razed to the ground. A Viking occupation twenty years later was short-lived, and
Alfred the Great, the new King of England, established peace and moved the settlement within the defensive walls of the old Roman city (then called
Lundenburgh). The original city became
Ealdwīc ("old city"), a name surviving to the present day as
Aldwych.
Subsequently, under the control of various English kings, London once again prospered as an international trading centre and political arena. However, Viking raids began again in the late 10th century, and reached a head in 1013 when they besieged the city under Danish King
Canute and forced English King
Aethelred the Unready to flee. In a retaliatory attack, Aethelred's army achieved victory by pulling down
London Bridge with the Danish garrison on top, and English control was re-established.
Canute took control of the English throne in 1017, controlling the city and country until 1042, when his death resulted in a reversion to Anglo-Saxon control under his pious step-son
Edward the Confessor, who re-founded
Westminster Abbey and the adjacent
Palace of Westminster. By this time, London had become the largest and most prosperous city in England, although the official seat of government was still at
Winchester.
Norman and medieval London
Following a victory at the
Battle of Hastings,
William the Conqueror, the then
Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England in the newly-finished
Westminster Abbey on
Christmas Day 1066. William granted the citizens of London special privileges, whilst building a castle in the southeast corner of the city to keep them under control. This castle was expanded by later kings and is now known as the
Tower of London, serving first as a royal residence and later as a
prison.
In 1097,
William II began the building of
Westminster Hall, close by the abbey of the same name. The hall proved the basis of a new
Palace of Westminster, the prime royal residence throughout the Middle Ages. Westminster became the seat of the royal court and government (persisting until the present day), whilst its distinct neighbour, the City of London, was a centre of trade and commerce and flourished under its own unique administration, the
Corporation of London. Eventually, the adjacent cities grew together and formed the basis of modern
central London, superseding
Winchester as capital of England in the 12th century.
After the successful defeat of the
Spanish Armada in 1588, political stability in England allowed London to grow further. In
1603,
James VI of Scotland came to the throne of England, essentially uniting the two countries. His enactment of harsh
anti-Catholic laws made him unpopular, and an assassination attempt was made on
5 November 1605 â€" the famous
Gunpowder Plot.
Plague caused extensive problems for London in the early 17th century, culminating in the
Great Plague in 1665-1666. This was the last major outbreak in Europe, possibly thanks to the disaster that immediately followed in 1666. A fire (the
Great Fire of London) broke out in the original City and quickly swept through London's wooden buildings, destroying large swathes of the city (and killing off much of the disease-carrying
rat population). Rebuilding took over ten years.
Rise of modern London
London's growth accelerated in the 18th century, and was the world's largest city from about 1831 to 1925. This growth was aided from 1836 by London's first
railways which put small countryside towns within easy reach of the city. The rail network expanded very rapidly, and caused these places to grow whilst London itself expanded into surrounding fields, merging with neighbouring settlements such as
Kensington. Rising
traffic congestion on city centre roads led to the creation of the world's first
metro system â€" the
London Underground â€" in 1863, driving yet further expansion and urbanisation.
London's local government system struggled to cope with the rapid growth, especially in providing the city with adequate infrastructure. Between 1855 and 1889, the
Metropolitan Board of Works oversaw infrastructure expansion. It was then replaced by the
County of London, overseen 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 flattened large tracts of housing and other buildings across London. The rebuilding during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s was characterised by a wide range of
architectural styles and has resulted in a lack of architectural unity that has become part of London's character. In the same period, extensive immigration, primarily from the
Commonwealth, changed the demographic mix of the city. In 1965 London's political boundaries were expanded to take into account the growth of the urban area outside the County of London's borders. The expanded region was called
Greater London and was administered by the
Greater London Council.
An economic revival from the 1980s onwards re-established London's position as an eminent trading centre. However, as the seat of government and the most important city in the UK, it has been subjected to bouts of
terrorism.
IRA bombers sought to pressure the
government into negotiations over
Northern Ireland, frequently disrupting city activities with bomb threats â€" some of which were carried out â€" until their 1997 ceasefire. More recently, a
series of coordinated bomb attacks were carried out by Islamic extremist
suicide bombers on the public transport network â€" just 24 hours after London was
awarded the
2012 Summer Olympics.
|
Political parties controlling the London borough councils as of 2006. |
The administration of London takes place in two tiers â€" a city-wide, strategic tier and a local tier. City-wide administration is coordinated by the
Greater London Authority (GLA), whilst local administration is carried out by 33 smaller districts.
The GLA is responsible for strategic planning,
policing, the
fire service and
transport. It consists of two elected parts â€" 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 GLA is a recent organisation, having been set up in 2000 to replace the similar
Greater London Council (GLC) which was abolished in 1986.
The current Mayor of London is
Ken Livingstone, who is in his second term of office. He was elected in 2000 as an independent candidate and again in 2004 as a
Labour candidate. Ken Livingstone was also the leader of the GLC when it was abolished.
The 33 local administrations are the 32
London boroughs and the
City of London. They are responsible for local services not overseen by the GLA (except for
health, which is nationally-controlled and administered in London by five
Strategic Health Authorities[Strategic Health Authorities > Map Search {London}, National Health Service. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.]). The boroughs are controlled by resident-elected local councils, whilst the City is run by the historic
Corporation of London, which is elected by both residents and businesses. The City has its own
police force distinct from the GLA-controlled
Metropolitan Police (or "Met").
At a national level, London is represented in
Parliament by 74
MPs who correspond to local parliamentary
constituencies (for a list of London constituencies, see List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London). London is the centre of national government, which is located around the
Houses of Parliament in Westminster. Many government offices are located close to Parliament, particularly along
Whitehall and including the Prime Minister's famous residence on
Downing Street.
London has "
sister city" agreements with the following cities:
["Beijing, London to be sister cities", China Daily, 11 April 2006. URL accessed on 6 June 2006.]*
New York City since 2001*
Moscow*
Berlin (since 2000)
*
Paris*
Beijing (since 2006)
*
Tokyo (since 2006)
[[1]]London is Europe's largest city economy. The city itself generated
£181 billion in 2004 which was 19% of the UK's
GDP,
["London's Place in the UK Economy, 2005-6", p8, Oxford Economic Forecasting on behalf of the Corporation of London. (Figure uses 2002 prices.). Published November 2005. Accessed 19 June 2006. ] whilst the entire
London metropolitan area generated approximately
£280 billion â€" 30% of UK GDP â€" in 1999.
["The Economic Positioning of Metropolitan Areas in North Western Europe", The Institute for Urban Planning and Development of the Paris Ile-de-France Region, December 2002. Original figure was €413bn, converted approximately to GBP and USD. URL accessed on 3 June 2006. ] Londoners have the highest average income in Great Britain - an average of £38,586 per household
.
London's biggest industry is finance, and its
financial exports make it a large contributor to the UK's
balance of payments.
["[https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk/ukti/financial_services Financial Services]", UK Trade & Investment, 11 May 2006. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.] The City is the largest financial centre in London, home to banks, brokers, insurers and legal and accounting firms. A second, smaller financial district is developing at
Canary Wharf to the east which includes the global headquarters of
HSBC,
Reuters,
Barclays and the largest law firm in the world,
Clifford Chance. London handled 31% of global currency transactions
in 2005 â€" an average daily turnover of
US$753 billion â€" with more
US dollars traded in London than
New York, and more
Euros traded there than every other city in Europe combined.
["Triennial Central Bank Survey", Bank for International Settlements, March 2005. URL accessed on 3 June 2006. ] ["Key facts", Corporation of London. URL accessed on 19 June 2006.]London is host to many company headquarters. 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, and over 70% of the FTSE 100 are located within London's metropolitan area.
Along with professional services, media companies are concentrated in London
(see Media in London) and the media distribution industry is London's second most competitive sector.
["London's Place in the UK Economy, 2005-6", p19, Oxford Economic Forecasting on behalf of the Corporation of London. Published November 2005. Accessed 19 June 2006. ] The
BBC is a key employer, and other broadcasters also have headquarters around the city. Many
national newspapers are edited in London, having traditionally been associated with
Fleet Street in the City, but they are now primarily based around
Canary Wharf.
Soho is the centre of London's
post-production industry.
Tourism is one of London's largest industries and employed the equivalent of 350,000 full-time workers in London in 2003,
["London is the HR centre of opportunity in the UK", PersonnelToday.com, 15 February 2005. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.] whilst annual expenditure by tourists is around £15bn.
["The Importance of Tourism in London", Visit London. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.] London is a popular destination for tourists, attracting 27m overnight-stay visitors every year.
["London 101: One Hundred and One Amazing Facts About London", Visit London. URL accessed on 3 June 2006. ]From once being the largest port in the world, the
Port of London is now only the third-largest in the United Kingdom, handling 50 million
tonnes of cargo each year.
["Trade Statistics", Port of London Authority, Annual Report and Accounts 2005. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.] Most of this actually passes through
Tilbury, outside the boundary of
Greater London.
With increasing industrialisation, London's population grew rapidly throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, and was the most populated city in the world during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some 7,420,600 people were estimated to live in London
as of 2004 at an overall density of 4,697 people per square kilometre.
It has historically been known as one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, and this continues in the modern day, with more than 300 languages spoken and 50 non-indigenous communities with a population of more than 10,000 living in London.
["Every race, colour, nation and religion on earth", Guardian Unlimited, 21 January 2005. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.] In the 2001 census, it was shown that 40% of London's population classified themselves as non-British, with 37% classified as non-white.
["Census 2001: London", Office for National Statistics. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.]In terms of religion, London is historically dominated by
Christianity, and consequently has a
large number of churches, particularly in the City. The famous
St Paul's Cathedral in the City and
Southwark Cathedral south of the river are
Anglican administrative centres, whilst important national and royal ceremonies are shared between St Paul's and
Westminster Abbey. The Abbey is not to be confused with nearby
Westminster Cathedral, a relatively recent edifice which is the largest
Roman Catholic cathedral in England and Wales.
Despite this dominance, London is also home to sizeable
Muslim,
Hindu 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. London's large Hindu community is found in the north-western boroughs of
Harrow and
Brent, the latter of which contains Europe's largest Hindu temple,
Neasden Temple.
["Hindu London", BBC, 6 June 2005. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.] The majority of
British Jews live in London, with significant Jewish communities in
Stamford Hill and
Golders Green in
North London.
["Jewish Communities in London", BBC, 1 March 2006. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.]Transport is one of the four areas of policy administered by the Mayor of London, but the mayor's financial control is limited. The
public transport network, administered by
Transport for London (TfL), is one of the most extensive in the world, but faces congestion and reliability issues, which a large investment programme is attempting to address, including £7 billion (€10 billion) of improvements planned for the Olympics.
The centrepiece of the public transport network is the
London Underground, the oldest
metro system in the world, upon which nearly 1 billion journeys are made each year.
["How to Best Use the London Underground", The Travel Insider, 4 July 2004 (last updated: 8 May 2006). URL accessed on 3 June 2006.] The Underground serves the central area and most suburbs to the north of the Thames, whilst those to the south are served by an extensive suburban rail network. Commuter and intercity railways generally do not cross the city, instead running into
fourteen terminal stations scattered around its historic centre. The
London bus network caters for most local journeys and carries even more passengers than the Underground.
Although the vast majority of journeys involving central London are made by public transport, travel in outer London is car-dominated. An inner ring road (the
North and
South Circular) and an orbital
motorway (the
M25) are intersected by a number of busy radial routes â€" but very few motorways penetrate
inner London. In 2003, the
congestion charge was introduced to reduce traffic 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 central London.
London is an international transport hub, with five sizeable airports and a cross-channel rail service.
Heathrow is the busiest airport in the world for international traffic; such traffic is also handled at
Gatwick, whilst
Stansted and
Luton cater mostly for low-cost short-haul flights.
London City, the smallest and most central airport, is focused on business travellers.
[London City Airport - Corporate Information. Accessed 17 June 2006.] Eurostar trains link London
Waterloo station with
Lille and
Paris in France, and
Brussels in
Belgium.
London has the largest student population of any British city (about 378,000).
["About the London Sector", London Higher. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.] It is home to a diverse range of universities, colleges and schools, and is a centre of research and development. Most primary and secondary schools in London follow the
same system as the rest of England.
With 125,000 students, the
University of London is the largest contact teaching university in the United Kingdom and in Europe.
["About the University", University of London, 20 February 2006. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.] It comprises 20 colleges as well as several smaller institutes, each with a high degree of autonomy. Constituent colleges have their own
admissions procedures, and are effectively universities in their own right, although all degrees are awarded by the University of London rather than the individual colleges. Its constituents include multi-disciplinary colleges such as
UCL,
King's and
Queen Mary and more specialised institutions such as
Imperial, the
London School of Economics, the
SOAS, the
Royal Academy of Music and the
Institute of Education.
London's other universities, such as
UEL, the
University of Westminster and
London South Bank University, are not part of the University of London. Some were
polytechnics until these were granted university status in
1992, and others which were founded much earlier.
London is home to a number of important museums and other institutions which are major tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The
Natural History Museum,
Science Museum and
Victoria and Albert Museum (dealing with fashion and design) are clustered in
South Kensington's "museum quarter", whilst the
British Museum houses historic artefacts from around the world. The
British Library at
St Pancras is the UK's national library, housing 150 million items.
["Some facts and figures", British Library. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.] The city also houses extensive art collections, primarily in the
National Gallery,
Tate Britain and
Tate Modern.
Main Article:
Culture of LondonLeisure and entertainment
Within the City of Westminster, the entertainment district of the
West End has its focus around
Leicester Square, where London film premieres are held, and
Piccadilly Circus, with its giant electronic advertisements. London's
theatre district is here, as are many cinemas, bars, clubs and restaurants, including the city's
Chinatown district, whilst just to the east is
Covent Garden, an area housing speciality shops and London's "
Avenue of Stars" which honours achievers in the entertainment industry.
London's busiest shopping area is
Oxford Street, a mainstream shopping street nearly 2km long. The adjoining
Bond Street in
Mayfair is a more upmarket location along with the
Knightsbridge area - home to the
Harrods department store - to the southwest. The districts of Knightsbridge (Sloane Street), Mayfair (Bond Street, Brook Street), and Chelsea (King's Road) represent London's prestigious role in the world of fashion, being an international centre of fashion alongside Paris, Milan, New York and Tokyo. Furthermore, London has a number of markets, including
Camden Market for fashions,
Portobello Road for antiques and
Borough Market for foods.
London offers a huge variety of cuisines as a result of its ethnically diverse population. Well-known gastronomic centres include the Bangladeshi restaurants of
Brick Lane and the Chinese food of
Chinatown.
Soho offers a variety of relatively cheap international restaurants, whilst more upmarket restaurants are scattered around central London, with concentrations in
Mayfair. Across the city, areas home to particular ethnic groups are often recognisable by restaurants, food shops and market stalls offering their local fare, and even the large supermarkets stock such items in areas with sizeable ethnic groups.
The
Caribbean-descended community in
Notting Hill in
West London organises the colourful
Notting Hill Carnival, Europe's biggest street carnival, every summer. The beginning of the year is celebrated with the relatively new
New Year's Day Parade, whilst traditional parades include November's
Lord Mayor's Show, an 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 very formal military pageant to celebrate the (official)
Queen's Birthday.
Literature and film
London has been the setting for many works of literature. Two writers closely associated with the city are the diarist
Samuel Pepys, famous among other things for his eyewitness account of the
Great Fire, and
Charles Dickens, whose representation of a foggy, snowy, grimy London of street sweepers and pickpockets is a major influence on people's vision of early
Victorian London.
James Boswell's biographical
Life of Johnson mostly takes place in London, and is the source of
Johnson's famous aphorism:
"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." The earlier (1722)
A Journal of the Plague Year by
Daniel Defoe is a fictionalisation of the events of the 1665
Great Plague. Later important depictions of London from the 19th and early 20th centuries are the afore-mentioned Dickens novels, and
Arthur Conan Doyle's famous
Sherlock Holmes stories. The 1933 novel
Down and Out in Paris and London by
George Orwell describes life in poverty in both cities. A modern writer pervasively influenced by the city is
Peter Ackroyd, in works such as
London: The Biography,
The Lambs of London and
Hawksmoor.
Traditionally, London has played a significant role in the film industry, and boasts major studios at
Pinewood and
Shepperton, both just outside West London, as well as an important special effects and post-production community. Many films have also used London as a location and have done much to shape international perceptions of the city. See main article
London in film.
The city also hosts a number of performing arts schools, including the
Central School of Speech and Drama, whose past students include
Judi Dench and
Laurence Olivier, the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (educators of
Jim Broadbent and
Donald Sutherland amongst others) and the prestigious
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (past students including
Joan Collins and
Roger Moore).
Sport
London has hosted the
Summer Olympics twice, in
1908 and
1948. In July 2005 London was chosen to host the Games in
2012, which will make it the first city in the world to host the Summer Olympics three times.
["IOC elects London as the Host City of the Games of the XXX Olympiad in 2012", International Olympic Committee, 6 July 2005. URL accessed on 3 June 2006.] London was also the host of the
British Empire Games in
1934.
London's most popular sport (for both participants and spectators) is
football.
[Football (from London), Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 14 June 2006.] Six
FA Premier League teams are from London â€"
Arsenal,
Charlton Athletic,
Chelsea,
Fulham,
Tottenham Hotspur and
West Ham United. London also has three
rugby union teams in the
Guinness Premiership (
London Irish,
Saracens and
Wasps), although all now play outside Greater London, as well as a rugby league
Super League club in
Harlequins.
Wembley Stadium (which is currently being rebuilt) has traditionally been the home of the
English national football team, and serves as the venue for the
FA Cup final as well as
rugby league's
Challenge Cup final.
Twickenham Stadium in west London is the national
rugby union stadium.
Cricket in London centres on its two
Test cricket grounds at
Lord's (home of
Middlesex CC) in
St John's Wood, and
The Oval (home of
Surrey CC) in
Kennington.
One of London's most well-known annual sports competitions is the
Wimbledon Tennis Championships, held at the
All England Club in the south-western suburb of
Wimbledon. Other key events are the annual mass-participation
London Marathon which sees some 35,000 runners attempt a 42-km course around the city, and the
Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race.
*
2012 Summer Olympics*
7 July 2005 London bombings*
Agriculture in London*
Greater London*
Hotels in London*
Infrastructure in London*
List of churches and cathedrals of London*
List of heads of London government*
List of places in London*
List of songs about London*
List of television shows set in London*
London in fiction*
London markets*
London postal districts
*
Londonistan*
Mayor of London*
Parks in London*
Photographs of London*
Subterranean London*
Tall buildings in London*
Tourism in London*
Transport in London*
Walking in London*
Large Cities Climate Leadership Group
*
Mayor of London, London Assembly and the Greater London Authority - Official city government site
*
Transport for London (TfL) - city transport authority
**
London Underground - part of TfL
*
London 2012 Olympic Games*
Office for National Statistics: Focus on London 2003 - compendium of official statistics about London
roa-rup:Londrafiu-vro:Londonzh-yue:倫敦
