- For other uses, see London (disambiguation).
London is the capital city of the United Kingdom, and of
England. The adminstrative region of Greater London has over seven million inhabitants, and forms part of London's informal metropolitan area of thirteen so million, which is one of the most
densely populated areas in Western Europe. The historic City of London is now just a very small subsection of the urban area. London is
named after and developed from Londinium, the Roman capital of the province of
Britannia(see Roman
Britain, and as the capital city of Great Britain, it became the centre of the British Empire. Greater London contributes 17% of the GDP(gross domestic
product) of the United Kingdom to the UK economy. London, and in particular the City of London is home to one of the world's
major financial centres. For several centuries London has been a pre-eminent city in the areas of politics, finance, the arts and
fashion. Along with New York
City, Paris and Tokyo, London is considered
one of the four primary global cities of the world.
Defining London
The name "London" refers to the large conurbation whose original centre
was the smaller City of London in the traditional county of Middlesex. The royal court of the English kings was located at nearby Westminster and the land between these two urban centres was built up by the 16th century. Later development
spread in all directions. Today, "London" frequently refers to the large administrative area known as Greater London, but there are various other informal boundaries, including the
area falling within the London Postal District; the area covered by the telephone area code 020; the area enclosed by an all-zone Transport for London Travelcard; the area within the
M25 orbital motorway, and even the larger London commuter belt. Greater London is divided into thirty two London Boroughs, for example the Boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, Lambeth, Southwark,Camden, Havering and Haringey.
The coordinates of the centre of London (traditionally considered to be Charing Cross, near Trafalgar Square) are
approximately
The Romans marked the centre of Londinium with the London Stone in the
City.
History
Main article: History of London
The city of Londinium was founded by the Romans on the north bank of the
River Thames circa AD 50. Although there is no evidence of a large pre-Roman settlement, the name is thought to be pre-Roman.
It is believed to have become the capital of the Roman province of Britannia in
the early second century. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Roman
city was virtually abandoned and a Saxon town named Lundenwic was established a
mile or so to the West in what is now the Aldwych area in the 7th century AD. The fortified Roman City of London was re-occupied during the late 9th or
early 10th century, whereafter it resumed its role as England's largest -
though not capital - city (Winchester was the capital
city of England until the 12th century). In 1666, the Great Fire of London swept through and
destroyed a large part of London. Re-building the city took over 10 years but by the 18th century London was the largest city in the world.
London has grown steadily over centuries since Roman times absorbing villages and towns, farmland, countryside, meadows and
woodlands, spreading outwards in every direction. Attempts to control this growth have been made in recent decades, for example
through the creation of the so-called Green Belt. In recent years
major developments have been concentrated in the London Docklands and Thames Gateway areas of East London.
Modern London
Today Greater London comprises the City of London and 32 London boroughs
including the City of Westminster, and the Inner and Middle Temples.
The dominant centre of activity in London is the City of Westminster (including the West End) and which is is the main cultural, entertainment and shopping district, the home to most of London's
major corporate headquarters outside of the financial services sector, and the centre of the UK's national government. The City of
London, (known as the "square mile"), is an important financial centre, and
although geographically small, is an important part of London. Very busy during the working week, the City tends to be quiet, if
not deserted at weekends, since it is primarily a non-residential area.
London attracts large numbers of visitors and tourists. Tourist attractions are mainly in Central London, comprising the historic City of
London; the West End with its theatres, shops and restaurants; the City of Westminster with the Royal palaces of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House etc., the Royal Borough of Kensington and
Chelsea with its museums Science Museum, Natural History Museum and V&A] and Hyde Park. Other important tourist attractions include the Bankside area of Southwark with the Globe Theatre, Tate Modern, and London Bridge, Tower Bridge
and the Tower of London, Tate Britain on the Embankment, the British Museum
in Bloomsbury. There are many other museums and places of interest.
The East End
The East End of London is not traditionally thought of as a tourist attraction,
though it has an enormous range of places of interest, and there are many museums, for example the Geffrye Museum and the Museum of Childhood. The East End absorbed
successive waves of immigrants for centuries and contains some of the UK's most economically deprived areas. The Isle of Dogs has developed enormously since
the late 1980's. A number of sky scraper buildings have been completed within the last two or three years, and many large
businesses such as banks have moved to take advantage of the vast office buildings available at Canary Wharf, which is the location of the global headquarters of HSBC and Barclays and the European headquarters of Citigroup, and the London offices of many other well known firms, most of them in the
financial sector. Attracted by the arrival of this economic activity, many restaurants and entertainment venues have opened. See
also gentrification. The East End spans largely the London Boroughs of
Tower Hamlets and Hackney.
Demographics
London was the most populous city in the world from 1825 until 1925, when it was overtaken by New York City.
Residents of London are known as 'Londoners'. On census day, 2001, the City and the
32 boroughs (some 1579 kmē or 610 sq. miles) had 7,172,036 inhabitants, making London one of the most populous cities in Europe
alongside Moscow, Istanbul and Paris.
In the 2001 census 76% of these seven million people classed their ethnic group as white (classified as either British White or Irish White or Other White in the
Census of 2001), 10% as Indian, Bangladeshi or Pakistani, 5% as black African, 5% as black Caribbean, 3% as mixed race and 1% as
Chinese. The largest religious groupings are Christian (58.2%) and No Religion
(15.8%). 21.8% of inhabitants were born outside the European Union. The
Irish are the largest foreign born group in London (approximately 200,000).
Unlike many other countries, the UK does not provide national
metropolitan area population figures based on commuter
percentages and economic influence. This is left up to each individual city to define. This has created much confusion when
comparing London's true metropolitan area region with others
around the world. It is helped even less by the term "Greater London" for the political entity of the "City Proper", which is
often confused as a metropolitan area.
Without a specific National reference to London's metropolitan area, many different sources provide alternate definitions. One
such definition decribes the London metropolitan
area (6,267 sq. miles, 16,043 sq. kilometres) with a population of 13,945,000 - larger than the combined populations of
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is the largest metropolitan area in
Europe, and one of the World's largest 20. (external references: [1] (http://www.demographia.com/dm-lonarea.htm), [2] (http://www.lbwf.gov.uk/demography/census/london/london_boroughs_census2001.pdf))
However, in 2004, the Government of Greater London has officially
defined their metropolitan area with a population of
approximately 18million people, including a large portion (though not all of) the South East England and East of England
regions (As described in the "London Plan" from the Mayor of London external link below. This area is similar in size to many
large North American metropolitan areas.) (external references:[3] (http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/strategies/sds/london_plan/lon_plan_all.pdf),[4] (http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/strategies/sds/london_plan/lon_plan_1.pdf),[5] (http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/strategies/sds/draft_london_plan/dlp_ch1.pdf))
Government
Greater London is divided into 32 London boroughs and the City of London,
which are responsible for running most services in their respective areas.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) is the
London-wide body responsible for co-ordinating the boroughs, and is responsible for running London-wide services such as
emergency services, transport, and strategic planning. The GLA consists of the elected Mayor of London and the elected London
Assembly, which scrutinises the mayor. The mayor is elected by the Supplementary Vote system while the assembly is elected by the Additional Member System.
The current Mayor of London Ken Livingstone was elected as an
independent candidate in 2000. Despite opposition from all the main political parties and
the press, his enormous popularity with Londoners made the election a foregone conclusion. Expelled from the Labour Party after standing against the official Labour candidate
in the 2000 election, he was re-admitted in 2004, and was re-elected as Mayor under the Labour banner in the election later that year.
The GLA was established in 2000 as a replacement for the former Greater London Council (GLC) which was established in 1965 and abolished in 1986 after several high-profile clashes
between the GLC (also then lead by Livingstone) and the Conservative government of Margaret
Thatcher.
Between 1986-2000 there was no central administrative body for London, and it was governed in piecemeal fashion by the
individual boroughs and unelected agencies.
The Mayor and the Assembly will likely be in conflict with one or more Boroughs from time to time: they had each enjoyed
"unitary status" and a fair degree of autonomy since the GLC was
abolished.
Historically London was governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works (1855-1889) and then the London County Council (1889-1965).
Transport
Airports
London City Airport, Heathrow, Biggin Hill, and Northolt lie within the
London boundary. Of these, Heathrow is the city's principal airport and is also a major international hub. It is currently the
busiest international terminal in the world, and a fifth terminal (with a sixth being proposed) is being built on the site.
Other airports, such as London Gatwick Airport,
London Luton Airport, and London Stansted Airport, as well as those at Manston and Southend, incorporate "London" into their name, but the towns where they are situated (Crawley, Luton and Stansted respectively) lie some distance from London.
Special train stations built at Gatwick, Luton and Stansted help to offset their distance from the capital and thus spread
scheduled airline services across the region.
Rail
The London public transport system is one of the few systems in the world to be a tourist attraction itself; its
infrastructure, however has always been financially stretched and under-resourced, leading to difficulties and delays in making
journeys. However, in recent years the London Rail/Tram network has seen substantial spending.
London has a vast rail network generally regarded as the second largest in the world after Tokyo. This rail network is split
into five sections:
The latter is not part of the public rail system, but owned by BAA plc. Currently
Transport for London runs the London Underground (the world's first metro or underground rail
network), also known as the Tube. Government proposals to place the Underground network under a "public-private partnership" arrangement have
encountered widespread opposition.
All four parts of the rail network are undergoing upgrades and expansions to counter London's congestion problems. Important
examples include the Crossrail and Channel Tunnel Rail Link projects, providing new high-speed lines, new safety features on
lines, and new high-speed trains. The tram system is also being widely extended.
See also:
Road
The red double decker buses are now run by private companies, although
it is a requirement that the buses still be painted (mostly) red. However the famous "Routemasters" have now mostly been taken out of service. London is also well-known for its black cabs.
Transport for London introduced a road pricing scheme (the Congestion Charge) in February 2003, which is levied on traffic entering Central London during peak hours. The intention was to alleviate chronic
traffic congestion and initial indications are that traffic levels have dropped by over 10%.
Waterways
The River Thames flows through London on its way to the North Sea. The river is easily navigable and so London has historically been a major
port.
London has several smaller rivers which feed into the River Thames.
However, many of these rivers have been built over, and so now only exist in underground pipes (see Subterranean rivers of London).
London also has an extensive canal
network, with important routes such as the Regent's Canal linking
the Thames with other major rivers.
Sport
London is home to 11 professional football clubs, which
are named after the district in which they play (except for Arsenal, who play in Highbury, Chelsea who play in Fulham, and Crystal Palace who play in South Norwood). Those currently in the top
division (the Premier League) are Arsenal, Charlton Athletic,
Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, and Tottenham Hotspur. The clubs outside the Premier League are
Brentford, Millwall, Queens Park Rangers,
Leyton Orient and West Ham United - all of whom have at one time played in the top division. Wimbledon F.C., in a
controversial move, left London in 2003 to play in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, changing their
name to Milton Keynes Dons F.C., and the newly formed
AFC Wimbledon inherited most of their support, despite playing at a much
lower level in the football pyramid. London was one of
the venues for the World Cup in 1966, and the European Football Championship in 1996, and
hosted the final of both tournaments. London also hosted the European
Cup final in 1968, 1978 and 1992.
London is home to many major sporting venues including Lord's, home of Middlesex and the Marylebone Cricket Club, and The Oval, home of Surrey. The
All England Lawn Tennis
and Croquet Club, which hosts the Wimbledon
Championships, is based in Wimbledon. Twickenham is the home of English Rugby Union and Wembley Stadium, being rebuilt, is
the home for international football and Rugby League. London hosts one of
the world's largest mass-participation road races, the London
Marathon.
London has twice hosted the Summer Olympics, in 1908 and 1948. It is one of the cities bidding to host the 2012 Games.
Culture
Music
London has five professional symphony orchestras; the
London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. There are also several chamber orchestras, some of which specialise in
period instrument performances, including the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields.
The principal orchestral music venues are the Royal Festival
Hall, and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, which are both in
the South Bank Centre; the Barbican Centre; and the Royal Albert Hall,
which hosts the Proms each summer. Chamber music venues include the Purcell Room at the South Bank Centre; the Wigmore
Hall and St. John's, Smith Square.
The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden is home to the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet. The
other main opera company is the English National Opera.
In the summer opera is performed in a temporary pavilion by Holland Park Opera, and there are occasional performances by visting opera companies
and small freelance professional opera companies.
In addition, London contains some of the world's premier music conservatoires including the Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
The major venues for contemporary dance productions include the Sadler's Wells Theatre and the Barbican
Centre.
Festivals
London hosts several festivals, fairs and carnivals throughout the year. The most famous is the Notting Hill Carnival, the world's largest carnival. The carnival
takes place over the August bank holiday weekend, and attracts almost 2 million people. It has a distinctly Afro-Caribbean
flavour, and highlights include a competition between London's steelpan bands and a
3 mile street parade with dancing a music.
There are also large parades held on St. George's Day
(23rd April) and St.
Patrick's Day (17th March).
The Dance Umbrella is held every October, and features a vareity of
dance companies putting on displays across London.
In additon there are many smaller fairs and parades, including the Christmas Without Cruelty Fayre, a fair held annually to promote animal rights.
Theatre
There are over three dozen major theatres, most concentrated in the West End
(see the articles West End Theatre and List of London venues). West End theatres are commercial ventures
and show musicals, comedy and serious drama. The subsidised or non-commerical theatre includes the National Theatre, which is based at the South Bank; the Royal Shakespeare Company which is based in Stratford, but presents seasons in London; The Globe, a modern reconstruction of the home of Shakespeare's troupe; The Royal Court Theatre which
specialises in new drama; the Old Vic; and the Young Vic. London also boasts a vibrant fringe
theatre culture including places such as the Battersea Arts
Centre, The UCL Bloomsbury, The Place, and Tricycle Theatre.
Art
The British National collection of Western Art to 1900 is held at The National Gallery. Other major collections of pre-1900 art are The Wallace Collection; the Courtauld Gallery at the Courtauld Institute of Art; and Dulwich Picture Gallery. The national collection of post-1900
art is at Tate Modern and the national collection of British Art is at
Tate Britain. The National Portrait Gallery has a major collection of portraits of all periods.
In addition to Tate Modern major contemporary art venues include White Cube, the Saatchi Gallery, and The ICA.
Museums
London Museums include the British Museum (antiquities from all over
the world), the Victoria and Albert Museum
(applied arts), the Natural History Museum, the
Science Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the National Maritime Museum, and the Museum of London. There are over 260
museums in London.
Night-life
Apart from the pubs and clubs, there are many music venues. Among the best know are Shepherds Bush Empire,
Brixton Academy, Hammersmith Apollo, Wembley Arena, The Marquee, The UCL Bloomsbury, Mean Fiddler, Albert Hall and the London Astoria.
Business
The City of London or "Square Mile" is the financial centre of
London, home to banks, brokers, insurers and legal and accounting firms. A second financial district is developing at Canary Wharf to the east of central London. This is much smaller than City of London, but has equally prestigious occupants, including the global
headquarters of HSBC.
Non-financial business headquarters are located throughout central London. Some are in City of London, but more are located further West, in and around Mayfair, St James's, The Strand and elsewhere. More than half of the UK's top 100 listed companies (the FTSE) are headquartered in central London, and more than 70% in London's metropolitan area. London is a leading global centre for professional services, and media and creative
industries.
Tourism is one of the UK's largest industries, and in 2003 employed the equivalent of 350,000 full time workers in London [6] (http://www.visitbritain.com/).
While the Port of London is now only the third largest in the United
Kingdom, rather than largest in the world, it still handles 50 million tonnes of cargo each year. The main docks are now at
Tilbury which is outside the boundary of Greater London.
London's economy generates 116,444 million pounds annually, and
accounts for 17% of the UK's Gross Domestic Product -
see Economy of the United Kingdom.
(external link London Development
Authority (http://www.lda.gov.uk/)).
London tourist attractions
Other places of interest:
- The Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court with famous trials but
inconvenient for the unprepared tourist since personal items prohibited include bags and mobile phones.
- Tyburn was the location for many infamous executions by hanging.
- Battersea Power Station and the Millennium Dome are two architecturally interesting buildings which currently
stand empty. However mixed use developments centred on both buildings are due to commence in 2005. The Millennium Dome will become an indoor sports hall, and Battersea Power Station will become a shopping and leisure
facility.
Prominent exhibitions
London in the arts
Literature featuring London
London has been the setting for many works of literature. The two writers who are perhaps most closely associated with the
city are the diarist Samuel Pepys, famous among other things for his
eye-witness 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.
Other famous works that feature London include A Journal of the Plague Year and Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe, The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad, the Sherlock Holmes stories by
Arthur Conan Doyle, The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot, The Apes of God by Wyndham Lewis, Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell, Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby and White
Teeth by Zadie Smith.
Films featuring London
London has been the backdrop for many films. Genres of note include Ealing comedy, gangster films and the romantic comedies of Richard Curtis. Many films have also been made based on books set in London, such as those of Charles Dickens and the Sherlock Holmes novels.
London is also home to a world-class post-production and special effects industry.
TV shows featuring London
External links
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