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LondonLondon is the capital of the United Kingdom and is the country's largest city with over seven million inhabitants. London's population comprises an enormously diverse range of peoples, cultures and religions making it one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe, and the world. It is the home of very many institutions, organisations and companies, and as such remains at the heart of global affairs. It has a great number of important buildings including world famous museums, theatres, concert halls, airports, railway stations, palaces, and offices. It is the home of many embassies and consulates, and attracts a great many of the world's wealthiest people as permanent or temporary residents. London produces 17% of the UK's GDP and is one of the world's major financial centres. A truly international city, London is pre-eminent in culture, communications, politics, finance, the arts and fashion. Along with New York City, Paris and Tokyo, London is among the four most important global cities. Defining London Today "London" usually refers to the large conurbation called Greater London. Historically it refered to the tiny City of London at its heart from which the conurbation grew. Other definitions are commonly applied: the area within the London postal district; the area within the area code 020; the area attainable by public transport using using a Transport for London Travelcard; the area delimited by the M25 orbital motorway; the London commuter belt. Greater London is divided into thirty two London Boroughs, and the City of London. 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. Geography and climate Greater London covers an area of 609 square miles (1,579 square km). London is a port on the Thames, a navigable river. The river has therefore had a very important influence on the development of the city. London began on the Thames' north bank and for many centuries there was only a single bridge, London Bridge. Because of this the main focus of the city has been on the north side of the Thames. When more bridges were built in the 18th century, the city expanded in all directions as the mostly flat or gently rolling countryside presented no obstacle to growth. There are some hills in London, examples being Parliament Hill and Primrose Hill, but these provided fine prospects of the city centre without significantly affecting the directions of the spread of the city and London is therefore roughly circular. The Thames was once a much broader shallower river than it is today. 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. The threat has increased over time due to a slow but continuous rise in high water level and 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 Woolwichin the 1970s to deal with this threat, but in early 2005 it was suggested that a ten mile long barrier further downstream might be required to deal with the flood risk in the future http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4162905.stm. London has a temperate climate, with warm but seldom hot summers, cool but rarely severe winters, and regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year. Summer temperatures rarely rise much above 33C (91.4F), though higher temperatures have become more common recently. The highest temperature ever recorded in London was 37.9C (100.2F), measured at Heathrow Airport during the European Heat Wave of 2003. Heavy snowfalls are almost unknown. In recent winters, snow has generally only settled once or twice and it is rarely more than an inch (25 mm) or so. London's average annual precipitation of less than 600 mm (24 inches) is lower than that of Rome or Sydney. London's large built up area creates a micro climate, with heat stored by the city's buildings. Sometimes temperatures are 5C (9F) warmer in the city than in the surrounding areas. History Main article: History of London Named by the Romans as Londinium, it was the capital of the Roman province of Britannia. The "City", where Londinium was originally sited is now just one small part of modern central London and is the financial and banking centre of the city, known colloquially as the "Square Mile". The heart of modern London now includes the West End, located in the City of Westminster. Once a separate settlement to the west of the City of London, Westminster has been the base of the English royal court and government since the medival era. From the 16th to the early 20th centuries London flourished as the capital of the British Empire. Londinium was founded 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 the City of London. Re-building took over 10 years, but London's growth accelerated in the 18th century and by the early 19th century it was the largest city in the world. During World War II, the city suffered severe damage in The Blitz which killed over 30,000 Londoners. 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 Green Belt. In recent years major developments have been concentrated in the London Docklands and Thames Gateway areas of East London. Modern London between Tate Modern gallery and St. Pauls Cathedral]] Today Greater London comprises the small central City of London, 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) which is is the main cultural, entertainment and shopping district, the location of 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. Very busy during the working week, most parts of the City tend to be quiet at weekends, since it is primarily a non-residential area. London attracts very large numbers of visitors and tourists. Tourist attractions are mainly in Central London, comprising the historic City of London; the West End with its cinemas, bars, clubs, 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 (the Science Museum, Natural History Museum, and Victoria and Albert Museum) 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 has an enormous range of places of interest, and there are many museums, for example the Geffrye Museum and the Museum of Childhood. It is closer to the old port of London, and therefore tended to be the area of the city where newly arriving immigrants would settle first, and succesive waves of immigrants have included Jews, French, Hugenots, Belgians, Gujaratis, Pakistanis, and many other groups. The East End extends from the eastern edge of The City as far as anyone cares to say. There are probably a million opinions on where it ends. It includes areas such as Whitechapel, Mile End, Bethnal Green, Hackney, Bow, Poplar, the Isle of Dogs, Canning Town, West Ham, Plaistow and Barking. Most of it is in the London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Hackney, as well as Newham, and parts of Waltham Forest. The Isle of Dogs has developed enormously since the late 1980s. A number of skyscrapers have been completed within the last three or four years, and many large businesses such as banks have taken advantage of the vast office buildings available at Canary Wharf, which is the new location of the headquarters of HSBC and Barclays and the European headquarters of Citigroup, and the London offices of many other companies. Attracted by this growth many restaurants and entertainment venues have opened in the area. The Canary Wharf area now has a skyline that is the closest we come in the UK to Manhattan. 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'. In the 2001 census the City and the 32 boroughs (some 1579 km² or 610 square miles) had an official 7,172,036 inhabitants, making London one of the most populous cities in Europe alongside Moscow, and Paris. Subsequent reviews suggested that the returns were understated, and that the population on Census Day was closer to 7.29 million. In the 2001 official census 76% of these seven million people classed their ethnic group as white (classified as British White, Irish 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 (numbering 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 square miles, 16,043 km²) 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: http://www.demographia.com/dm-lonarea.htm, 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 18 million 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. It should be noted however that this designation bears little or no relation to what "London" is understood to be by the British public. (External references:http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/strategies/sds/london_plan/lon_plan_all.pdf,http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/strategies/sds/london_plan/lon_plan_1.pdf,http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/strategies/sds/draft_london_plan/dlp_ch1.pdf) Government Greater London is subdivided into 32 London boroughs and the City of London which are responsible for most local government functions in their respective areas. The Greater London Authority (GLA) is responsible for emergency services, transport and for strategic planning. It consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The mayor is elected by the Supplementary Vote system while the assembly is elected by the Additional Member System. The incumbent 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 popularity with Londoners has remained high. Livingstone was expelled from the Labour Party when he opposed the official Labour candidate in the 2000 Mayoral election. Re-admitted in 2004, he was re-elected as Mayor as an official Labour candidate in the election. The GLA was established in 2000 as a replacement body for the former Greater London Council (GLC), which was established in 1965 and then abolished in 1986 (while led by Livingstone) after clashes with the Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher. When the GLC was abolished, certain of its functions were devolved to the London boroughs while others were taken over by unelected bodies. The boroughs thus enjoyed "unitary status" and a degree of autonomy when the GLC was abolished, which they have now lost to some extent. From 1855-1889 London was governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works and from 1889-1965 by the London County Council. The territorial police force for the 32 London boroughs is the Metropolitan Police Service, more commonly referred to as the Metropolitan Police, or simply "the Met". The City of London has its own police force, the City of London Police. Transport and Infrastructure Transport is one of the four areas of policy administered by the Mayor of London, but the mayor's financial control is limited. The executive agency which runs London's transport system is Transport for London, TfL. The public transport network is one of the most extensive in the world, but faces serious congestion and reliability issues. Transport Rail The London public transport system can be said to be a tourist attraction in itself. London's Underground Railway is the oldest in the world, and possibly one of the busiest. It is thought that more than 3 million people use the Underground every day. The Underground has in recent decades suffered from a lack of sufficient investment since the sums of money needed to keep it fully modernised are very high. This has led to congestion and delays for passengers in some areas of the network, although there have also been improvements, for example the opening of the Jubilee Line extension. Recently the London Rail and Tram network has received substantial funding. London has a vast overground rail network, the second largest in the world after Tokyo. This rail network is split into five sections: The Heathrow Express is not strictly a part of the public rail system, but is owned by the British Airports Authority BAA plc. Currently Transport for London or TfL runs the London Underground (the world's first underground rail network or metro), also known as the "Tube". The national government's recently introducted public–private partnerships to the Underground despite opposition from many parties, including the Mayor of London. All four elements of the rail network are due to be improved and expanded to help alleviate London's congestion problems. The largest project currently underway is the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, which will provide faster Eurostar rail services via the Channel Tunnel to Paris, Brussels and other destinations in continental Europe. The most ambitious proposal in the pipeline is Crossrail, which will consist of a new east-west tunnel through central London connecting to several existing commuter routes. Financing for this has not yet been agreed. Smaller projects include extensions to the East London Line of the Underground, and to the Docklands Light Railway. The tram system is also being extended, particularly in Croydon, in South London. There are far fewer Underground rail lines in South London than in North London. This is partly because the underlying geology of South London is much less favourable for tunnelling than it is north of the Thames. It also reflects the concentration of the network on Central London, which was focused to north of the Thames to a greater extent when most of the underground lines were built than is the case today. South London relies on overground commuter lines to a greater extent, but these tend to offer less frequent services. Until 2003 there was also an underground railway for mail transport, the London Post Office Railway. See also: Road London's famous red double decker buses are now run by private companies, although it is a requirement that the buses still be painted red. However the iconic red "Routemaster" bus has now almost disappeared. Another icon, the famous London taxi black cab is still a common sight. In February 2003 Transport for London (TfL) introduced a radical scheme to charge private motorists 5.00 per day for driving vehicles within a designated area of Central London during peak hours: the Congestion Charge. This scheme has succeeded in significantly reducing traffic congestion, but remains controversial. The charge will rise to 8 in July 2005. Waterways The Thames is navigable and London itself was once a major port. There are several tributaries of the Thames in London that flow underground, for example the Tyburn. (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. Airports Heathrow on the western fringe of Greater London is London's principal airport and a major international hub. It is currently the busiest international airport in the world, and a fifth terminal is due to open in 2008. London Gatwick Airport and London Stansted Airport, are also large airports by international standards, with approximately 30 million and 20 million passengers a year respectively. They are both outside the boundaries of Greater London, as is the fourth largest airport which serves London, London Luton Airport. 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. London's fifth largest airport, and the one closest to the centre, is London City Airport in Docklands. Minor airports in Greater London include Biggin Hill, and Northolt, and additional airports close to Greater London include those at Manston in Kent and Southend in Essex. Power Supply A unique element of the London power grid from 1975 was HVDC Kingsnorth, the first urban high voltage direct current transmission system in the world. It was subsequently converted to standard 3-phase AC. Universities and Colleges London has the largest student population of any British city, although not the highest per capita. Universities in London may be divided into two groups: firstly, the federal University of London, which, with over 100,000 students, is the largest university in the United Kingdom. It comprises over 50 colleges and institutes 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. The largest and most prestigious colleges include University College London, (UCL), Imperial College, King's College London, Queen Mary, University of London and the London School of Economics, while smaller schools and institutes include the School of Oriental and African Studies, the Institute of Education, and Birkbeck College, which specialises in part time and mature students. Secondly, there are the independent universities, most of which were polytechnics until UK polytechnics were granted university status in 1992. There are several leading medical schools in London, some of which are centuries old, for example Barts, Guy's, and St Thomas'. London is Britain's leading centre for arts education. London's four music conservatories are the Royal College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music, and Trinity College of Music, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Other drama schools include Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts ("RADA"), and the Central School of Speech and Drama. Art schools include Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Chelsea School of Art, and Camberwell School of Art, (all part of the University of the Arts), and Goldsmith's College and the Slade School of Art (both part of the University of London), and The Royal College of Art. The former Hornsey School of Art is now part of Middlesex University. Most state schools in London are run by the London Boroughs. Some are excellent, and some are not. In common with other large cities in the UK, there are serious problems in some schools, particularly those in less affluent areas. These problems are partly the result of difficulties in retaining teachers willing to work in stuggling schools. Also London's high property prices mean that teachers are often unable to afford to buy their own homes, which pushes many teachers into moving to other parts of the UK, especially as they grow older. There are many private schools in Greater London including some of England's best known public schools such as Harrow and Westminster. Media The British media is concentrated in London. This creates in some people's view, a "London bias" in the output of the media. The BBC, which remains Britain's most internationally respected and indeed envied news and media organisation, BBC, has its main headquarters in London, though it also has centres in many other cities in the UK, from where much regional broadcasting emanates. The other British TV broadcasting companies, including ITV and BSkyB, are also London based. The English newspaper market is dominated by national newspapers, and all of them are edited in London. Until the 1970s, newspaper offices were concentrated in Fleet Street, but the 1980s saw most move out to larger premises with automated printing works in Docklands. The move was resisted strongly by the printing trade unions, and strike action at the News International printing press in Wapping in 1986 saw occasional violent skirmishes. The last major news agency in Fleet Street, Reuters, moved to Canary Wharf in 2003, but Fleet Street is still commonly used as a collective term for the national press. London is at the centre of British film and television production industries, with major studio facilities on the western fringes of the conurbation and a large post production industry centred in Soho. London is one of the two leading centres of English language publishing alongside New York. Globally important media companies based in London range from publishing group Pearson, to the information agency Reuters, to the world's number two advertising business WPP Group. Important local media outlets in the city include the Evening Standard newspaper, BBC London radio, and several independent radio stations, including Capital FM. Religion When Pope Gregory the Great sent St Augustine to bring England into the Catholic fold in 597 CE, it was intended that the envoy should become "Archbishop of London", as the city was remembered as the capital of Roman Britain. In the event, the saint received his most hospitable reception in the Kingdom of Kent, and the archepiscopal see was founded at Canterbury. Nonetheless London has been at the centre of England's religious life for much of its history, and each Archbishop of Canterbury has traditionally spent much of his time in London, where he has an official residence at Lambeth Palace. London's two Anglican bishops are the Bishop of London, whose see is London north of the Thames, and whose throne is in London's grandest church, the baroque St Paul's Cathedral (designed by Sir Christopher Wren), and the Bishop of Southwark, who tends to Anglicans south of the river. However, as in the rest of the UK, religious attendance in London is low, and the Church of England has borne the brunt of this decline. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster is generally regarded as the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Other traditional Protestant demoninations whose headquarters are in London include the United Reformed Church and the Quakers. Many of London's immigrant groups have established denominations in the city, for example Greek Orthodoxy. In addition various evangelical churches exist. London is the most important centre of Islam in the UK United Kingdom. Two London boroughs contain the highest proportion of Muslims in the UK: Tower Hamlets and Newham. The London Central Mosque is a well known Islamic landmark on the edge of Regent's Park. London also has a large Hindu population. The Hindu temple at Neasden, Neasden Temple is remarkable as the largest Hindu temple outside of India. Over two thirds of British Jews live in London, which ranks thirteenth in the world as a Jewish population centre http://www.jafi.org.il/education/100/concepts/demography/demtables.html#10. Sport The most popular spectator sport in London is football. London has several of England's leading football clubs. Two of them in particular, Arsenal (founded at Woolwich Arsenal but moved to Highbury in 1913), and Chelsea (who play in Fulham) are regarded as two of the Premier League's "Big 3" clubs. Historically the London clubs have not accumulated as many trophies overall as those from the North West, such as Liverpool F.C and Manchester United, but currently they are holding their own against their northern rivals. London clubs are able to charge higher ticket prices than clubs in other parts of the country, (particularly for corporate facilities), and this has swung English football's balance of power towards London. Before Chelsea's recent rise in fortunes the two highest profile London clubs were Arsenal and their long-standing North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, both of whom were considered to be members of English football's "Big 5" for most of the post-war period. In 2004/5 there are six London clubs in the Premier League in total, Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea, and Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace (who play in South Norwood), and Fulham. There are five London clubs in the fully professional Football League, namely Brentford, Millwall, Queens Park Rangers|QPR, Leyton Orient and West Ham United - all of whom have previously played in the top division. In a controversial move Wimbledon F.C., left London in 2003 to play in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, changing their name to Milton Keynes Dons, and the newly formed AFC Wimbledon inherited most of their support, despite playing at a much lower level in the football pyramid. There are also many London clubs playing outside the top four divisions of English football, one or two of which are fully professional and many of which are part-time professional. 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. Rugby Union is also well established in London, especially in the middle-class suburbs to the north and west of the city. The English national Rugby Union stadium is in Twickenham. Four of the twelve clubs in the elite Zurich Premiership have London origins. Harlequins still play in Greater London, and London Irish, Saracens, Wasps, share football grounds just outside the boundaries of Greater London, but in the metropolitan area. The Northern England based sport of rugby league has maintained a top division club called the London Broncos in the capital in recent years as part of its expansion efforts, but the club has struggled to be viable. There are also London teams in the top flight British leagues in ice hockey (London Racers) and basketball (London Towers), but neither of these sports draws nearly the large number of spectators that football and rugby do. There are two Test Match cricket grounds: Lord's, home of Middlesex and the Marylebone Cricket Club, located in the leafy suburb of St John's Wood, just north of Regent's Park, and The Oval, home of Surrey in South London. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, home of the Wimbledon Championships, is in Wimbledon in South West London. Wembley Stadium, (currently being rebuilt), is the national football stadium, traditionally the home of the FA Cup Final as well as major international football matches, and Rugby League matches. During the redevelopment of Wembley Stadium, Cardiff's Millenium Stadium has been the venue for the FA Cup Final. London hosts one of the world's largest mass-participation marathons, the London Marathon. London has twice hosted the Olympic Games, in 1908 and 1948, and 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 Royal Ballet companies. The other main opera company is the English National Opera. In the summer opera is performed in a temporary pavilion by Opera Holland Park, and there are occasional performances by visiting opera companies and small freelance professional opera companies. 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 and 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 addition 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 known 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 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, as it once was — 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). 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 appeared as the setting for many films, for example Notting Hill, and the Ealing comedies. There are gangster films and the romantic comedies of Richard Curtis. Adaptations of Dickens and the Sherlock Holmes novels abound. London is home to a very large film post-production and special effects industry. TV shows featuring London Songs featuring London Main article: London in music - "Waterloo Sunset" The Kinks some would say one of Ray Davies best songs
- "Streets of London" by Ralph McTell
- "London Calling" Album by The Clash
- "London Bridge is falling down" Traditional nursery rhyme
- "Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner" Popular wartime refrain
- "London Town" Album by Paul McCartney and Wings
- "Doing the Lambeth Walk" Another old-time song
- "The Sights and Sounds of London Town" Song by Richard Thompson from his album Mock Tudor
- London is mentioned in the Talking Heads song "Cities" from their 1979 album Fear of Music.
See also External links
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