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London
From upper left: City of London, Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge and Tower of London
Nickname:  The Big Smoke
London region in the United Kingdom
Coordinates: 51°30′29″N 0°7′29″W
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	London
Ceremonial counties	City and Greater London
Districts	City and 32 boroughs
Settled by Romans	as Londinium c. AD 43
Headquarters	City Hall
Government
• Regional authority	Greater London Authority
• Regional assembly	London Assembly
• Mayor of London	Boris Johnson
• UK Parliament  - London Assembly  - European Parliament	74 constituencies 14 constituencies London constituency
Area
• London	659 sq mi (1,710 km2)
Elevation	79 ft (24 m)
Population  (July 2007 est.)
• London	7,556,900
• Density	12,331/sq mi (4,761/km2)
• Urban	8,278,251
• Metro	12,300,000 to 13,945,000
• Demonym	Londoner
• Ethnicity (June 2006 estimates)	Ethnic groups 69.4% White 58.0% White British 2.5% White Irish 8.9% White Other   3.5% Mixed 1.0% Black Caribbean & White 0.5% Black African & White 1.0% South Asian & White 1.0% Other mixed   13.1% South Asian 6.5% Indian 2.3% Pakistani 2.3% Bangladeshi 2.0% Other South Asian   10.7% Black 5.5% Black African 4.3% Black Caribbean 0.8% Other Black   3.4% East Asian or Other 1.5% Chinese 1.9% Other
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC 1 (BST)
Postcode district(s)	Various
Area code(s)	020 and others
Website	http://www.london.gov.uk/

London (/ˈlʌndən/) is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is the UK's largest and most populous metropolitan area and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures.

A major settlement for two millennia, its history goes back to its founding by the Romans, who called it Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile' financial district, retains its mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis developed around it. Today, the bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, with its own elected mayor and assembly.

London is a leading global city being one of the world's largest financial centres and has the largest city GDP in Europe. Central London is home to the headquarters of most of the UK's top 100 listed companies (the FTSE 100) and more than 100 of Europe's 500 largest. London's influence in politics, finance, education, entertainment, media, fashion, the arts and culture in general contributes to its global position. It is a major tourist destination for both domestic and overseas visitors. London hosted the 1908 and 1948 Summer Olympics and will host the 2012 Summer Olympics. London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; the historic settlement of Greenwich; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; and the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's Church.

London has a diverse range of peoples, cultures and religions, and more than 300 languages are spoken within its boundaries. In July 2007 it had an official population of 7,556,900 within the boundaries of Greater London, making it the most populous municipality in the European Union. The Greater London Urban Area (the second largest in the EU) has a population of 8,278,251. while the metropolitan area (the largest in the EU) has an estimated total population of between 12 million and 14 million. The London Underground network, administered by Transport for London, is the oldest and most extensive underground railway network in the world, London Heathrow Airport is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers and the airspace is the busiest of any urban centre in the world.

History

Main article: History of London

Toponomy

The name London may derive from the River Thames

The etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name and can be found in sources from the 2nd century. It is recorded c. 121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae. The name is described as originating from King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud.

From 1899 it was commonly accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos; this explanation has since been rejected. Richard Coates put forward an explanation in 1998 that it is derived from the pre-Celtic Old European *(p)lowonida, meaning 'river too wide to ford', and suggested that this was a name given to the part of the River Thames which flows through London; from this, the settlement gained the Celtic form of its name, *Lowonidonjon. Until 1889 the name officially only applied to the City of London but since then it has also referred to the County of London and now Greater London.

Prehistory and antiquity

By 1300 the City is still confined within the walls

Although there is evidence of scattered Brythonic settlements in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the Romans in 43 AD. This lasted for just seventeen years and around 61, the Iceni tribe led by Queen Boudica stormed it, 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 100. At its height during the 2nd century, Roman London had a population of around 60,000. By the 7th century, the Anglo-Saxons had created a new settlement called Lundenwic over a mile (2 km) upstream from the old Roman city, around what is now Covent Garden.

It is likely that there was a harbour at the mouth of the River Fleet for fishing and trading, and this trading grew, until the city was overcome by the Vikings and forced to move the east, back to the location of the Roman Londinium, in order to use its walls for protection. Viking attacks continued to increase, until 886 when Alfred the Great recaptured London and made peace with the Danish leader, Guthrum. The original Saxon city of Lundenwic became Ealdwic ("old city"), a name surviving to the present day as Aldwych, which is in the modern City of Westminster.

Middle Ages

Westminster Abbey is one of London's oldest and most important buildings as seen in this painting (Canaletto, 1749 A.D.) and a World Heritage Site

Canute took control of the English throne in 1016, controlling the city and country until 1035, when his death resulted in a reversion to Saxon control under his pious stepson 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. 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, while building what is now known as the Tower of London, in the southeast corner of the city, to keep them under control.

In 1097, William II began the building of Westminster Hall, close by the abbey of the same name. The hall became the basis of a new Palace of Westminster, the prime royal residence throughout the Middle Ages. Westminster became the seat of the royal court and government, while 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. In 1100 its population was around 18,000; by 1300 it had grown to nearly 100,000.

There was an increasing population of Jews, until the edict of King Edward I in 1290, expelled them from England. Disaster struck during the Black Death in the mid-14th century, when London lost nearly a third of its population. Apart from the invasion during the Peasants' Revolt in 1381, London remained relatively untouched by the various civil wars during the Middle Ages.

Early modern

The Great Fire of London destroyed many parts of the city in 1666

During the Tudor period the Reformation produced a gradual shift to Protestantism, with much of London passing from church to private ownership. Mercantilism grew and monopoly trading companies such as the British East India Company were established, with trade expanding to the New World. London became the principal North Sea port, with migrants arriving from England and abroad. The population rose from an estimated 50,000 in 1530 to about 225,000 in 1605.

In the 16th century William Shakespeare and his contemporaries lived in London at a time of hostility to the development of the theatre. By the end of the Tudor period in 1603, London was still very compact. There was an assassination attempt on James I in Westminster, through the Gunpowder Plot on 5 November 1605. London was plagued by disease in the early 17th century, culminating in the Great Plague of 1665–1666, which killed up to 100,000 people, or a fifth of the population.

The Great Fire of London broke out in 1666 in Pudding Lane in the city and quickly swept through the wooden buildings. Rebuilding took over ten years and was supervised by Robert Hooke as Surveyor of London. In 1708 Christopher Wren's masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral was completed. During the Georgian era new districts such as Mayfair were formed in the west; and new bridges over the Thames encouraged the development in South London. In the east, the Port of London expanded downstream.

In 1762 George III acquired Buckingham House and it was enlarged over the next 75 years. During the 18th century, London was dogged by crime and the Bow Street Runners were established in 1750 as a professional police force. In total, more than 200 offenses were punishable by death, and women and children were hanged for petty theft. Over 74% of children born in London died before they were five. The coffee house became a popular place to debate ideas, with growing literacy and the development of the printing press making news widely available; and Fleet Street became the centre of the British press.

“ You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford. ” — Samuel Johnson

Late modern and contemporary

A London street hit during the Blitz of World War II

London was the world's largest city from about 1831 to 1925. London's overcrowded conditions lead to cholera epidemics, claiming 14,000 lives in 1848, and 6,000 in 1866. Rising traffic congestion led to the creation of the world's first local urban rail network. The Metropolitan Board of Works oversaw infrastructure expansion. It was replaced in 1889 by the London County Council, London's first elected city-wide administration. The Blitz and other bombing by the German Luftwaffe during World War II killed over 30,000 Londoners and destroyed large tracts of housing and other buildings across London. Immediately after the war, the 1948 Summer Olympics were held at the original Wembley Stadium, at a time when the city had barely recovered from the war.

In 1951 the Festival of Britain was held on the South Bank. The Great Smog of 1952 led to the Clean Air Act 1956, which ended the "pea-souper" fogs for which London had been notorious. From the 1950s onwards, London became home to a large number of immigrants, largely from Commonwealth countries such as Jamaica, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, making London one of the most diverse cities in Europe.

Starting in the mid-1960s, London became a centre for the worldwide youth culture, exemplified by the Swinging London subculture associated with Carnaby Street. The role of trendsetter was revived during the punk era. In 1965 London's political boundaries were expanded to take into account the growth of the urban area and a new Greater London Council was created. During The Troubles in Northern Ireland, London was subjected to terrorist attacks by the Provisional IRA. Racial inequality was highlighted by the 1981 Brixton riot. Greater London's population declined steadily in the decades after World War II, from an estimated peak of 8.6 million in 1939 to around 6.8 million in the 1980s. The principal ports for London moved downstream to Felixstowe and Tilbury, with the London Docklands area becoming a focus for regeneration.

The Thames Barrier was completed in the 1980s to protect London against tidal surges from the North Sea. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, which left London as the only large metropolis in the world without a central administration. In 2000, London-wide government was restored, with the creation of the Greater London Authority. To celebrate the start of the 21st century, the Millennium Dome, London Eye and Millenium Bridge were constructed. On 7 July 2005, several London Underground trains and a bus were bombed in a series of terrorist attacks.

Governance

Local government

Main articles: Local government in London, History of local government in London, and List of heads of London government

The Greater London Authority is based in City Hall, Southwark

The administration of London is formed of two tiers—a city-wide, strategic tier and a local tier. City-wide administration is coordinated by the Greater London Authority (GLA), while local administration is carried out by 33 smaller authorities. The GLA consists of two elected components; the Mayor of London, who has executive powers, and the London Assembly, who scrutinise the mayor's decisions and can accept or reject his budget proposals each year.

The headquarters of the GLA is City Hall, Southwark; the current mayor is Boris Johnson. The mayor's statutory planning strategy is published as the London Plan, which as of mid-2009 is being revised, for final publication in 2011. The local authorities are the councils of the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation. They are responsible for most local services, such as local planning, schools, social services, local roads and refuse collection. Certain functions, such as waste management, a provided through joint arrangements.

Policing in Greater London, with the exception of the City of London, is provided by the Metropolitan Police Force, overseen by the Metropolitan Police Authority. The City of London has its own police force – the City of London Police. The British Transport Police are responsible for police services on National Rail and London Underground services in the capital.

The London Fire Brigade is the statutory fire and rescue service for Greater London. It is run by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority and is the third-largest fire service in the world. National Health Service ambulance services are provided by the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust, the largest free at the point of use emergency ambulance service in the world. Her Majesty's Coastguard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution operate on the River Thames.

National government

London is an important city because the Government of the United Kingdom is located around the Palace of Westminster. Many government departments are located close to Parliament, particularly along Whitehall, including the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street. The British Parliament is often referred to as the "Mother of Parliaments" (although this sobriquet was first applied to England itself by John Bright) because it has been the model for most other parliamentary systems, and its Acts have created many other parliaments.

Geography

Main article: Geography of London

Scope

Map of Central London

Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London. The small, ancient City of London at its core once contained the whole settlement, but as the urban area grew the City Corporation resisted attempts to amalgamate it with its suburbs, causing "London" to be defined in a number ways for different purposes; and the situation was once open to legal debate. Forty percent of Greater London is covered by the London postal district, within which 'LONDON' forms part of postal addresses.

The London telephone area code covers a larger area, similar in size to Greater London, although some outer districts are omitted and some places just outside are included. The area within the orbital M25 motorway is sometimes used to define the "London area" and the Greater London boundary has been aligned to it in places.

Outward urban expansion is now prevented by a metropolitan green belt, although the built-up area extends beyond the boundary in places, resulting in a separately defined Greater London Urban Area. Beyond this is the vast London commuter belt. Greater London is split for some purposes into Inner London and Outer London. The city is split by the River Thames into North and South, with an informal Central London area in its interior. The coordinates of the nominal centre of London, traditionally considered to be the original Eleanor Cross at Charing Cross near the junction of Trafalgar Square and Whitehall, are approximately 51°30′29″N 00°07′29″W.

Status

Within London, both the City of London and the City of Westminster have city status and both the City of London and the remainder of Greater London are the ceremonial counties. The current area of Greater London has incorporated areas that were once part of the counties of Middlesex, Kent, Surrey, Essex and Hertfordshire. London's status as the capital of England, and later the United Kingdom, has never been granted or confirmed officially—by statute or in written form.

Its position was formed through constitutional convention, making its status as de facto capital a part of the UK's unwritten constitution. The capital of England was moved to London from Winchester as the Palace of Westminster developed in the 12th and 13th centuries to become the permanent location of the royal court, and thus the political capital of the nation. More recently, Greater London has been defined as a region of England and in this context known as London.

Topography

West and central London seen from SPOT satellite

Greater London covers an area of 1,579 square kilometres (610 sq mi), an area which had a population of 7,172,036 in 2001 and a population density of 4,542 people per square kilometre. A larger area, referred to as the London Metropolitan Region or the London Metropolitan Agglomeration covers an area of 8,382 square kilometres (3,236 sq mi) has a population of 12,653,500 and a population density of 1,510 people per square kilometre. London's primary geographical feature is the Thames, a navigable river which crosses the city from the south-west to the east. The Thames Valley is a floodplain surrounded by gently rolling hills including Parliament Hill, Addington Hills, and Primrose Hill. The Thames was once a much broader, shallower river with extensive marshlands; at high tide, its shores reached five times their present width.

Since the Victorian era the Thames has been extensively embanked, and many of its London tributaries now flow underground. The Thames is a tidal river, and London is vulnerable to flooding. 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.

In 1974, a decade of work began on the construction of the Thames Barrier across the Thames at Woolwich to deal with this threat. While the barrier is expected to function as designed until roughly 2070, concepts for its future enlargement or redesign are already being discussed.

Climate

Main article: Climate of the United Kingdom

London has a temperate marine climate (Koppen climate classification Cfb), like much of the British Isles, so the city rarely sees extremely high or low temperatures. Summers are warm with average high temperatures of 21 °C (70 °F) – 24 °C (75 °F) and lows of 11 °C (52 °F) – 14 °C (57 °F). But temperatures can exceed 25 °C (77 °F) on many days, and in almost every year they exceed 30 °C (86 °F) on some days. The highest temperature ever recorded was 38 °C (100 °F) on 10 August 2003.

Winters in London are chilly, but rarely below freezing (although in recent years this has been questionable) with daytime highs around 5 °C (41 °F) – 8 °C (46 °F), while spring has mild days and cool evenings. The lowest ever recorded temperature was −21.1 °C (−6.0 °F) in January 1795. Autumn is usually mild but often unsettled as colder air from the north and warmer air from the south meet. London is a relatively dry city with regular but generally light precipitation throughout the year, with an average of 583.6 millimetres (22.98 in) every year.

London enjoys an average of 1461 hours of sunshine every year.

Snow is relatively uncommon, particularly because heat from the urban area can make London up to 5 °C (9 °F) warmer than the surrounding areas in winter. Some snowfall, however, is usually seen up to a few times a year. The United Kingdom snow storm of December 2009 was the heaviest London had seen for 18 years.

Climate data for London
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	15 (59)	18 (64)	21 (70)	26 (79)	30 (86)	33 (91)	37 (99)	38 (100)	30 (86)	26 (79)	19 (66)	15 (59)	38 (100)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	7.2 (45.0)	7.6 (45.7)	10.3 (50.5)	13.0 (55.4)	17.0 (62.6)	20.3 (68.5)	22.3 (72.1)	21.9 (71.4)	19.1 (66.4)	15.2 (59.4)	10.4 (50.7)	8.2 (46.8)	14.4 (57.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	2.4 (36.3)	2.5 (36.5)	3.8 (38.8)	5.6 (42.1)	8.7 (47.7)	11.6 (52.9)	13.7 (56.7)	13.4 (56.1)	11.4 (52.5)	8.9 (48.0)	5.1 (41.2)	3.4 (38.1)	7.5 (45.5)
Record low °C (°F)	−10 (14)	−9 (16)	−8 (18)	−2 (28)	−1 (30)	5 (41)	7 (45)	6 (43)	3 (37)	−4 (25)	−5 (23)	−7 (19)	−10 (14)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	53 (2.1)	36 (1.4)	48 (1.9)	47 (1.9)	51 (2.0)	50 (2.0)	48 (1.9)	54 (2.1)	53 (2.1)	57 (2.2)	57 (2.2)	57 (2.2)	582 (22.9)
Average precipitation days	14.8	10.8	13.4	12.7	12.5	10.5	10.1	10.9	10.5	11.6	14.0	13.2	145
Mean monthly sunshine hours	62	57	124	150	186	210	186	186	150	93	60	31	1,495
Source: Average high, low and precipitation from the Weather Channel

London is in USDA Hardiness zone 9, and AHS Heat Zone 2. Although extreme weather does not happen very often, deep depressions have been known to pass through like the Great Storm of 1987. Tornados are rare, but the Kensal Green area of the city was hit by the 2006 London tornado causing £10 million of damage and injuring 6 people. In the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, London was noted for its dense fogs and smogs. Following the deadly Great Smog of 1952, the Clean Air Act 1956 was passed, leading to the decline of such severe pollution in the capital.

Districts

Main article: List of districts of London

London's vast urban area is often described using a set of district names, such as Bloomsbury, Mayfair, Wembley and Whitechapel. These are either informal designations, reflect the names of villages that have been absorbed by sprawl, or are superseded administrative units such as parishes or former boroughs.

Such names have remained in use through tradition, each referring to a local area with its own distinctive character, but without current official boundaries. Since 1965 Greater London has been divided into 32 London boroughs in addition to the ancient City of London. The City of London is the main financial district and Canary Wharf has recently developed into a new financial and commercial hub, in the Docklands to the east.

The West End is London's main entertainment and shopping district, attracting tourists. West London includes expensive residential areas where properties can sell for tens of millions of pounds. The average price for properties in Kensington and Chelsea is £894,000 with similar average outlay in most of Central London.

The East End is the area closest to the original Port of London, known for its high immigrant population, as well as for being one of the poorest areas in London. The surrounding East London area saw much of London's early industrial development; now, brownfield sites throughout the area are being redeveloped as part of the Thames Gateway including the London Riverside and Lower Lea Valley, which is being developed into the Olympic Park for the 2012 Olympics.

Architecture

Main articles: Architecture in London and List of tallest structures in London

London's architecture ranges from very old to modern

London's buildings are too diverse to be characterised by any particular architectural style, having been built over a long period of time. Notable recent buildings are the 1980s skyscraper Tower 42, the Lloyd's building with services running along the outside of the structure, and the 2004 Swiss Re building, known as "the Gherkin". London's generally low-rise nature makes these skyscrapers and others such as One Canada Square and its neighbours at Canary Wharf and the BT Tower in Fitzrovia very noticeable from a distance.

High-rise development is restricted at certain sites if it would obstruct protected views of St. Paul's Cathedral. Nevertheless, there are plans for more skyscrapers in Central London (see Tall buildings in London), including the 72-storey "Shard of Glass", which will be one of the tallest buildings in Europe. Older buildings are mainly brick built, most commonly the yellow London stock brick or a warm orange-red variety, often decorated with carvings and white plaster mouldings.

Many grand houses and public buildings, such as the National Gallery, are constructed from Portland stone. Some areas of the city, particularly those just west of the centre, are characterised by white stucco or whitewashed buildings. Few structures pre-date the Great Fire of 1666, except for a few trace Roman remains, the Tower of London and a few scattered Tudor survivors in the City. Wren's late 17th century churches and the financial institutions of the 18th and 19th centuries such as the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England, to the early 20th century Old Bailey and the 1960s Barbican Estate form part of the varied architectural heritage.

Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the British monarch

The disused, but soon to be rejuvenated, 1939 Battersea Power Station by the river in the southwest is a local landmark, while some railway termini are excellent examples of Victorian architecture, most notably St Pancras and Paddington. The density of London varies, with high employment density in the central area, high residential densities in inner London and lower densities in the suburbs.

In the dense areas, most of the concentration is achieved with medium- and high-rise buildings. London's skyscrapers such as "Gherkin", Tower 42, the Broadgate Tower and One Canada Square are usually found in the two financial districts, the City of London and Canary Wharf. Other notable modern buildings include City Hall in Southwark with its distinctive oval shape, and the British Library in Somers Town/Kings Cross. What was formerly the Millennium Dome, located by the Thames to the east of Canary Wharf, is now used as an entertainment venue known as The O₂.

The Monument in the City of London provides views of the surrounding area while commemorating the Great Fire of London, which originated nearby. Marble Arch and Wellington Arch, at the north and south ends of Park Lane respectively, have royal connections, as do the Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall in Kensington. Nelson's Column is a nationally recognised monument in Trafalgar Square, one of the focal points of the centre.

Parks and gardens

Main articles: Parks and open spaces in London and Royal Parks of London

The largest parks in the central area of London are the Royal Parks of Hyde Park, its neighbour Kensington Gardens at the western edge of Central London and Regent's Park on the northern edge. Regent's Park contains London Zoo, the world's oldest scientific zoo, and is located near the tourist attraction of Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.

St. James's Park

Closer to central London 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 lie outside the city centre, including the remaining Royal Parks of Greenwich Park to the south-east and Bushy Park and Richmond Park to the south-west, as well as Victoria Park, East London to the east. Primrose Hill to the north of Regent's Park is a popular spot to view the city skyline.

Some more informal, semi-natural open spaces also exist, including the 320-hectare (790-acre) Hampstead Heath of North London. This incorporates Kenwood House, the former stately home and a popular location in the summer months where classical musical concerts are held by the lake, attracting thousands of people every weekend to enjoy the music, scenery and fireworks.

Demography

Main article: Demography of London

2021 United Kingdom Census

Country of birth	Population	%
United Kingdom	5,223,986	59.4
India	322,644	3.7
Romania	175,991	2.0
Poland	149,397	1.7
Bangladesh	138,895	1.6
Pakistan	129,774	1.5
Italy	126,059	1.4
Nigeria	117,145	1.3
Ireland	96,566	1.1
Sri Lanka	80,379	0.9
France	77,715	0.9
Jamaica	75,676	0.9
Turkey	72,867	0.8
United States	71,127	0.8
Spain	68,114	0.8
Somalia	66,288	0.8
Ghana	65,905	0.7
Kenya	58,020	0.7
Portugal	56,963	0.6
China	56,116	0.6
Philippines	54,930	0.6
Germany	50,364	0.6
South Africa	47,964	0.5
Afghanistan	47,706	0.5
Lithuania	45,378	0.5
Iran	43,852	0.5
Australia	43,418	0.5
Hong Kong	33,760	0.4
Iraq	30,365	0.3
Canada	21,772	0.2

With increasing industrialisation, London's population grew rapidly throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, and it was for some time in the late 19th and early 20th centuries the most populous city in the world until overtaken by New York in 1925. Its population peaked at 8,615,245 in 1939 immediately before the outbreak of the Second World War. There were an estimated 7,556,900 official residents in Greater London as of mid-2007.

However, London's continuous urban area extends beyond the borders of Greater London and was home to 8,278,251 people in 2001, while its wider metropolitan area has a population of between 12 and 14 million depending on the definition used. According to Eurostat, London is the most populous city and metropolitan area of the European Union and the second most populous in Europe (or third if Istanbul is included). During the period 1991–2001 a net 726,000 immigrants arrived in London.

The region covers an area of 1,579 square kilometres (610 sq mi). The population density is 4,542 inhabitants per square kilometre (11,760/sq mi), more than ten times that of any other British region. In terms of population, London is the 25th largest city and the 18th largest metropolitan region in the world. It is also ranked 4th in the world in number of billionaires (United States Dollars) residing in the city. London ranks as one of the most expensive cities in the world, alongside Tokyo and Moscow.

Ethnic groups

Main article: Ethnic groups in London

According to the Office for National Statistics, based on 2006 estimates, 69.4 per cent of the 7.5 million inhabitants of London were White, with 58 per cent White British, 2.5 per cent White Irish and 8.9 per cent classified as Other White. Some 13.1 per cent are of South Asian descent, with Indians making up 6.5 per cent of London's population, followed by Bangladeshis and Pakistanis at 2.3 per cent each. 2 per cent are categorised as "Other Asian".

10.7 per cent of London's population are Black, with around 5.5 per cent being Black African, 4.3 per cent as Black Caribbean and 0.7 per cent as "Other Black". 3.5 per cent of Londoners are of mixed race; 1.5 per cent are Chinese; and 1.9 per cent belong to another ethnic group. As of 2008, 40% of London's total population was from an ethnic minority group.

Across London, Black and Asian children outnumber White British children by about six to four. In January 2005, a survey of London's ethnic and religious diversity claimed that there were more than 300 languages spoken and more than 50 non-indigenous communities which have a population of more than 10,000 in London. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that, as of 2006, London's foreign-born population is 2,288,000 (31%), up from 1,630,000 in 1997.

The 2001 census showed that 27.1% of Greater London's population were born outside the UK, and a slightly higher proportion were classed as non-white. The table to the right shows the 'Country of Birth' of London residents in 2001, the date of the last UK Census. (Top 21). A portion of the German-born population are likely to be British nationals born to parents serving in the British Armed Forces in Germany.

Religion

St. Paul's Cathedral

Main article: Religion in London

Religion in London
Religion			Percent
Christian			58.2%
No religion			15.8%
Religion not stated			8.7%
Muslim			8.5%
Hindu			4.1%
Jewish			2.1%
Sikh			1.5%
Buddhist			0.8%
Pagan			0.3%
Other			0.2%

The majority of Londoners – 58.2% – identify themselves as Christians. This is followed by those of no religion (15.8%), Muslims (8.5%), Hindus (4.1%), Jews (2.1%), Sikhs (1.5%), Buddhists (0.8%), Pagans/Wiccans (0.3%) and other (0.2%), though 8.7% of people did not answer this question in the 2001 Census.

London has traditionally been Christian, and has a large number of churches, particularly in the City of London. The well-known St Paul's Cathedral in the City and Southwark Cathedral south of the river are Anglican administrative centres, while the Archbishop of Canterbury, principal bishop of the Church of England and worldwide Anglican Communion, has his main residence at Lambeth Palace in the London Borough of Lambeth.

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, which is the largest Roman Catholic cathedral in England and Wales. Despite the prevalence of Anglican churches, observance is very low within the Anglican denomination. Church attendance continues on a long, slow, steady decline, according to Church of England statistics.

Baitul Futuh Mosque in London

London is also home to sizeable Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and Jewish communities. Many Muslims live in Tower Hamlets and Newham; the most important Muslim edifice is London Central Mosque on the edge of Regent's Park. Following the oil boom, increasing numbers of wealthy Middle-Eastern Muslims have based themselves around Mayfair and Knightsbridge in West London. London is home to the largest mosque in western Europe, the Baitul Futuh Mosque.

London's large Hindu community is found in the north-western boroughs of Harrow and Brent, the latter of which is home to one of Europe's largest Hindu temples, Neasden Temple. Sikh communities are located in East and West London, which is also home to the largest Sikh temple in the world outside India.

The majority of British Jews live in London, with significant Jewish communities in Stamford Hill, Stanmore, Golders Green, Hampstead, Hendon and Edgware in North London. Stanmore and Canons Park Synagogue has the largest membership of any single Orthodox synagogue in the whole of Europe, overtaking Ilford synagogue (also in London) in 1998. The community set up the London Jewish Forum in 2007 in response to the growing significance of devolved London Government.

Economy

Main articles: Economy of London, Media in London, and Tourism in London

The City of London is one of the world's largest financial centre alongside New York City

London is a major centre for international business and commerce and is one of three "command centres" for the world economy, with New York City and Tokyo, although, according to a survey conducted by UBS, London fell to being the 21st richest city (by employee gross earnings) in the world in 2009, down from 7th in 2008.

London generates approximately 20% of the UK's GDP (or $446 billion in 2005); while the economy of the London metropolitan area—the largest in Europe—generates approximately 30% of the UK's GDP (or an estimated $669 billion in 2005). London is one of the pre-eminent financial centres of the world and vies with New York City as the most important location for international finance.

London's largest industry is finance, and its financial exports make it a large contributor to the UK's balance of payments. Around 325,000 people were employed in financial services in London until mid-2007. London has over 480 overseas banks, more than any other city in the world. Due to its prominent global role, London's economy has been affected by the global financial crisis of 2008–2009. The City of London estimates that 70,000 jobs in finance will be cut within a year.

Canary Wharf is the home of the United Kingdom's tallest building

More than half of the UK's top 100 listed companies (the FTSE 100) and over 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies are headquartered in Central London. Over 70% of the FTSE 100 are located within London's metropolitan area, and 75% of Fortune 500 companies have offices in London. The City of London is home to the Bank of England, London Stock Exchange, and Lloyds of London insurance market. Along with professional services, media companies are concentrated in London and the media distribution industry is London's second most competitive sector. The BBC is a significant employer, while other broadcasters also have headquarters around the City. Many national newspapers are edited in London.

Tourism is one of London's prime industries and employs the equivalent of 350,000 full-time workers in London in 2003, while annual expenditure by tourists is around £15 billion. London attracts almost 15 million international visitors per year, making it the world's second most visited city after Paris. London attracts 27 million overnight-stay visitors every year. The Port of London is the second-largest in the United Kingdom, handling 53 million tonnes of cargo each year.

Transport

Main article: Transport in London

The London Underground, oldest and largest metro system in the world, known as the The Tube, because of the shape of the tunnels

Transport is one of the four main areas of policy administered by the Mayor of London, however the mayor's financial control does not extend to the longer distance rail network that enters London. In 2007 he assumed responsibility for some local lines, which now form the London Overground network, adding to the existing responsibility for the London Underground, trams and buses. The public transport network is administered by Transport for London (TfL) and is one of the most extensive in the world. Cycling is an increasingly popular way to get around London. The London Cycling Campaign lobbies for better provision.

The lines that formed the London Underground, as well as trams and buses, became part of an integrated transport system in 1933 when the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) or London Transport was created. Transport for London (TfL), is now the statutory corporation responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London, and is run by a board and a commissioner appointed by the Mayor of London.

Railways

St Pancras International is served by direct high speed trains to European destinations such as Paris

The London Underground — all of which is now commonly referred to as the Tube, though originally this designation referred only to the deep-level lines, as distinct from the sub-surface lines — is one of the oldest, longest, and most expansive metro systems in the world, dating from 1863. The system serves 270 stations and was formed from several private companies, including the world's first underground electric line, the City and South London Railway.

Over three million journeys a day are made on the Underground network, over 1 billion journeys each year. An investment programme is attempting to address congestion and reliability problems, including £7 billion (€10 billion) of improvements planned for the Olympics. London has been commended as the city with the best public transport. The Docklands Light Railway, which opened in 1987, is a second, more local metro system using smaller and lighter tram-type vehicles serving Docklands and Greenwich.

There is an extensive above-ground suburban railway network, particularly in South London, which has fewer Underground lines. London houses Britain's busiest station - Waterloo with over 184 millon people using the interchange station complex (which includes Waterloo East station) each year. The stations have services to South East & South West London, parts of South East and South West England. Most rail lines terminate around the centre of London, running into fourteen terminal stations with the exception of the Thameslink trains connecting Bedford in the north and Brighton in the south via Luton and Gatwick Airports.

Since 2007 High-speed Eurostar trains link St Pancras International with Lille, Paris, and Brussels. Journey times to Paris and Brussels of 2h 15 and 1h 51 respectively make London closer to continental Europe than the rest of Britain by virtue of the High Speed 1 rail link to the Channel Tunnel while the first high speed domestic trains started in June 2009 linking Kent to London.

Buses and trams

The red double-decker bus is an iconic symbol of London

London's bus network is one of the largest in the world, running 24 hours a day, with 8,000 buses, 700 bus routes, and over 6 million passenger journeys made every weekday. In 2003, the network's ridership was estimated at over 1.5 billion passenger trips per annum, more than the Underground. Around £850 million is taken in revenue each year. London has the largest wheelchair accessible network in the world and, from the 3rd quarter of 2007, became more accessible to hearing and visually impaired passengers as audio-visual announcements were introduced. The distinctive red double-decker buses are internationally recognised, and are a trademark of London transport along with black cabs and the Tube.

London has a modern tram network, known as Tramlink, based around Croydon in South London. The network has 39 stops, 3 routes and carried 26.5 million people in 2008. Since June 2008 Transport for London has completely owned tramlink and plans to spend £54m until 2015 on maintenance, renewals, upgrades and capacity enhancements. Since April 2009 all trams have now been refurbished.

Air

London Heathrow Airport is the busiest airport in the world for international traffic

London is a major international air transport hub with the largest city airspace in the world.

London Gatwick Airport inter-terminal transit

Eight airports use the word London in their name, but most traffic passes through only five. London Heathrow Airport, in Hillingdon, West London, is the busiest airport in the world for international traffic, and is the major hub of the nation's flag carrier, British Airways. In March 2008 its fifth terminal was opened, and plans are already being considered for a sixth terminal and third runway. Similar traffic, with the addition of some low-cost short-haul flights, is also handled at London Gatwick Airport, located south of London in Sussex.

Stansted Airport, situated north east of London in Essex, is the main UK hub for Ryanair and Luton Airport to the north of London in Bedfordshire, caters mostly for low-cost short-haul flights. London City Airport, the smallest and most central airport, is focused on business travellers, with a mixture of full service short-haul scheduled flights and considerable business jet traffic.

Roads

Traffic congestion in Central London

Although the majority of journeys involving Central London are made by public transport, car travel is common in the suburbs. The inner ring road (around the city centre), the North and South Circular roads (in the suburbs), and the outer orbital motorway (the M25, outside the built-up area) encircle the city and are intersected by a number of busy radial routes—but very few motorways penetrate into inner London. The M25 is the longest ring-road motorway in the world at 195.5 km (121.5 mi) long.

A plan for a comprehensive network of motorways throughout the city (the Ringways Plan) was prepared in the 1960s but was mostly cancelled in the early 1970s. In 2003, a congestion charge was introduced to reduce traffic volumes in the city centre. With a few exceptions, motorists are required to pay £8 per day to drive within a defined zone encompassing much of congested Central London. Motorists who are residents of the defined zone can buy a vastly reduced season pass which is renewed monthly and is cheaper than a corresponding bus fare. London is notorious for its traffic congestion, with the M25 motorway the busiest stretch in the country. The average speed of a car in the rush hour is 10.6 mph.

Education

Main article: Education in London

University College London is part of the University of London

Home to a range of universities, colleges and schools, London has a student population of about 378,000 and is a centre of research and development. Most primary and secondary schools in London follow the same system as the rest of England—comprehensive schooling. With 125,000 students, the University of London is the largest contact teaching university in the United Kingdom and in Europe. 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 most degrees are awarded by the University of London rather than the individual colleges. Its constituents include multi-disciplinary colleges such as Royal Holloway, Birkbeck, UCL, King's, Goldsmiths, Queen Mary, and more specialised institutions such as the London School of Pharmacy, London School of Economics, SOAS, the Royal Academy of Music, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Courtauld Institute of Art and the Institute of Education.

University College London and Imperial College London have been ranked among the top ten universities in the world by Times Higher Education: in 2009 UCL was ranked the 4th best and Imperial the 5th best university in the world. In addition, the London School of Economics has been described as the world‘s leading social science institution for teaching and research, and has the most international student body of any university in the world today.

A number of colleges are dedicated to the fine arts, including the Royal College of Music, Royal College of Art, and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. London's other universities, such as Brunel University, City University, London Metropolitan University, Middlesex University, University of East London, University of the Arts London, University of Westminster, Kingston University and London South Bank University are not part of the University of London but are still leaders in their field and popular choices among students both nationally and internationally. Some were polytechnics until they were granted university status in 1992, and others which were founded much earlier. Imperial College London left the federal University of London in 2007.

Since the merger of University of North London and London Guildhall University in 2003, London Metropolitan University is the largest unitary university in the capital, with over 34,000 students from 155 countries. London is also known globally for its business education, harbouring several top-rated business schools: London Business School, Cass Business School and Imperial College Business School. In addition there are three international universities: Schiller International University, Richmond University and Regent's College.

Culture

Main article: Culture of London

Accent

The London accent long ago acquired the Cockney label, and was similar to many accents of the South East of England, of which Cockney rhyming slang is a part. The accent of a 21st century 'Londoner' varies widely; what is becoming more and more common amongst the under 30s however is some fusion of Cockney, Received Pronunciation, and a whole array of 'ethnic' accents, in particular Caribbean, which form an accent labelled Multicultural London English (MLE).

Leisure and entertainment

Main articles: List of annual events in London and West End theatre

The Queen's Theatre in the West End theatre district

Within the City of Westminster, the entertainment district of the West End has its focus around Leicester Square, where London and world film premieres are held, and Piccadilly Circus, with its giant electronic advertisements. London's theatre district is here, as are many cinemas, bars, clubs and restaurants, including the city's Chinatown district (in Soho), and just to the east is Covent Garden, an area housing speciality shops. The United Kingdom's Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Royal Opera and English National Opera are based in London and perform at the Royal Opera House, the London Coliseum, Sadler's Wells Theatre and the Royal Albert Hall as well as touring the country.

Islington's 1 mile (1.6 km) long Upper Street, extending northwards from the Angel, has more bars and restaurants than any other street in the UK. Europe's busiest shopping area is Oxford Street, a shopping street nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) long—which makes it the longest shopping street in the UK and home to many shops and department stores including Selfridges. Knightsbridge—home to the Harrods department store—lies just to the southwest.

London is home to designers Vivienne Westwood, Galliano, Stella McCartney, Manolo Blahnik, and Jimmy Choo among others; its renowned art and fashion schools make it an international centre of fashion alongside Paris, Milan and New York. London offers a great variety of cuisine as a result of its ethnically diverse population. Gastronomic centres include the Bangladeshi restaurants of Brick Lane and the Chinese food restaurants of Chinatown.

There are a variety of regular annual events in the city. The beginning of the year is celebrated with the relatively new New Year's Day Parade, fireworks display at the London Eye, and the world's second largest street party, the Notting Hill Carnival is held during the late August Bank holiday each year. Traditional parades include November's Lord Mayor's Show, a centuries-old event celebrating the annual appointment of a new Lord Mayor of the City of London with a procession along the streets of the City, and June's Trooping the Colour, a formal military pageant performed by regiments of the Commonwealth and British armies to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday.

Literature and film

Main articles: London in fiction, London in film, List of films set in London, and List of television shows set in London

Keats House, Hampstead

Charles Dickens (1812–1870)

London has been the setting for many works of literature. The literary centres of London have traditionally been hilly Hampstead and (since the early 20th century) Bloomsbury. Writers closely associated with the city are the diarist Samuel Pepys, noted for his eyewitness account of the Great Fire, Charles Dickens, whose representation of a foggy, snowy, grimy London of street sweepers and pickpockets has been a major influence on people's vision of early Victorian London, and Virginia Woolf, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the 20th century.

William Shakespeare spent a large part of his life living and working in London; his contemporary Ben Jonson was also based there, and some of his work—most notably his play The Alchemist—was set in the city. A Journal of the Plague Year (1722) 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 Dickens' novels, and Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. Modern writers pervasively influenced by the city include Peter Ackroyd, author of a "biography" of London, and Iain Sinclair, who writes in the genre of psychogeography.

London was the setting for the films Peter Pan (1953), The Ladykillers (1955), The 101 Dalmatians (1961), Mary Poppins (1964), Blowup (1966), Secrets & Lies (1996), Notting Hill (1999), Match Point (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (2008), and is home to the television soap EastEnders. London has played a significant role in the film industry, and has major studios at Ealing and a special effects and post-production community centred in Soho. Working Title Films has its headquarters in London.

Museums and art galleries

The Natural History Museum.

London is home to many museums, galleries, and other institutions which are major tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The Natural History Museum (biology and geology), Science Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum (fashion and design) are clustered in South Kensington's "museum quarter", while 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. The city also houses extensive art collections, primarily in the National Gallery, Tate Britain and Tate Modern.

Music

London is one of the major classical and popular music capitals of the world and is home to major music corporations, such as EMI, as well as countless bands, musicians and industry professionals. London is home to many orchestras and concert halls such as the Barbican Arts Centre (principal base of the London Symphony Orchestra), Cadogan Hall (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) and the Royal Albert Hall (BBC Promenade Concerts). London's two main opera houses are the Royal Opera House and the Coliseum Theatre. London is home to the UK's largest pipe organ, at the Royal Albert Hall. Other significant instruments are found at the cathedrals and major churches. Several conservatoires are located within the city: Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Trinity College of Music.

The Royal Albert Hall hosts concerts and musical events

London has numerous venues for rock and pop concerts, including large arenas such as Earls Court, Wembley Arena and the O₂ Arena, as well as numerous mid-size venues, such as Brixton Academy, Hammersmith Apollo and the Shepherd's Bush Empire. London also hosts many music festivals, including the O2 Wireless Festival. London is home to the first and original Hard Rock Cafe and the Abbey Road Studios where the Beatles recorded many of their hits. In the 1970s and 1980s, musicians like David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Cat Stevens, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, the Kinks, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Madness, the Jam, the Small Faces, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Fleetwood Mac, the Police, the Cure, Squeeze and Sade, took the world by storm, deriving their sound from the streets and rhythms vibrating through London.

London was instrumental in the development of punk music, with figures such as the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and Vivienne Westwood all based in the city. More recent artists to emerge from the London music scene include Bananarama, Bush, East 17, Siouxie and the Banshees, the Spice Girls, Jamiroquai, the Libertines, Babyshambles, Bloc Party, Coldplay and Amy Winehouse. London is also a centre for urban music. In particular the genres UK garage, drum and bass, dubstep and grime evolved in the city from the foreign genres of hip hop and reggae, alongside local drum and bass. Black music station BBC 1Xtra was set up to support the rise of homegrown urban music both in London and the rest of the UK.

Sports

Main article: Sport in London

Wembley Stadium is home to English football and is the world's most expensive stadium.

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. London was also the host of the British Empire Games in 1934. London's most popular sport is football and it has thirteen League football clubs, including five in the Premier League: Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.

London also has four rugby union teams in the Guinness Premiership (London Irish, Saracens, Wasps and Harlequins), although only the Harlequins play in London (all the other three now play outside Greater London, although Saracens still play within the M25). The other professional rugby union team in the city is second division's club London Welsh, that plays home matches in the city. The city has other very traditional rugby union clubs, famously London Scottish, Richmond F.C., Rosslyn Park F.C. and Blackheath F.C..

There are currently two professional rugby league clubs in London – Harlequins Rugby League who play in the European Super League at The Stoop and the Championship One side the London Skolars (based in Wood Green, London Borough of Haringey).

From 1924, the original Wembley Stadium was the home of the English national football team, and served as the venue for the FA Cup final as well as rugby league's Challenge Cup final. The new Wembley Stadium serves exactly the same purposes and has a capacity of 90,000. Twickenham Stadium in south-west London is the national rugby union stadium, and has a capacity of 84,000 now that the new south stand has been completed.

Cricket in London is served by two Test cricket grounds Lord's (home of Middlesex C.C.C) in St John's Wood and the Oval (home of Surrey C.C.C) in Kennington. Lord's has hosted 4 finals of the cricket world cups. One of London's best-known annual sports competitions is the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, held at the All England Club in the south-western suburb of Wimbledon. Other key events are the annual mass-participation London Marathon which sees some 35,000 runners attempt a 26.2 miles (42.2 km) course around the city, and the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race on the River Thames between Putney and Mortlake.

Twin cities

Main article: List of towns and cities twinned with London

There are 46 other places on six continents named after London. As well as London's twinning, the London boroughs have twinnings with parts of other cities across the world. Shown below is the list of cities that the Greater London Authority has twinning arrangements with:

• Arequipa
• Berlin
• Bogotá
• Johannesburg
• Kuala Lumpur
• Kuwait City
• Moscow
• New York City
• Oslo

The following cities have a friendship agreement with London:

• Baku
• Buenos Aires
• Sofia
• Dhaka
• Delhi
• Mumbai
• Istanbul
• Rome
• Bucharest
• Oslo
• Paris
• Tehran
• Tokyo
• Beijing
• Podgorica
• Algiers
• Zagreb

References

Bibliography

• Ackroyd, Peter (2001), London: The Biography, London: Vintage, p. 880, ISBN 0099422581
• Aubin, Robert Arnold (February 2008), "London in flames, London in glory: poems on the fire and rebuilding of London" (PDF), The London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since 2004), Greater London Authority{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
• Mills, David (2001), Dictionary of London Place Names, Oxford Paperbacks, ISBN 978-0192801067, OCLC 45406491
• Noorthouk, J (1773), A New History of London, Centre for Metropolitan History
• Reddaway, Thomas Fiddian (1940), The Rebuilding of London After the Great Fire, Jonathan Cape
• Travers, Tony (2004), The Politics of London, Palgrave

External links

• www.london.gov.uk – Official site for the government of London by the Greater London Authority covering the Office of Mayor of London and the London Assembly
• British Pathé Digitalised archive containing hundreds of films of 20th century London
• London in British History Online, with links to numerous authoritative online sources
• VisitLondon.com – Official London site
• LondonTown.com – London Information site
• Visit Britain – Official Visit Britain website
• BBC London

• Office for National Statistics: Focus on London 2007 – compendium of official statistics
• Map of Early Modern London – Historical Map and Encyclopaedia of Shakespeare's London (Scholarly)
• Museum of London Group Portal - Home
• Transport for London (TfL) – city transport authority
• History of London – The history of London over centuries.
• Poems about London at Poetry Atlas