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London is the capital of England and the United
Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two
millennia, and the history of London goes back to
its founding by the Romans, when it was named
Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of
London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval
boundaries. Since at least the nineteenth 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 major global city and one of the world's
largest financial centres. Central London is home to
the headquarters of more than half 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 wide 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 most
extensive subway 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.
Geography
London can be geographically defined in a number of
ways; the situation was once open to periodic legal
debate. At London's core is the small, ancient City
of London which is commonly known as 'the City' or
'the Square Mile'. London's metropolitan area grew
considerably during the Victorian era and again
during the Interwar period, but expansion halted in
the 1940s because of World War II and Green Belt
legislation, and the area has been largely static
since. The London region of England, also commonly
known as Greater London, is the area administered by
the Greater London Authority. The urban sprawl of
the conurbation—or Greater London Urban Area—covers
a roughly similar area, with a slightly larger
population. Beyond this is the vast London commuter
belt.
Forty percent of Greater London is covered by the
London postal district, within which 'LONDON' forms
part of the postal address. 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. Greater London is split for some purposes
into Inner London and Outer London. Informally, the
city is split into North, South, East, West and
often also Central London.
The Metropolitan Police District, city-wide local
government area and London transport area have
varied over time, but broadly coincide with the
Greater London boundary. The Romans may have marked
the centre of Londinium with the London Stone, still
visible on Cannon Street. 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 /
51.50806°N 0.12472°W / 51.50806; -0.12472.
Trafalgar Square has also become a point for
celebrations and protests.
Districts
London's vast urban area is often described using a
set of district names (e.g. Bloomsbury,
Knightsbridge, Mayfair, Whitechapel, Fitzrovia).
These are either informal designations, or reflect
the names of superseded villages, parishes and city
wards. Such names have remained in use through
tradition, each referring to a local area with its
own distinctive character, but often with no modern
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 one of the world's three
largest financial centres (alongside New York and
Tokyo) with a dominant role in several international
financial markets, including cross-border bank
lending, international bond issuance and trading,
foreign-exchange trading, over-the-counter
derivatives, fund management and foreign equities
trading. It also has the world's largest insurance
market, the leading exchange for dealing in
non-precious metals, the largest spot gold and gold
lending markets, the largest ship broking market,
and more foreign banks and investment houses than
any other centre. The City has its own governance
and boundaries, giving it a status as the only
completely autonomous local authority in London.
London's new financial and commercial hub is the
Docklands area to the east of the City, dominated by
the Canary Wharf complex. Other businesses locate in
the City of Westminster, the home of the UK's
national government and the well-known Westminster
Abbey.
The West End is London's main entertainment and
shopping district, with locations such as Oxford
Street, Leicester Square, Covent Garden and
Piccadilly Circus acting as tourist magnets. The
West London area is known for fashionable and
expensive residential areas such as Notting Hill,
Knightsbridge and Chelsea—where properties can sell
for tens of millions of pounds. The average price
for all properties in the Royal Borough of
Kensington and Chelsea is £894,000 with similar
average outlay in most of Central London.
The eastern region of London contains the East End
and East 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.
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