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London : London, EnglandFor other places of the same name see London (disambiguation).The Palace of Westminster and Westminster bridge[?], London London is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England, and one of the largest cities in Europe.
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Over the years, London has increased dramatically in size, absorbing meadows, woodlands, villages and towns and, prior to 1940, spread outwards in every direction. The Greater London administrative area covers 1579 km2 with a population of around seven million. For more detail on the historical development of London see the history of London. Outward growth was halted through the definition of a Green Belt.
The London that most tourists see is the West End with all its theatres, shops and restaurants. In contrast, the East End has played host to successive waves of immigrants for centuries and contains some of the UK's more deprived areas. The Isle of Dogs is however witnessing unprecedented commercial change and many restaurants, music and comedy clubs are injecting a more varied atmosphere. See also gentrification. The tourist sites in the West End are mainly in South Kensington or the City of Westminster. The East End is centred on the Borough of Tower Hamlets. The airfields of London City Airport, Heathrow, Biggin Hill[?], Kenley Aerodrome and Northolt[?] lie within the London boundary. Other airports, such as London Gatwick Airport, London Luton Airport (at Luton, United Kingdom[?]), and London Stansted Airport (at Essex, United Kingdom[?]), as well as those at Manston and Southend, incorporate "London" in their name, but they are situated in the Home Counties at some distance. Special train stations built at Gatwick, Luton and Stansted help to offset their physical remoteness from the capital and thus spread scheduled airline services in a safe and manageable way across the region.
The elected Mayor of London is Ken Livingstone, who was expelled from the Labour Party following his election as an independent. He is regulated to some extent by an Assembly elected by a proportional voting system, which is unusual in the British political context. Improvements in public safety and transport are his key priorities. There is every likelihood that the Mayor and the Assembly will be in conflict with one or more Boroughs from time to time, they had each enjoyed "unitary status" and a fair degree of autonomy since the Greater London (county) Council was abolished by the Conservative Government led by Margaret Thatcher in 1985.
Panorama of London taken from the London Eye.
Very large version (1MB)
Prime London Tourist Attractions:
London by night as seen from space. larger version
Former London tourist attractions:
Other historical places:
The London public transport system is one of the few systems in the world to be a tourist attraction in its own right; its infrastructure, however, is, and historically has been, financially stretched and under-resourced, leading to frequent difficulties and delays in making journeys.
While Transport for London runs the Tube, also known as the Underground, the famous red double decker buses are now run by private companies, although it is a requirement that the buses are still painted (mostly) red. Government proposals to place the Underground network under a "public-private partnership" arrangement have encountered widespread opposition. Transport for London introduced a Congestion Charge levied on traffic entering Central London during peak hours in mid-February 2003 in order to alleviate chronic traffic congestion. See also British railway system.
London is home to a number of football clubs. Some of the more famous ones in the top division are: Arsenal F.C., Charlton Athletic F.C., Chelsea F.C., Fulham F.C., Tottenham Hotspur F.C. (Spurs), and West Ham United F.C.. Less famous and proportionately less successful clubs include Crystal Palace F.C.[?], Millwall F.C.[?], Queen's Park Rangers F.C.[?], Wimbledon F.C., although they have all at one time or another had a period in the top flight of English league football. Other minor clubs include Brentford F.C.[?] and Leyton Orient F.C.[?].
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.
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