London

London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom. It stands on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile estuary leading to the North Sea. London’s urban area is the third most populous in Europe, after Moscow and Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census.

About London in brief

Summary London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom. It stands on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile estuary leading to the North Sea. The City of London, London’s ancient core and financial centre, retains boundaries that closely follow its medieval limits. London’s urban area is the third most populous in Europe, after Moscow and Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted three modern Summer Olympic Games. London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. It is one of the largest financial centres and has either the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP. London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret’s Church. Other landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world. London ranks 26th out of 300 major cities for economic performance. In 2019, London had the highest number of ultra high-net-worth individuals in Europe. London is home to highly ranked institutions such as Imperial College London in natural and applied sciences, and the London School of Economics in social sciences.

London has numerous museums, galleries, libraries and sporting events. These include the British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, British Library and West End theatres. The name London is an ancient name, already attested in the first century AD, usually in the Latinised form Londinium. Over the years, the name has attracted many mythicising explanations. The earliest attested appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae, written around 1136. This had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. A prominent explanation was Richard Coates’ 1998 argument that London was given the name Lowonida, meaning too wide for the Thames. However, it is agreed that Common Brython tends to reconstruct the Celtic form of the name as something similar to Lowonjon. This was adapted into Latin and then into Old English, borrowed into the ancestor of English, Lowon. The toponymy of the toponym Lowon is derived from the Celtic word Lowon, meaning ‘low’ or ‘wide’. London’s estimated mid-2018 municipal population was 8,908,081, the third-most populous of any city in Europe and accounts for 13. 4% of the UK population. As of 2020, London has the second-highest number of billionaires of anyCity in Europe,. after Moscow. It is the leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers than any other city.