The O2 Arena
North Greenwich Arena 1
180px
Location	The O2 Drawdock Road North Greenwich London, SE10 0BB England, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°30′10.79″N 0°0′11.28″E / 51.5029972°N 0.0031333°E / 51.5029972; 0.0031333Coordinates: 51°30′10.79″N 0°0′11.28″E / 51.5029972°N 0.0031333°E / 51.5029972; 0.0031333
Built	Between 2003 and 2007
Opened	24 June 2007
Owner	English Partnerships
Operator	Ansco Arena Limited (AEG Live) Europe
Surface	Versatile
Architect	Populous[1] (then HOK Sport)
Structural engineer	Buro Happold
Services engineer	M-E Engineers
General Contractor	Sir Robert McAlpine
Capacity	20,000[2]
Website	theo2.co.uk
Tenants
AEG Live (2007–present) ATP World Tour Finals (2009–present) Hillsong Conference Europe (2010–2011) (2013)

The O2 Arena (visually typeset in branding as The O₂ arena, referred to as North Greenwich Arena in context of the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.

With a capacity of up to 20,000^[2] depending on the event, it is second largest arena in the UK after the Manchester Arena and one of the largest in Europe. In 2008, The O2 Arena took the crown of the world's busiest music arena from the Manchester Arena, a title which it had held since 2001.^[3]

Background to the arena[link]

Following the closure of the Millennium Experience at the end of 2000, the Millennium Dome was leased to Meridian Delta Ltd. in 2001, for redevelopment as an entertainment complex. This included plans for an indoor arena.

Construction of the arena started in 2003 and finished in 2007. Owing to the impossibility of using cranes inside the dome structure, the arena's roof was constructed on the ground within the dome and then lifted. The arena building's structure was then built around the roof. The arena building, which houses the arena and the arena concourse, is independent from all other buildings in The O2 and houses all the arena's facilities. The whole arena building takes up 40% of the total dome structure.

The seating arrangement throughout the whole arena can be modified, similar to the Manchester Arena.^[4] The ground surface can also be changed between ice rink, basketball court, exhibition space, conference venue, private hire venue and concert venue.

The arena was built to reduce echoing which has previously been a problem in many London music venues.^[5] The sound manager for U2, Joe O'Herlihy, worked with acoustic engineers to introduce measures such as sound absorbing material on the arena roof and the bottom of strategically placed seats to reduce echoing.

Despite The O2 arena's being open for only seven months of the year, the venue sold over 1.2 million tickets in 2007, making it the third most popular venue in the world for concerts and family shows narrowly behind the Manchester Arena (1.25 million) and Madison Square Garden in New York (1.23 million). In 2008, it became the world's busiest venue taking the crown from MEN Arena with sales of more than two million.^[6]

A panorama of Los Angeles Kings v Anaheim Ducks NHL game

Musical events[link]

Metallica performing at The O2 Arena

The O2 Arena since its opening in 2007 has been host of many concerts, from UK to international superstars. The O2 was named the World's Best Venue by Pollstar in 2009. As of 2011, the O2 Arena is the home of the Brit Awards, with the arena's first ceremony taking place on 15 February 2011.^[7]

Anschutz opened The O2 Arena on 23 June 2007, with a free event for all of the building's employees billed as the O2 premiere featuring Peter Kay, Tom Jones, Kaiser Chiefs and Basement Jaxx, with the show hosted by Dermot O'Leary. Snow Patrol then played a concert to an audience made up of sponsors, local residents, local business employees and winners of an online competition.

Bon Jovi was the first band ever to play to the general public at the arena on 24 June 2007. The Rolling Stones played three sold out shows during A Bigger Bang Tour on 21, 23, 26 August 2007, the last concerts of the tour. Elton John played the premiere Red Piano Show in Europe at the arena in September 2007. Led Zeppelin performed a one-off reunion concert at the arena on 10 December 2007 with twenty million applications for tickets.^[8] The Spice Girls performed 17 sold out shows during their 2007/2008 Return of the Spice Girls tour. Coldplay performed three sold out shows during their Viva la Vida Tour on 14-16 December 2008. Muse performed two sold out shows during The Resistance Tour in November 2009. Depeche Mode performed at the venue on 15 and 16 December 2009, and on 20 February 2010 during their Tour of the Universe, which was recorded for their live albums project Recording the Universe. Miley Cyrus performed five sold out concerts on 13, 14, 19, 20 and 29 December 2009 as a part of her Wonder World Tour.

Michael Jackson was preparing for a sell out series of 50 shows at the O2, due to take place 13 July 2009 – 6 March 2010, when he died of cardiac arrest. Britney Spears has performed over 10 times at the arena during some of her sold-out world tours. The 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Misérables was held at the O2 on 3 October 2010. Lady Gaga performed 6 dates in 2010 as part of her worldwide Monster Ball Tour. Guitarist David Gilmour joined his former Pink Floyd band-mate Roger Waters on 12 May 2011 for a special one-off performance of "Comfortably Numb" during Waters' The Wall Live world tour. In June 2011 the cast of Glee performed a series of concerts as part of their sold out European tour. Iron Maiden concluded The Final Frontier World Tour at the Arena with 2 sold out shows on August 5th and 6th 2011. Katy Perry performed 2 sold out shows on October 2011. In October, November and December 2011, Rihanna performed 11 sold out shows at the venue with her Loud Tour, more than any other female solo artist. Rammstein performed a sold out show on the 24th of February 2012, the first night of their UK leg of their Made In Germany 1995-2011 Tour. Rapper Drake is also set to perform two sold out nights of his European Club Paradise tour in March 2012 as are Kanye West and Jay-Z as part of their Watch The Throne Tour. One Direction are also performing at the venue for six nights next February and April. Radiohead are to perform two concerts at the arena as part of a three-date UK tour in support of their 2011 album, The King of Limbs. Bollywood singers Sonu Nigam & Atif Aslam shared the stage for the very first time in April 2012 at the arena at Flex FX Dhamaka^[9] to promote love, peace and unity among India and Pakistan.

Sports events[link]

Tennis[link]

Rafael Nadal against Andy Roddick in the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals

The arena hosted the first ever Turbo Tennis Tournament on 15 September 2007 which was won by Andy Murray. From 2009 until 2012 it has been selected as the venue for the ATP World Tour Finals.^[10]

Hockey[link]

The arena has also hosted two National Hockey League contests, which started the 2007–08 NHL season, on 29 and 30 September, both involving the Anschutz-owned Los Angeles Kings and their regional rivals from Southern California, the Anaheim Ducks.^[11]

Basketball[link]

New Jersey Nets v Miami Heat NBA game

An NBA exhibition match between the Boston Celtics and the Minnesota Timberwolves took place at the arena on 10 October 2007. The game sold out more than three months beforehand. The arena also hosted the Miami Heat and New Jersey Nets (NBA) pre-season games before the 2008–09 season.^[12] Just like the previous NBA exhibition game, tickets for the game sold out three months beforehand.^[13]

The Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz played an exhibition match on 30 October 1994 in London as part of NBA Europe Live. The Chicago Bulls won the match 102–101 in front of a crowd of 18,689.

On 4 October 2010, The Los Angeles Lakers took on the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves won the game 111–92 in front of a crowd of 18,689.

The New Jersey Nets defeated the Toronto Raptors on 4 March 2011, by a score of 116–103.^[14] The teams met again on 5 March 2011, with a New Jersey Nets victory in 3 overtimes, 137–136.^[15]

The Great Britain National Basketball Team have also played several games there, with an attendance of 7,244 for the win over the Czech Republic qualification match for EuroBasket 2009. It is expected this will soon become a home arena for the National Side.

The arena is scheduled to host the 2013 Euroleague Final 4.^[16]

Gymnastics[link]

2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

It was used for the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.^[17]

Boxing[link]

The first sporting event to take place was the Commonwealth Boxing Lightweight title fight featuring Amir Khan on 14 July 2007. In March 2008, the arena hosted a match between David Haye and Enzo Maccarinelli, and in November 2008 Haye fought Monte Barrett.

Mixed Martial Arts[link]

The arena has hosted four mixed martial arts events promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, including UFC 75 on 8 September 2007, UFC 85 on 7 June 2008, UFC 95 on 21 February 2009 and UFC 120 in October 2010.

UFC 120 featuring Michael Bisping and Yoshirio Akiyama had an attendance of 17,133 breaking the European attendance and gate receipts record which was set by the MEN at UFC 105. It was also the biggest box office sporting event in O2 Arena history.

Darts[link]

On 11 February 2010 the O2 Arena hosted the opening night of the Whyte and Mackay Premier League Darts, Britain's biggest indoor sporting event. Fans travelled from all over the UK to see the likes of Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, Simon Whitlock and James Wade in action.^{[citation needed]} Over 8,000 fans attended the event.^{[citation needed]}

Olympics and Paralympics[link]

During the 2012 Summer Olympics it is scheduled to be the venue for gymnastics, for which it will have a spectator capacity of 16,500, and for basketball finals, for which it will have a capacity of 20,000. During the 2012 Summer Paralympics it is scheduled to be the venue for wheelchair basketball finals, for which it will have a capacity of 18,000.^[18] Due to IOC sponsorship regulations, it will officially be known as North Greenwich Arena during the games.^[19] The rest of the basketball and wheelchair basketball competitions will take place at an arena in the Olympic Park.^[20] A 6,000 seat temporary venue called North Greenwich Arena 2 was to be built nearby to stage the Olympic badminton and rhythmic gymnastics events, but these will now take place at Wembley Arena.^[21]

Entertainment events[link]

Comedy[link]

In May 2008 Chris Rock became the first comedian to play the arena, breaking a Guinness World Record for the largest audience for a comedy show,^[22] though this was never an official record and has since been broken by German comedian Mario Barth.^[23] Lee Evans, Steve Coogan and Dylan Moran all appeared at the arena in 2008, followed by Canadian stand-up Russell Peters in February 2009. High profile stand-ups Al Murray, Eddie Izzard and Michael Mcintyre have all performed in 2009. Russell Brand performed at the O2 Arena in April 2009; as well as performing stand up comedy, he recorded several scenes for his new movie Get Him to the Greek, using the audience for his stand-up as a live crowd for a rock concert.^[24]

On 30 March 2010, the O2 Arena hosted Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a stand-up comedy benefit show in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, in front of 14,000. With over 25 comedians appearing, organiser Channel 4 billed it as "the biggest live stand up show in United Kingdom history".^[25]

Some of the UK's most successful comedians are now performing at the O2 Arena during their stand-up tours such as Russell Howard who performed there in his 2011 tour "Right Here, Right Now". John Cleese performed a one off performance of his "The Alimony Tour" there in early 2011. Alan Carr performed his latest tour "Spexy Beast" in late 2011.

Film[link]

The arena has hosted The Hunger Games, The Simpsons Movie, High School Musical 2 and Live Free or Die Hard premières, and also an advance screening of Alien Autopsy.

Reality television[link]

From June 2008 to July 2011, the London auditions for the television series, The X Factor have been filmed at the arena, as well as the Bootcamp segments at the indigO2 for the 2008 series.

Theatrical and ice shows[link]

The arena has hosted performances of Ben Hur Live and Walking with Dinosaurs The Arena Spectacular. Other such events include Viva La Diva, Strictly Come Dancing live tour.

Ice shows have included Disney On Ice and High School Musical On Ice.

In October 2010, the arena was host to the 25th Anniversary concert of the musical Les Misérables

Christmas and New Year celebrations[link]

December 2009 saw a Christmas spectacular in association with Raymond Gubbay, introduced by Mylene Klass, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Choral Society, tenor Jon Christos and soprano's Alison Jiear and Stephanie Corley.

Church events[link]

Hillsong Church London[link]

In September 2009, Hillsong Church London's 10-year anniversary church service was hosted at the O2 Arena. The venue was filled to capacity, causing over 4,000 attendees to be turned away at the doors.

Hillsong Church London will also host their Christmas Carols service here in December 2012.

Hillsong Conference Europe[link]

In 2010, Hillsong Conference Europe was held in the O2 Arena. Guests for the 2010 Hillsong Conference Europe included, Joel and Victoria Osteen, Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff and The Lakewood Team, Judah Smith and Jentezen Franklin. More than 5,000 delegates attended the 2010 Hillsong Conference Europe at the O2 Arena. Special guests Joel and Victoria Osteen were invited to the conference for the A Night of Hope in London (as part of the conference that year), the night sold out with a turn out of more than 13,000 people.

Hillsong London held their annual Hillsong Conference Europe 2011 once again at the O2 Arena. They moved the date from their usual October date to July during the summer break to accommodate more people and to encourage more people to attend the Conference. Guests included Priscilla Shirer, Joseph Prince, TD Jakes and Israel & New Breed.

Due to the 2012 Summer Olympics Hillsong London will be hosting Conference in Netherlands and Stockholm, Sweden in 2012. Conference will return to the O2 Arena on its usual date in October 2013.

Pentecost and other Church events[link]

In 2011, a combined event for the celebration of Pentecost was held at the O2 Arena as a joint effort between churches Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB Churches), Hillsong Church London and Jesus House. They had an attendance of over 16,000 delegates, and will return in 2012.

In August 2010 there was a Christ Embassy Night of Bliss with Pastor Chris Service held at the O2 Arena.

Other events[link]

The O2 Arena held the Scout event Live 07 in 2007 to celebration of the centenary of the Scout movement.

The O2 Arena hosted Andrew Reynolds Entrepreneurs Bootcamp^[26] – the largest conference event held to date at the venue. Andrew Reynolds Bootcamp broke a UK record with its innovative High Definition projection screen – not only the largest ever used at the O2 Arena – but the largest indoor screen in the UK. Measuring around 34.5 metres by 12 metres, the huge screen formed the central part of a huge stage set for the Entrepreneurs event which was provided by smyle.co.uk.

Awards[link]

• 2010 London Lifestyle Awards – London Live Music Venue of the Year

See also[link]

• The O2 (London)
• Millennium Dome
• Live at the O2 Arena

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The O2 Arena

Links to related articles v t e Indoor arenas in the United Kingdom by capacity Manchester Arena (21,000) The O2 Arena (20,000) Earls Court Exhibition Centre (19,000) LG Arena (16,000) National Indoor Arena (14,000) Odyssey Arena (14,000) Motorpoint Arena Sheffield (13,500) Manchester Central (12,500) SECC (12,500) Wembley Arena (12,500) Echo Arena Liverpool (11,000) Metro Radio Arena (11,000) Capital FM Arena Nottingham (10,000) AECC (10,000) Motorpoint Arena Cardiff (7,500) v t e Venues of the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic Zone Aquatics Centre Basketball Arena BMX Circuit Eton Manor Copper Box London Velodrome Olympic Stadium Riverbank Arena Water Polo Arena River Zone ExCeL Greenwich Park North Greenwich Arena (The O2 arena) Royal Artillery Barracks Central Zone All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club Earls Court Exhibition Centre Hampton Court Palace Horse Guards Parade Hyde Park Lord's Cricket Ground Marathon Course Regent's Park Wembley Arena Wembley Stadium Outside London Dorney Lake Hadleigh Farm Lee Valley White Water Centre Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy Football stadia City of Coventry Stadium Hampden Park Millennium Stadium Old Trafford St James' Park v t e Venues of the 2012 Summer Paralympics Olympic Zone Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park: Aquatics Centre Basketball Arena Eton Manor Copper Box London Velodrome Olympic Stadium Riverbank Arena River Zone ExCeL Greenwich Park North Greenwich Arena (The O2 arena) Royal Artillery Barracks Central Zone Regent's Park Outside London Brands Hatch Dorney Lake Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy v t e Olympic venues in basketball 1936: Tennis Courts, Tennis Stadium (final) 1948: Harringay Arena 1952: Messuhalli (final), Tennis Palace 1956: West Melbourne Stadium, Royal Exhibition Building (final) 1960: Palazzo dello Sport (final), Palazzetto dello sport 1964: National Gymnasium 1968: Juan Escutia Sports Palace 1972: Basketballhalle 1976: Centre Étienne Desmarteau, Montreal Forum (final) 1980: CSKA Palace of Sports, Indoor Stadium (final) 1984: The Forum 1988: Jamsil Gymnasium 1992: Pavelló Olímpic de Badalona 1996: Georgia Dome (final), Morehouse College Gymnasium 2000: Sydney SuperDome (final), The Dome and Exhibition Complex 2004: Helliniko Indoor Arena, Olympic Indoor Hall (final) 2008: Wukesong Indoor Stadium 2012: Basketball Arena, North Greenwich Arena 2016: Olympic Training Center – Arena 1 v t e Olympic venues in gymnastics 1896: Panathinaiko Stadium 1900: Vélodrome de Vincennes 1904: Francis Field 1908: White City Stadium 1912: Stockholm Olympic Stadium 1920: Olympisch Stadion 1924: Stade de Colombes 1928: Olympic Stadium 1932: Olympic Stadium 1936: Dietrich Eckert Open-Air Theatre 1948: Empress Hall, Earl's Court 1952: Messuhalli 1956: West Melbourne Stadium 1960: Baths of Caracalla 1964: Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium 1968: National Auditorium 1972: Olympiahalle 1976: Montreal Forum 1980: Sports Palace 1984: Pauley Pavilion 1988: Olympic Gymnastics Hall 1992: Palau dels Esports de Barcelona, Palau Sant Jordi 1996: Georgia Dome, University of Georgia Coliseum 2000: Sydney SuperDome, The Dome and Exhibition Complex 2004: Galatsi Olympic Hall, Olympic Indoor Hall 2008: Beijing National Indoor Stadium, Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium 2012: North Greenwich Arena, Wembley Arena 2016: Rio Olympic Arena v t e European Arenas Association members Ahoy Rotterdam (Rotterdam) · Arena Riga (Riga) · Belgrade Arena (Belgrade) · Budapest Sports Arena (Budapest) · Ericsson Globe (Stockholm) · Főnix Hall (Debrecen) · Forest National (Brussels) · Hallenstadion (Zurich) · Hartwall Areena (Helsinki) · Mediolanum Forum (Milan) · National Exhibition Centre (Birmingham) · O2 Arena (Prague) · O2 World (Berlin) · O2 World (Hamburg) · Olympiahalle (Munich) · Palacio Vistalegre (Madrid) · Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy (Paris) · PalaLottomatica (Rome) · Palau Sant Jordi (Barcelona) · Pavilhão Atlântico (Lisbon) · Saku Suurhall Arena (Tallinn) · Scandinavium (Gothenburg) · Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (Glasgow) · Siemens Arena (Vilnius) · Spaladium Arena (Split) · St. Jakobshalle (Basel) · The O2 (Dublin) · The O2 Arena (London) · Wembley Arena (London) · Wiener Stadthalle (Vienna) v t e Venues branded by O2 Berlin · Dublin · Hamburg · London (Arena) · Prague v t e London landmarks Buildings and structures Bridges Golden Jubilee Bridges Millennium Bridge Tower Bridge Entertainment venues Cinemas Empire, Leicester Square London IMAX Odeon Leicester Square Sports venues All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club Emirates Stadium Lord's Cricket Ground Olympic Stadium The Oval Stamford Bridge Twickenham Stadium Wembley Stadium White Hart Lane Theatres Coliseum Theatre Haymarket Theatre National Theatre Royal Opera House Shakespeare's Globe Other Hammersmith Apollo O2 Arena Royal Albert Hall Royal Festival Hall Wembley Arena Government 10 Downing Street Admiralty Arch Bank of England City Hall County Hall Guildhall Horse Guards Mansion House Old Bailey Palace of Westminster Royal Courts of Justice Scotland Yard Museums and galleries British Museum Cutty Sark Golden Hind HMS Belfast Imperial War Madame Tussauds Museum of London National Gallery Natural History National Maritime Royal Academy Royal Observatory Science Museum Tate Britain Tate Modern Tower of London Victoria and Albert Museum Places of worship Southwark Cathedral St Martin-in-the-Fields St Paul's Cathedral Westminster Abbey Westminster Cathedral Westminster Central Hall Retailing Shops Fortnum & Mason Hamleys Harrods Liberty Peter Jones Selfridges Shopping centres and markets Borough Market Brent Cross Burlington Arcade Leadenhall Market One New Change Westfield London Westfield Stratford City Royal buildings Buckingham Palace Clarence House Hampton Court Palace Kensington Palace St James's Palace Skyscrapers 8 Canada Square 30 St Mary Axe 122 Leadenhall Street Bishopsgate Tower BT Tower Centre Point Citigroup Centre Heron Tower Lloyd's building Millbank Tower One Canada Square Riverside South Senate House Shard London Bridge Shell Centre St George Wharf Tower Tower 42 Structures Albert Memorial ArcelorMittal Orbit Cleopatra's Needle Crystal Palace transmitting station London Eye London Wall Marble Arch Monument Nelson's Column Thames Barrier Transport Heathrow Airport King's Cross railway station Liverpool Street railway station Paddington railway station St Pancras railway station Waterloo railway station Other Barbican Estate Battersea Power Station British Library Kew Gardens London Zoo Lambeth Palace One Hyde Park OXO Tower Smithfield Market Somerset House Parks Royal Parks Bushy Park Green Park Greenwich Park Hyde Park Kensington Gardens Regent's Park Richmond Park St. James's Park Other Battersea Park Burgess Park Clapham Common Epping Forest Hampstead Heath Finsbury Park Holland Park Mitcham Common Trent Park Victoria Park Wandsworth Common Wimbledon Common Squares and public spaces Covent Garden Horse Guards Parade Leicester Square Oxford Circus Parliament Square Piccadilly Circus Trafalgar Square Streets Baker Street Bond Street Carnaby Street Fleet Street Oxford Street The Mall Park Lane Piccadilly Regent Street Strand Whitehall Buildings and structures under construction shown in italics

London
From upper left: City of London, Tower Bridge and London Eye, Palace of Westminster
London region in the United Kingdom
Coordinates: 51°30′26″N 0°7′39″W / 51.50722°N 0.1275°W / 51.50722; -0.1275Coordinates: 51°30′26″N 0°7′39″W / 51.50722°N 0.1275°W / 51.50722; -0.1275
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
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	1,570 km2 (607 sq mi)
Elevation[1]	24 m (79 ft)
Population (July 2010 est.)[2]
• London	7,825,200
• Density	4,978/km2 (12,892/sq mi)
• Urban	8,278,251
• Metro	13,709,000
• Demonym	Londoner
• Ethnicity (June 2009 estimates)	Ethnic groups 69.7% White 59.5% White British 2.2% White Irish 8.0% Other White   3.5% Mixed 1.0% Black Caribbean & White 0.5% Black African & White 1.0% South Asian & White 1.0% Other mixed   13.2% South Asian 6.2% Indian 2.8% Pakistani 2.2% Bangladeshi 2.0% Other South Asian   10.1% Black 5.3% Black African 4.0% Black Caribbean 0.8% Other Black   3.5% East Asian or Other 1.5% Chinese 2.0% Other
Time zone	GMT (UTC±0)
• Summer (DST)	BST (UTC+1)
Postcode areas	E , EC , N , NW , SE , SW , W , WC , BR , CM , CR , DA , EN , HA , IG , KT , RM , SM , TN , TW , UB , WD
Area code(s)	020, 01322, 01689, 01708, 01737, 01895, 01923, 01959, 01992
Website	london.gov.uk

London ⁱ/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures.^{[note 1]} Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium.^[3] London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core.^[4] The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region^[5] and the Greater London administrative area,^{[6][note 2]} governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.^[7]

London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence.^[8] It is the world's leading financial centre alongside New York City^[9][10][11] and has the fifth-largest city GDP in the world (and the largest in Europe).^[12] London has been described as a world cultural capital.^{[13][14][15][16]} It was the world's most visited city during 2011 ^[17][18] and London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers.^[19] London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe.^[20] In 2012 London will become the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.^[21]

London has a diverse range of peoples and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken within its boundaries.^[22] In July 2010 Greater London had an official population of 7,825,200, making it the most populous municipality in the European Union,^[2][23] and accounting for 12.5% of the UK population.^[24] The Greater London Urban Area is the second-largest in the EU with a population of 8,278,251,^[25] while London's metropolitan area is the largest in the EU with an estimated total population of between 12 million^[26] and 14 million.^[27] London had the largest population of any city in the world from around 1831 to 1925.^[28]

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; and the historic settlement of Greenwich (in which the Royal Observatory marks the Prime Meridian (0° longitude) and GMT).^[29] Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, Wembley Stadium, and Shard London Bridge. London is home to numerous museums, galleries, libraries, sporting events and other cultural institutions, including the British Museum, Natural History Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, British Library, Wimbledon, and 40 West End theatres.^[30] The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world^[31] and the second-most extensive (after the Shanghai Metro).^[32]