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Quick Facts

The Tube

Music

Sports

Olympics ’s Quick Facts

About 12% of Britain’s overall population lives in London.

Legend says that London was founded not by the Romans of the 1st century AD, but in a far more ancient time by Brutus the Trojan, around 1070 BC, about 1000 years before the Roman invasion.

The can carry800 passengers per revolution - equivalent to 11 London red doubled-decker buses.

There were14,350 film “shooting days” in London in 2007, making it the 3rd most filmed city in the world.

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games will require 70,000 volunteers.

There are more than900 bookshops in London – twice as many as New York.

There are300 languages spoken in London schools and in inner London fewer than half of all pupils have English as their first language.

Theunemployment rate in London is 9.4%. This is well above the UK average of 7.8% and much higher than the neighboring South East region where the unemployment rate is 6.1% T U B E

The London Underground (aka “The Tube”) is the primary way Londoners get around in the city.

Created in 1854 with only 6 stops, the Underground now has 270 Stations and has expanded into surrounding Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex!

The system has 250 miles of track, imagine the amount train tracks going from here to Tahoe all in one city!

This iconic rail system even has a catchphrase; “mind the gap” is announces consistently to make sure passengers are careful not to fall through the gap between the platform and the train. LONDON’S MUSIC SCENE THE SIXTIES Since the 1960’s, when it was called "Swinging London", the city has been the centre of the rock 'n' roll universe. Back then, The Beatles plotted their pop Revolution at Abbey Road Studios; Jimi Hendrix sadly died at a hotel in Notting Hill; The Kinks wrote a song about a Waterloo Sunset; and The THE SEVENTIES Rolling Stones played concerts at the not-very-big Station Hotel London’s buzz got louder in (now Edwards), opposite Richmond train station. the 1970’s. It needed to, just to stand a chance of THE EIGHTIES being heard over The 1980’s was the decade of perms and shoulder pads. Led Zeppelin at Camden’s North London's Madness played many of their Roundhouse! Then The Sex early gigs at Camden’s Dublin Castle. Pistols’ rise to fame at They later released their Absolutely album, 430 King’s Road. shot outside Camden Town station. Normal service was resumed at the famous concert, Live Aid, at the old . One of the stars of that day, Freddie Mercury, lived in Logan Place.

THE NINETIES The 1990’s will probably be best remembered for . One of its main movers was Oasis' Noel Gallagher. His London house was the TODAY modestly named With acts like Babyshambles, Supernova Heights in Razorlight and Lily Allen, London’s Steeles Road. rock ‘n’ roll express train doesn’t look Elsewhere, Oasis’ like slowing down just yet. London has sparring partners, Blur produced some of the greatest names in were once regular Rock n’Roll and will customers at Camden’s contiue to do so in the future. Good Mixer pub. SPORTS London has a rich tradition and legacy in athletics. Aside from soon being the host of three Olympic Games, London has established itself as a hub for other professional sports such as soccer, , and cricket. SOCCER: Although North England cities have historically won more Premiership league titles, London maintains a strong set of storied clubs including Arsenal F.C., Fulham F.C., Chelsea F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, and the recently promoted Queen’s Park Rangers. Despite their history, London soccer clubs have recently been very com- petitive, and generally place in the top half of the league. Chelsea and Arsenal have both won league titles in the last ten years, and they, alongside Tottenham, qualified for this past years Champions League. This was the first time that three London clubs had qualified for the tournament in the same year. TENNIS: London is home to the oldest tennis tournament in the world in Wimbledon. Held annually in June since 1877, the tournament is widely hailed as the most popular and prestigious professional tennis event. Additionally, London ‘s Queen’s Club hosts the Queen’s Club Championships every year, which is an ATP World Tour tournament. The ATP World Tour Finals is also held in London at Arena. CRICKET: England is the birthplace of cricket and has two venues for professional and international play (Lord’s and ) as well as three professional clubs. Cricket is London’s second most popular sport (soccer being the first) and is additionally played at a professional level in India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the U.S., and the Caribbean. THE OLYMPIC GAMES THIS YEAR, LONDON WILL EARN THE DISTINCTION OF BEING THE ONLY CITY TO HAVE HOSTED OLYMPICS ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS: IN 1908, 1948, AND 2012. 1908: THE IV OLYMPIAD The 1908 Olympic Games had 2,008 athletes from 22 different nations. It was played in which was later demolished in 1985. As the host nation, England far outperformed their competitors, winning 146 total medals (56 Gold). The U.S came in second with 47 total medals (23 Gold).

1948: THE XIV OLYMPIAD The 1948 Olympic Games were primarily played at Wembley Stadium and had a total of 136 in 17 events. There was a total of 4,104 athletes which competed from 59 different nations. The Americans asserted their physical dominance, winning 84 total medals (38 Gold), almost double the amount made by Sweden, the runner up with 44 total medals (16 Gold).

2012: THE XXX OLYMPIAD London gained the privelege of hosting the Olympics by beating out other big cities like Paris, Moscow, Madrid, and New York City in the bidding process. There will be a total of 10,005 athletes from 204 nations competing in 302 events across 26 sports. The torch that will light the Olympic Flame will be triangle- shaped to represent, among other things, the fact that this is the third Olympics hosted by London. The final leg will be run by Anna O’Connell who is from Ireland.