Spotlight on...London

London is the capital city of the United Kingdom, located on the river Thames in south-east England. The first major settlement of the area was by the Romans in 43AD, around the area that is now the city’s financial district. London is well known for its long history and unmistakable landmarks, not to mention  for being the centre of the Swinging Sixties subulture and one of the world's leading financial centres, alongside New York.

Today, London is a bustling, ethnically diverse city, with a population of 7,500,000 in the city and 12-13,000,000 in the wider metropolitan area. Surveys suggest that around 27% of the city’s population were born outside of the UK, and that more than 300 languages are spoken throughout the city. This diversity leads to an abundance of cultural festivals and celebrations throughout the year, one of the most famous being the Notting Hill Carnival which you can read about in our previous article here.

London is filled with instantly-recognisable landmarks, both modern and old. Many of these older buildings were built in the Victorian age, such as Tower Bridge, the current Houses of Parliament and Big Ben clock tower, while Buckingham Palace was completed in 1703. In recent years, London’s skyline has become more dominated by modern structures, such as 30 St. Mary Axe (more commonly known as The Gherkin) and the London Eye, which at 135m high, was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world from 1999 until 2006.

London is well known for its diverse cultural and artistic communities. The West End is famous for its theatres and plays, while major fashion designers like Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney and Jimmy Choo are all based in London. London’s musical scene is heavily influenced by its diverse ethnic make up, as people from various cultures mix together, combining and creating new genres of music. London also has a rich literary history, with 2 of England’s most famous writers, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens, having lived in the capital.

London is a strong sporting city, and was recently chosen to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. Just as throughout the rest of the UK, football is the most popular sport in London, and the city is home to Wembley stadium, as well as numerous professional teams, the most famous of which are Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. The city also has several rugby union teams, and once a year hosts the prestigious Wimbledon tennis tournament, which you can read about in our previous article here.

There are many NCC Education Accredited Partner Centres located around the London area, such as: London College of Business and Computing, West London School of Management and Technology, London School of Accountancy and Management, Oxford House College, Western Governors Graduate School, and many more. Click here to find out more about studying at a centre in the UK.

Why not write a similar article to this one about your home town or country? Send us your story at contribute@nccedu.com and you could win an MP3 player through our latest competition – Your Campus Needs You!

---

del.icio.us

No comments available

Add comment