Editing London (section)

==Economy==
{{main|Economy of London}}
[[File:City_of_London_skyscrapers_HDR_-_2023-03-18.jpg|thumb|The [[City of London]], one of the largest [[financial centre]]s in the world]]
London's [[gross regional product]] in 2019 was £503&nbsp;billion, around a quarter of [[Economy of the United Kingdom|UK GDP]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/bulletins/regionaleconomicactivitybygrossdomesticproductuk/1998to2019/pdf |title=Regional economic activity by gross domestic product, UK: 1998 to 2019, UK- Office for National Statistics |first=Trevor |last=Fenton |website=ons.gov.uk}}</ref> London has five major business districts: the city, Westminster, Canary Wharf, Camden & Islington, and Lambeth & Southwark. One way to get an idea of their relative importance is to look at relative amounts of office space: Greater London had 27&nbsp;million&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup> of office space in 2001, and the City contains the most space, with 8&nbsp;million&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup> of office space. London has some of the highest real estate prices in the world.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Greg |first1=Clark |title=The Making of a World City London 1991 to 2021 |date=2014 |publisher=Wiley |page=141}}</ref>

===City of London===
London's finance industry is based in the [[City of London]] and [[Canary Wharf]], the two major [[Central business district|business districts]]. London took over as a major financial centre shortly after 1795 when the Dutch Republic collapsed before the Napoleonic armies. This caused many bankers established in [[Amsterdam]] (e.g. Hope, Baring I'm), to move to London. Also, London's market-centred system (as opposed to the bank-centred one in Amsterdam) grew more dominant in the 18th century.<ref name='Finance Hub'/> The London financial elite was strengthened by a strong Jewish community from all over Europe capable of mastering the most sophisticated financial tools of the time.<ref name="auto2"/> This economic strength of the city was attributed to its diversity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/34/2/6.html|title=Letter VI – On the Presbyterians. Letters on the English.|last=Voltaire|first=François Marie Arouet de.|date=1909–1914|website=Bartleby.com|publisher=The Harvard Classics|orig-year=1734|access-date=22 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Origin of Religious Tolerance: Voltaire |url=https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=2095 |access-date=28 June 2023 |work=Independent Institute}}</ref>

[[File:Paternoster Square.jpg|thumb|The [[London Stock Exchange]] at [[Paternoster Square]] and [[Temple Bar, London|Temple Bar]]]]
[[File:London.bankofengland.arp.jpg|thumb|The [[Bank of England]], established in 1694, is the model on which most modern central banks are based.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bank of England |url=https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/economics/what-is-bank-of-england-boe/ |access-date=2 May 2024 |agency=Corporate Finance Institute}}</ref>]]
By the mid-19th century, London was the leading financial centre, and at the end of the century over half the world's trade was financed in British currency.<ref>{{cite news |title=London - Finance |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/London/Finance |access-date=4 July 2022 |work=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref> {{As of|2023|lc=n}}, London ranks second in the world rankings on the [[Global Financial Centres Index]] (GFCI),<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wee |first1=Denise |title=Singapore Overtakes Hong Kong in World Financial Centers Ranking|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-23/singapore-overtakes-hong-kong-in-world-financial-centers-ranking|access-date=26 July 2024|work=www.bloomberg.com}}</ref> and it ranked second in A.T. Kearney's 2018 Global Cities Index.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Hales |first1=Mike |last2=Mendoza Peña |first2=Andrés |last3=Peterson |first3=Erik R.|last4=Dessibourg |first4=Nicole |title=2018 Global Cities Report – Learning from the East: Insights from China's Urban Success|url=https://atkearney.com/2018-global-cities-report |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620232225/https://www.atkearney.com/2018-global-cities-report |archive-date=20 June 2018 |access-date=20 June 2018 |website=[[A.T. Kearney]]}}</ref>

London's largest industry is finance, and its [[financial export]]s make it a large contributor to the UK's [[balance of payments]]. Notwithstanding a post-[[Brexit]] exodus of stock listings from the [[London Stock Exchange]],<ref name="LSEExodusToNewYork">{{cite news |author=Daniel O'Boyle |date=6 June 2024 |title=Shein has ethical concerns? So do many London-listed companies — let's look at them too |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/business/shein-ethics-labour-london-stock-exchange-ipo-flotation-float-fast-fashion-clothes-environment-b1162619.html |access-date=17 August 2024 |newspaper=London Evening Standard |quote=The post-Brexit London Stock Exchange has struggled to properly articulate what it offers over [[New York City|New York]].}}</ref><ref name=LSEExodus>{{cite news |url= https://fortune.com/2023/10/31/uk-stock-market-doom-loop-london-financial-capital/ |title=UK's stock market is in a 'doom loop' that's undermining London's status as a global financial capital, investment bank says |author=Alexandra Muller and [[Bloomberg News]] |work=Fortune |location=New York |date=31 October 2023|access-date=20 February 2024}}</ref> London is still one of Europe's most economically powerful cities,<ref name="London.gov.uk"/> and it remains one of the major financial centres of the world. It is the world's biggest currency trading centre, accounting for some 37% of the $5.1&nbsp;trillion average daily volume, according to the BIS.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 September 2016 |title=London's core role in euros under spotlight after Brexit vote |work=[[Reuters]] |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-bis-britain-idUKKCN11O0C4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918105609/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-global-markets-bis-britain-idUKKCN11O0C4 |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 September 2016 |access-date=28 March 2021}}</ref> Over 85% (3.2&nbsp;million) of the employed population of greater London works in the services industries. Because of its prominent global role, London's economy had been affected by the [[2008 financial crisis]]. However, by 2010, the city had recovered, put in place new regulatory powers, proceeded to regain lost ground and re-established London's economic dominance.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gardiner |first=Beth |date=20 January 2010 |title=The London Banking Center Is Beginning to Feel Like Itself Again. |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/business/global/21rglofinuk.html |url-status=live |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125173353/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/business/global/21rglofinuk.html |archive-date=25 January 2010}}</ref> Along with [[professional services]] headquarters, the City of London is home to the [[Bank of England]], London Stock Exchange, and [[Lloyd's of London]] insurance market.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mantle|first=Jonathan|title=For Whom the Bell Tolls|url=https://archive.org/details/forwhombelltolls0000mant|url-access=registration|year=1992|publisher=Sinclair-Stevenson |location=London |isbn=9781856191524 }}</ref> Founded in 1690, [[Barclays]], whose [[Barclays Bank, Enfield|branch in Enfield]], north London installed the first [[Automated teller machine|cash machine]] (ATM) in 1967, is one of the [[List of oldest banks in continuous operation|oldest banks in continuous operation]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=McManus |first1=John |last2=Winroth |first2=Mats |last3=Angelis |first3=Jannis |title=Service Operations Management |date=2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury |page=39}}</ref>

Over half the UK's top 100 listed companies (the [[FTSE 100]]) and over 100 of Europe's 500 largest companies have their headquarters in central London. Over 70% of the FTSE 100 are within London's metropolitan area, and 75% of [[Fortune 500]] companies have offices in London.<ref name="london_113">{{Cite web|date=9 June 2009|title=London Stock Exchange|url=http://www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609022757/http://www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/|archive-date=9 June 2009|access-date=27 April 2008|website=[[London Stock Exchange]]}}</ref> In a 1992 report commissioned by the London Stock Exchange, Sir [[Adrian Cadbury]], chairman of his family's confectionery company [[Cadbury]], produced the [[Cadbury Report]], a code of best practice which served as a basis for reform of [[corporate governance]] around the world.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gittelson |first1=Steven |title=Adrian Cadbury, a leader in corporate governance, dies at 86 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/adrian-cadbury-a-leader-in-corporate-governance-dies-at-86/2015/09/04/e87dd2fe-532e-11e5-8c19-0b6825aa4a3a_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=23 July 2022 |date=4 September 2015}}</ref>

===Media and technology===
{{main|Media in London}}

[[File:Broadcasting House 20160816.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Broadcasting House]], headquarters of the [[BBC]]]]
Media companies are concentrated in London, and the media distribution industry is London's second most competitive sector.<ref name="london_114">{{Cite web |url= http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2CAE66FB-2DD5-41A5-B916-8FFC37276059/0/BC_RS_lpuk_0511_FR.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060525075622/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2CAE66FB-2DD5-41A5-B916-8FFC37276059/0/BC_RS_lpuk_0511_FR.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 May 2006 |title=London's Place in the UK Economy, 2005–6 |date=November 2005 |website=Oxford Economic Forecasting on behalf of the Corporation of London |page=19 |access-date=19 June 2006}}</ref> The [[BBC]], the world's oldest national broadcaster, is a significant employer, while other broadcasters, including [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]], [[Channel 4]], [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]], and [[Sky UK|Sky]], also have headquarters around the city. Many [[List of newspapers in the United Kingdom|national newspapers]], including ''[[The Times]]'', founded in 1785, are edited in London; the term [[Fleet Street]] (where most national newspapers operated) remains a [[metonym]] for the British national press.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Solesbury |first1=William |title=World Cities, City Worlds |date=2018 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |page=5}}</ref> The communications company [[WPP plc|WPP]] is the world's largest advertising agency.<ref>{{cite news |title=The world's biggest ad agency is going all in on AI with Nvidia's help |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/29/tech/nvidia-wpp-ai-advertising/index.html |access-date=21 March 2024 |publisher=CNN}}</ref>

A large number of technology companies are based in London, notably in [[East London Tech City]], also known as Silicon Roundabout. In 2014 the city was among the first to receive a [[geoTLD]].<ref>{{Cite press release |date=10 June 2013 |title=London gets go ahead for new '.london' internet domain |url= http://www.londonandpartners.com/media-centre/press-releases/2013/130610-london-gets-go-ahead-for-new-london-internet-domain |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130614213446/http://www.londonandpartners.com/media-centre/press-releases/2013/130610-london-gets-go-ahead-for-new-london-internet-domain |archive-date=14 June 2013 |access-date=28 March 2021 |publisher= [[London & Partners]]}}</ref> In February 2014 London was ranked as the European City of the Future in the 2014/15 list by ''[[fDi Intelligence]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McReynolds |first=Cathy |date=17 February 2014 |title=European Cities and Regions of the Future 2014/15 |work=fDiIntelligence.com |location=London |url=http://www.fdiintelligence.com/Locations/Europe/European-Cities-and-Regions-of-the-Future-2014-15 |access-date=28 March 2021 |archive-date=12 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112110111/http://www.fdiintelligence.com/Locations/Europe/European-Cities-and-Regions-of-the-Future-2014-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A [[museum in Bletchley Park]], where [[Alan Turing]] was based during World War II, is in [[Bletchley]], {{convert|40|mi|adj=off}} north of central London, as is [[The National Museum of Computing]].<ref>{{cite news |title=UK computer history gets new home |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6291422.stm|date=11 July 2007|access-date=4 July 2022 |work=BBC}}</ref>

The gas and electricity distribution networks that manage and operate the towers, cables and pressure systems that deliver energy to consumers across the city are managed by [[National Grid plc]], [[SGN (company)|SGN]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gas distributors |url= https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/gas/distribution-networks/gb-gas-distribution-network |publisher=Ofgem |access-date=19 January 2016 |date=20 June 2013 }}</ref> and [[UK Power Networks]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Electricity distributor |url= http://www2.nationalgrid.com/uk/Our-company/electricity/Distribution-Network-Operator-Companies/ |publisher=National Grid |access-date=19 January 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140914184550/http://www2.nationalgrid.com/uk/Our-company/electricity/Distribution-Network-Operator-Companies/ |archive-date=14 September 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Tourism===
{{main|Tourism in London}}
{{Multiple image
|direction=vertical
|image1=British Museum from NE 2 (cropped).JPG
|caption1=The [[British Museum]]
|image2=Galería Nacional, Londres, Inglaterra, 2014-08-07, DD 036.JPG|
|caption2=The [[National Gallery]]
}}
London is one of the leading tourist destinations in the world. It is also the top city in the world by visitor cross-border spending, estimated at US$20.23&nbsp;billion in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Hedrick-Wong |first1=Yuwa |last2=Choong |first2=Desmond |year=2015 |title=MasterCard – 2015 Global Destination Cities Index |url=https://newsroom.mastercard.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MasterCard-GDCI-2015-Final-Report1.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195105/https://newsroom.mastercard.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MasterCard-GDCI-2015-Final-Report1.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=25 March 2021}}</ref> Tourism is one of London's prime industries, employing 700,000 full-time workers in 2016, and contributes £36&nbsp;billion a year to the economy.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2017 |title=A Tourism Vision for London |url=https://files.londonandpartners.com/l-and-p/assets/london_tourism_vision_aug_2017.pdf |access-date=27 March 2021 |website=[[London and Partners]] |pages=6–7}}</ref> The city accounts for 54% of all inbound visitor spending in the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 April 2015 |title=VisitBritain |url=https://www.visitbritain.org/visitor-economy-facts |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806112308/https://www.visitbritain.org/visitor-economy-facts |archive-date=6 August 2015 |access-date=25 March 2021}}</ref>

In 2015, the top ten most-visited attractions in the UK were all in London (shown with visits per venue):<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35730578 |title=British Museum tops UK visitor attractions list |date=7 March 2016 |access-date=19 January 2017 |work=BBC News}}</ref>
#[[British Museum]]: 6,820,686
#[[National Gallery]]: 5,908,254
#[[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]] (South Kensington): 5,284,023
#[[Southbank Centre]]: 5,102,883
#[[Tate Modern]]: 4,712,581
#[[Victoria and Albert Museum]] (South Kensington): 3,432,325
#[[Science Museum, London|Science Museum]]: 3,356,212
#[[Somerset House]]: 3,235,104
#[[Tower of London]]: 2,785,249
#[[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]]: 2,145,486

The number of hotel rooms in London in 2023 stood at 155,700 and is expected to grow to 183,600 rooms, the most of any city outside China.<ref>{{cite news |title=London Poised to Take Hotel Crown From Las Vegas |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-26/what-city-has-the-most-hotel-rooms-london-to-pass-las-vegas-tokyo?embedded-checkout=true |access-date=7 April 2024 |work=Bloomberg}}</ref> Luxury hotels in London include [[Savoy Hotel|the Savoy]] (opened in 1889), [[Claridge's]] (opened in 1812 and rebuilt in 1898), [[The Ritz Hotel, London|the Ritz]] (opened in 1906) and [[the Dorchester]] (opened in 1931), while budget hotel chains include [[Premier Inn]] and [[Travelodge]].<ref>{{cite news |title=London's Most Historic Hotels |url=https://londonist.com/london/history/historic-hotels |access-date=7 April 2024 |work=Londonist}}</ref>