I LOVE LONDON BECAUSE...

 

As polled by Time Out Magazine here are Ten Reasons why London’s officially the best:

 

London gets less rain than anywhere else in the UK: around 700mm a year compared to the national high of 1,200mm a year, endured by the poor sods who live in Cardiff (source: Met Office).

 

London is good for your health. Men in London live to an average of 75.1 years, compared to 74.9 UK wide, while London women live to 80.4, compared to a UK average of 79.9 (source: Office of National Statistics). 

 

Londoners earn more. An average of £529.80 a week, compared to the £410.60 a week national average (source: Office of National Statistics). 

 

Londoners spend more on fun than anyone else in the UK. We spend almost 25 percent more on holidays (£22.26 a week per household, compared to national average of £17.90) and more on food (£65.90 a week, compared to the national average of £58.50). We drink the most wine (spending £4.50 a week) and shell out more on clothes and shoes (£24.50 a week, compared to the national average of £21.00) (source: Office of National Statistics). 

 

London is the heart of the UK music scene. There are 700 live events every single week. (source: London Arts). 

 

London has better opportunities. London is consistenlty ranked in the top five ‘cities for business’ in Europe (London Employer Survey 2000), and more than a quarter of the world’s top companies have their HQ’s here (Healy and Baker European Cities Monitor). London produces a fifth of the GDP of the UK (Office of National Statistics) and accounts for 15 percent of the UK’s total employment (DTI), particularly in the creative and financial sectors. 

 

Londoners are lucky, especially when it comes to the National Lottery. The London pay-out office has awarded £757 million to Londeoners since 1994. In total, the 11 pay-out offices have handed out £5.1 billion, which averages out at £469m each. (source: Camelot Group Pic). 

 

London is one of the most attractive European cities. With 28 million tourists a year, London is second only to Paris in terms of visitor popularity. In terms of outstanding architecture, there are 3,849 listed buildings in Westminister alone and 18,165 in Greater London. (source: London Tourist Board and English Heritage). 

 

Londoners enjoy top recreational facilities. In a recent Quality of Life Survey of world cities, our restaurants, theatres and cinemas were deemed to be among the best in the world, beating Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome and many more. (source: Quality of Life Survey, William M Mercer). 

 

London is one of the greenest cities in the world. The eight Royal Parks alone add up to 5,000 acres. Londoners enjoy 30 square metres of open space per captia, compared with 19 square metres in Paris, 12 in New York, 11 in Tokyo, and 0.5 Bangkok. (source: Royal Parks Agency). 

 

As this blog is all about theatre in London, take a look at no.9 - our theatres are deemed to be among the best in the world.  Only Broadway can match the West End for quality of theatre in the english speaking world.  One of the top attractions for a visiting tourist is to see a West End show but for Londoners and the UK visitor a trip to the theatre should also be a must with a wide range of plays, musicals, comedies, classic shakespeare all on offer within a short radius of space in the West End known as Theatreland.  For the discerning theatre goer it doesn't have to mean breaking the bank either - there are special offers available, preview nights means discounts or go on the day and get last minute reduced priced tickets.  So think about why you love London and get going.  I love London because...