Culture of London

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London has, alongside New York, been described as the cultural capital of the world.^[1][2][3] The culture of London concerns the music, museums, festivals, and lifestyle within London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. London is one of the world's leading business centres, renowned for its technological readiness and economic clout, as well as attracting the most foreign investment of any global city.^[4]

The city is particularly renowned for its theatre quarter, and its West End theatre district has given the name to "West End theatre", the strand of mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in London. London is also home to notable cultural attractions such as the British Museum, the Tate Galleries, the National Gallery, the Notting Hill Carnival, and The O2.

Its main religion is Christianity with 40.66% of the population being Christians.

Through music, comedy, and theatre, London has a lively nightlife with approximately 25.6 events per thousand people, 44.1% of those events being theatre based.^[5]

A variety of landmarks and objects are

The city is home to many nationalities, and the diversity of cultures has shaped the city's culture over time.

Music

Classical and opera

There are three major concert halls in the capital. One of these is the Barbican Hall at

There are also several chamber orchestras, some of which specialise in period instrument performances, including the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Chamber music venues include the Purcell Room at the South Bank Centre; the Wigmore Hall and St John's, Smith Square.

A number of choirs have originated in London, varying in size and musical style. Among the city's large symphonic concert choirs are the London Philharmonic Choir and London Symphony Chorus, which have their origins as the choral sections of the LPO and the LSO,^[7][8] the London Chorus, London Voices and the Bach Choir. Smaller vocal groups in London include the Holst Singers^[9] and the choir of the English Concert.^[10] There is also a long tradition of choral singing in Christian churches and cathedrals, and among the choirs associated with London churches are the choirs of St Paul's Cathedral,^[11] Westminster Abbey^[12] and Westminster Cathedral,^[13] which sing daily services.

The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden is home to the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet companies. The other main opera company is the English National Opera at the London Coliseum. In the summer opera is performed in a temporary pavilion by Opera Holland Park, and there are occasional performances by visiting opera companies and small freelance professional opera companies.

Popular music

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London is famous for its rock scene, and was the starting point of some of the greatest 60s and 70s artists such as David Bowie, Iron Maiden, The Clash, Led Zeppelin, Renaissance, Fleetwood Mac, the Sex Pistols, The Who, Pink Floyd, Queen and popular 90s acts like Blur and Coldplay. Most major bands' tours will pass through London as well, favourite venues being the Brixton Academy, the O2 Arena, and the Hammersmith Apollo.

In addition to spawning the bands mentioned above, London, in its capacity as the UK's cultural centre, has served as the base of a number of internationally important acts, including The Beatles and Elton John, as well as being instrumental in the birth of dance music.

London is also known for spawning numerous massively successful pop acts; with the Spice Girls, Cliff Richard, The Rolling Stones, One Direction and Little Mix being especially noteworthy.

London also has a thriving urban scene, mainly throughout the 21st century. Soul singers like

London is the home of one of the biggest underground scenes in the world. Genres include UK garage, drum and bass, dubstep, 2-step garage and grime.

Festivals

London hosts several festivals, fairs and carnivals throughout the year with over 40 free festivals each year. The most famous is the Notting Hill Carnival, the world's second largest carnival. The carnival takes place over the August bank holiday weekend, and attracts almost 1 million people. It has a distinctly Afro-Caribbean flavour, and highlights include a competition between London's steelpan bands and a 3-mile street parade with dancing and music.

London also hosts the Carnaval Del Pueblo, Europe's greatest Latin American Festival, held on the first Sunday of August each year. Seven countries participate in this street procession, which ends in Burgess Park. Live music, dance, and Funfairs go up to 9:30 pm.

There are also large parades held on

Theatre and dance

There are over three dozen major theatres, most concentrated in the

The capital also boasts a successful dance and physical theatre scene, home to two ballet companies;

London has been used frequently both as a

Because of the dominant role played by the city in the British media, many British films are set in London. It has also been used many times in American films, and often recreated on a Hollywood studio backlot.^{[citation needed]}

Museums and art galleries

London is home to over 240 museums,^[14] galleries, and other institutions, many of which are free of admission charges and are major tourist attractions as well as playing a research role. The first of these to be established was the British Museum in Bloomsbury, in 1753. Originally containing antiquities, natural history specimens and the national library, the museum now has 7 million artefacts from around the globe. Also of eighteenth-century foundation is the Royal Academy of Arts; its summer exhibition has been an annual fixture on the London social calendar since 1769.

In 1824 the National Gallery, London was founded to house the British National collection of Western Art to 1900, and now occupies a prominent position in Trafalgar Square.

Other major collections of pre-1900 art are The

In addition to Tate Modern major contemporary art venues include White Cube, the Saatchi Gallery, and The ICA.

In the latter half of the nineteenth century the locale of South Kensington was developed as "Albertopolis", a cultural and scientific quarter. Three major national museums are located there: the Victoria and Albert Museum (for the applied and Decorative arts), the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. The national gallery of British art is at Tate Britain, originally established as an annexe of the National Gallery in 1897. The Tate Gallery, as it was formerly known, also became a major centre for modern art; in 2000 this collection moved to Tate Modern, a new gallery housed in the former Bankside Power Station. London's museums of military and maritime history also opened in the twentieth century: the Imperial War Museum in 1917, and the National Maritime Museum in 1934.

London has several smaller museums of note. The

The

Apart from the pubs and clubs, there are many music venues. Among the best known are

Comedy is widely popular with the capital having around 100 venues showing alternative comedy.^{[citation needed]} London is also home to The Comedy Store one of the longest running comedy venues in the world.

Sport

London is the home of many professional sport teams and has hosted various international sporting events, including the

Cultural influence

Because of its history and fame, London has frequently been depicted in various forms of media. As such, cultural tourism is growing as London became the second most visited city in the world in 2017,^[26] and many travellers come to the capital to enjoy the British way of living. Culture tourism generates £3.2 billion per year for London's economy and supports around 80,000 jobs.^[27] This is why London has recently^[when?] been promoted as a cultural centre to attract a greater amount of tourists, and compete with cities such as Tokyo, Paris and New York.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Architecture of London

References