London has hosted the Summer Olympics twice, in 1908 and 1948. In July 2005 London was chosen to host the Games in 2012, making it the first city in the world to host the Summer Olympics three times [19]. London was also the host of the British Empire Games in 1934.

The most popular spectator sport in London is football, and London has several of England’s leading football clubs. Tottenham Hotspur were the first team to win the League and Cup “double” in 1961, and along with North-London rivals Arsenal were the traditional dominant forces of the south of England. However, the last decade has seen Arsenal and Chelsea being regarded as two of the Premier League’s “big four” alongside Liverpool and Manchester United, and regularly play in the UEFA Champions League. The other London clubs in the top flight are Charlton Athletic, Fulham and West Ham United. The current season has seen Chelsea take up a dominant position in the country, while Arsenal falling below Spurs has seen them be replaced by Liverpool in the Premiership’s “big three”.

Wembley Stadium (which is currently being rebuilt) has traditionally been the home of the England football team, and serves as the venue for the FA Cup final, as well as rugby league’s Challenge Cup final. Twickenham Stadium in west London is the national rugby union stadium, and three Guinness Premiership sides (London Irish, Saracens and Wasps) all originate from London, although they are now all based just outside the Greater London area.

Two Test cricket grounds are located in London: Lord’s, home of Middlesex, in St John’s Wood, and The Oval, home of Surrey, in Kennington. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, home of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships is in Wimbledon in the south. London also hosts the annual London Marathon, one of the largest mass-participation marathons in the world [20], and the Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race

Olympic Games

London has hosted the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1948. In July 2005 London was chosen to host the Games in 2012, making it the first city in the world to host the Summer Olympics three times.

The 2012 games will see massive development in the east-end of London, particularly Stratford, which will be home to the Olympic Village, Olympic Stadium and many major venues. Other events are spread out across the city, from Wembley Stadium in the north-west to Wimbledon in the south.

Commonwealth Games

London hosted the second British Empire Games at White City in 1934.

Football

The most popular spectator sport in London is football, and London has several of England’s leading football clubs. Historically the London clubs have not accumulated as many trophies as those from the North West of England, such as Liverpool and Manchester United, but at present Arsenal (founded at Woolwich Arsenal but moved to Highbury in 1913), and Chelsea (who play in Fulham) are regarded as two of the Premier League’s “big three” alongside Manchester United. In 2003-04 they became the first pair of London clubs to finish first and second in the top flight, with Arsenal winning. In 2004-05 they did so again, this time with Chelsea winning.

London clubs are able to charge higher ticket prices than clubs in other parts of the country (particularly for corporate facilities), and this has swung English football’s balance of power towards London. Before Chelsea’s recent rise in fortunes the two highest profile London clubs were Arsenal and their long-standing North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, both of whom were considered to be members of English football’s “Big five” for most of the post-war period. In 2005-06 there are six London clubs in the Premier League: Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea, plus Charlton Athletic, Fulham and West Ham United.

There are also six London clubs in the fully professional Football League (the three divisions below the Premiership), namely Barnet, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Leyton Orient, Millwall (who play in Bermondsey) and Queens Park Rangers (QPR). Barnet are the only one of these clubs not to have previously played in the top division. In a controversial move, Wimbledon left London in 2003 to play in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, changing their name to Milton Keynes Dons; the newly formed AFC Wimbledon inherited most of their support, despite playing at a much lower level in the football pyramid. There are also numerous London clubs playing outside the top four divisions of English football, one or two of which are fully professional and many of which are part-time professional. Hackney Marshes in east London, home to many amateur sides, is reportedly the single largest collection of football pitches in the world.

Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium, in north-west London, is the national football stadium, and is traditionally the home of the FA Cup Final as well as England’s home internationals. The old stadium was closed in 2000 in order to be demolished and completely rebuilt, and is due to re-open in 2006. Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium has been the venue for recent FA Cup finals, while England play at various venues around the country. Wembley was one of the venues for the 1966 World Cup and the 1996 European Football Championship, and hosted the final of both tournaments. It also was the venue for the European Cup final in 1968, 1978 and 1992. As well as football matches, Wembley has hosted many other sporting events, including the Rugby League Challenge Cup final.

Other stadia

Arsenal currently play at the Arsenal Stadium, Highbury. They will move to the Emirates Stadium at the start of the 2006-07 season.
Barnet F.C., promoted to Football League Two for the 2005-06 season, play at the Underhill Stadium, situated in Barnet in the London Borough of Barnet. The stadium is also used for Arsenal reserve games.
Brentford play at Griffin Park, Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow.
Charlton Athletic play at The Valley, Charlton.
Chelsea play at Stamford Bridge, Fulham.
Crystal Palace play at Selhurst Park in South Norwood.
Fulham F.C. play at Craven Cottage, Fulham.
Leyton Orient play at Brisbane Road, Leyton.
Millwall F.C. play at the New Den Stadium in Bermondsey. The club, originally founded in Millwall in 1885, moved from The Den in 1993.
Queens Park Rangers play at Loftus Road. The stadium was also used by Fulham F.C. between 2002 and 2004.
Tottenham Hotspur play at White Hart Lane, Tottenham.
West Ham United play at the Boleyn Ground, Upton Park.
AFC Wimbledon play at The Fans’ Stadium, Kingsmeadow, Kingston upon Thames. Before moving to Milton Keynes, Wimbledon F.C. played at Plough Lane.

Rugby Union

Rugby Union is also well established in London, especially in the middle-class suburbs to the north and west of the city. The English national Rugby Union stadium is in Twickenham. Three of the twelve clubs in the Guinness Premiership have London origins. London Irish, Saracens and Wasps share football grounds just outside the boundaries of Greater London, but in the metropolitan area. Harlequins, relegated to National Division One after the 2004/05 season, still play in Greater London.

Rugby League

Rugby League has a strong presence in London. It admitted its first top flight professional London club in 1980 in the guise of Fulham, playing at Craven Cottage, the home of Fulham F.C. The club changed its name to London Crusaders and then London Broncos, yet whilst being a member of the elite Super League competition, it ran into financial difficulties and in 2005 it merged with Harlequins to create Harlequins Rugby League.

Another London club in the upper echelons of the game is London Skolars (based in Haringey) who play National League Two, whilst Greenwich Admirals (Woolwich), Kingston Warriors (Esher) and South London Storm (Croydon) all play in the Rugby League Conference.

Cricket

London has two Test cricket grounds: Lord’s, and The Oval. Lord’s, located in the leafy suburb of St John’s Wood, is home of Middlesex CCC and The MCC. The Oval, home of Surrey CCC, hosted the first FA Cup final and continued to do so (bar 1873) up until 1892. It also hosted the England’s the first home international football match. The Oval also holds an exhibition match for Australian Rules Football.

Tennis

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, home of the Wimbledon Championships, is in Wimbledon in south London. London is also home to Queen’s Club, a prestigious sports club that hosts the annual Queen’s Club Championships.

Other sports

The Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in South London hosts an athletics track and is often use for national meetings. Other athletics venues include Mile End Stadium in east London and Perivale Park in the west.

London also has an ice hockey team, London Racers (who play at the Lee Valley Ice Centre), and a basketball team, London Towers (who play at Crystal Palace). Both are in the top fight of their respective sports, although there are other teams in London that are in the lower tiers of both sports. Neither of these sports draws nearly the large number of spectators that football does.

Between 1991 and 1998, the London Monarchs competed in American football’s NFL Europe, winning the inaugural World Bowl. Today, the London O’s are the reigning champions of the British American Football League.

Every April since 1981, London has hosted one of the world’s largest mass-participation marathons, the London Marathon. The River Thames is the venue for the Boat Race, held between Oxford and Cambridge universities every year from Putney to Mortlake.