London

London is consistently ranked among the top four global cities, along with New York, Tokyo, and Paris. Global cities are considered to be the building blocks of globalization because they serve as key nodes in the global network of production, finance, and telecommunications; this function makes London and other global cities significant topics for global studies. Although such global cities are said to be more connected with other cities than with their own national economies, they clearly also contribute to their national economies and international profiles.

Already in the 16th century with the expansion of mercantilism, London emerged as a major international city, serving as a hub of trade and as the principal North Sea port. By the late 1600s, it had overtaken Amsterdam as the world's leading financial center, and at the beginning of the 20th century, it was the capital of the world's largest empire. Although the financial industry was in relative decline by the 1960s, London's status as a financial center took off again, in part due to U.S. government regulations and tax measures that led investors to hold dollars offshore, which led international banks, especially European banks, to seek London's more appealing regulatory structure. By the latter part of the 2000s, the city's financial service industry was trading more than 40% of the world's foreign equities and overseeing more than 30% of the world's currency exchanges. More than 100 of the Global Fortune 500 companies have their headquarters, and three quarters of them have offices, in London, taking advantage of the business services that have developed. This high concentration of financial and service industries, serving primarily international or global demands and only secondarily domestic demands, is one of the features that make London a global city.

Another feature that contributes to London's high rankings among global cities is human capital. Although it was the world's largest city until the 1920s, London is no longer the most populous city by any definition, usually falling between 18th and 29th place. Rather, it is the population's diversity, education levels, and education potential that make the difference. Few cities are as diverse as London: A third of its population was born outside the United Kingdom, and some 300 languages are spoken, although English—today's main language for commerce—naturally predominates. More than 40 higher education institutes, among them many that are consistently found at the top of the various rankings of universities worldwide, and more international students than in any other city in the world ensure an educated, talented workforce.

London's vast array of cultural offerings earned it top scores in the cultural experience dimension of the 2010 Global Cities Index, published by the A. T. Kearney consulting group. London has more museums than Paris, more theaters than New York, and more bars, public libraries, and music venues than either. It is estimated that one in every eight Londoners works either in a creative job or in a creative industry—more than any field except finance. London is also home to four World Heritage Sites and was chosen as host for the 2012 Olympics, beating out Paris, New York, Madrid, and Moscow in the bidding. Reflecting its status and impact as a global city, London attracts many international visitors; despite the slowdown in business travel resulting from the financial crisis, more than 15 million foreign travelers still chose to visit London in 2008.

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