Not that we’re competitive or anything… But we’ve found out 10 things that London is the best at in the world (kind of). Learn the statistics by heart and next time anyone tries to tell you that it’s an overpriced, over-polluted, soulless cavern then just hurl a few of these in their face. You can’t argue with the facts. So yeah, basically, we win.
1. Best at green spaces
You may call it the old smoke but did you know that London has more green spaces than any other city of its size? There’s nearly 173sqkm of parks, which is approximately 47% of the city. Concrete jungle? I think you’re confusing us with New York, mate.
2. Best at getting you to a hospital
We hope you’re not going to need one but it is pretty reassuring to know that London has got the largest emergency ambulance service in the world. 5000 staff workers and 70 stations mean that if you do happen to get yourself into a sticky situation, you’ll be attended to pretty quickly.
3. Best at the Olympics
4. Best at surveillance
This one seems a bit Big Brother Is Watching You – but we’ll take it anyway. We have the highest number of CCTV cameras of any city in the world. That’s 7000 cameras watching your every movement. And just to put that in perspective – Paris has 326. Freaky.
5. Best at having the most millionaires and billionaires
6. Best at living the longest
Okay this one just doesn’t make any sense at all. But apparently, regardless of the pollution, the lack of holidays and the general hustle and bustle, living in London scientifically lengthens your life span. Well, compared to the rest of the country. Not the world.
7. Best at shopping centres
Again, not sure how proud of this we should be. But we can console ourselves by recognising that this is just in comparison to Europe – we ain’t got nothing on the big dogs over the pond. With 300 shops and restaurants, Westfield Stratford is the biggest shopping centre in Europe. In other words, if you value your life, don’t go there on the weekend.
8. Best at public transport
We know, we know, everyone loves to moan about it. But did you know that the Tube is the world’s oldest underground railway? It opened in January 1863 with a four mile track between Paddington and Farringdon. It’s kind of grown a bit since then.
9. Best at having a lot of culture
We’re not just talking quality here, we are talking QUANTITY. We have the highest museum attendance of any major city in the world. Can’t argue with that fact.
10. Best destination
Yep, straight up. According to Forbes, London is the most visited city in the world and continues to be on the rise, with a near growth of 8%. Why? Probably because we’re the best.