(Wembley Stadium, the most expensive stadium in the world, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wembley_Stadium_closeup.jpg)
In the twentieth century, London has hosted numerous occasions of global sports events, such as the Summer Olympics three times, in 1908, 1948 and 2012, making it the first city to host the Olympics three times. In 1934, the Commonwealth Games were also held in the British capital.
The most popular sport in London is football (both by the number of players and the number of spectators). The city has fourteen football clubs in Football League, six evolving in the Premier League (for the 2015/2016 season: Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Watford, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United), other clubs playing in the three lower divisions (the Wimbledon AFC Brentford, Charlton Athletic, Dagenham & Redbridge, Fulham, Leyton Orient, Millwall and Queens Park Rangers). There are also many non-leagues or amateur clubs. London has four rugby clubs playing in the Premiership (London Irish, Saracens, London Wasps and Harlequins), although only the Harlequins play in London really (the other clubs play outside Greater London). The club Harlequins Rugby League plays in Super League. The other London rugby clubs are FC Richmond, Blackheath RC, Rosslyn Park and Barnes R.F.C. London also hosts the annual rugby tournament in seven counting for the World Rugby Sevens Series, the London rugby sevens.
(Twickenham Stadium, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Twickenham_Stadium.jpg)
Twickenham, west of London, is the national rugby stadium and can accommodate 82,000 spectators. The new Wembley Stadium can now accommodate up to 90,000 spectators for the England football team as well as the finals of the FA Cup, the League Cup of football and rugby. Other major football stadiums are Craven Cottage for Fulham, Emirates Stadium for Arsenal, Stamford Bridge for Chelsea, White Hart Lane for Tottenham Hotspur and Upton Park for West Ham.
Cricket is played mainly in London on two test cricket grounds, Lord’s Cricket Ground (home of Middlesex CC) in St. John’s Wood and the Oval (home of Surrey CC) to Kennington. Baseball is becoming increasingly popular with London having several strong leagues and teams including Croydon Pirates and London Mets. Other annual sport events in London include Wimbledon tournament held in All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon, the London Marathon which hosts 35,000 participants and the Boat Race which, for 153 years, is running on the Thames between Putney and Mortlake, rowing clubs, the University of Cambridge and Oxford.
| Club | Sport | Founded in | League | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Football | ||||
| Arsenal FC | Football | 1886 | Premier League | Emirates Stadium |
| Chelsea FC | Football | 1905 | Premier League | Stamford Bridge |
| Crystal Palace FC | Football | 1905 | Premier League | Selhurst Park |
| Tottenham Hotspur FC | Football | 1882 | Premier League | White Hart Lane |
| West Ham United FC | Football | 1895 | Premier League | Boleyn Ground |
| Queens Park Rangers FC | Football | 1882 | Championship | Loftus Road |
| Fulham FC | Football | 1879 | Championship | Craven Cottage |
| Brentford FC | Football | 1889 | Championship | Griffin Park |
| Charlton Athletic FC | Football | 1905 | Championship | The Valley |
| Millwall FC | Football | 1885 | League One | The Den |
| Barnet FC | Football | 1888 | League Two | Underhill Stadium |
| Leyton Orient FC | Football | 1881 | League Two | Brisbane Road |
| Dagenham & Redbridge FC | Football | 1992 | League Two | Victoria Road |
| AFC Wimbledon | Football | 2002 | League Two | The Cherry Red Records Stadium |
| Rugby | ||||
| Harlequins | Rugby | 1866 | Aviva Premiership | The Stoop |
| Saracens | Rugby | 1876 | Aviva Premiership | Allianz Park |
| London Irish | Rugby | 1898 | Aviva Premiership | Madejski Stadium |
| Ealing Trailfinders | Rugby | 1871 | RFU Championship | Trailfinders Sports Ground |
| London Scottish Football Club | Rugby | 1878 | RFU Championship | Athletic Ground |
| London Welsh RFC | Rugby | 1885 | RFU Championship | Old Deer Park |
| Basketball | ||||
| London Lions | Basketball | 1977 | RFU Championship | Copper Box |
2012 Olympics
(Olympic Park of the 2012 Olympics, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olympic_Park,_London,_16_April_2012.jpg)
London has hosted the Summer Olympics in 2012. The Lower Lea Valley was chosen as the park and the Olympic Village. The facilities were connected by a high-speed shuttle, nicknamed The Olympic Javelin. Transport was created to be able to move 240,000 people per hour. After the close games, the area was transformed into a large urban park, into offices and homes.
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