Sports in London
London is not only famous for its world-class historic, cultural and architectural attractions but it is also the city where sport has an important place. The British capital is the only city in the world to be chosen as a host of the Summer Olympic Games three times. It hosted the Olympics in 1908 and 1948, and will host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. So if you are planning a visit to London in 2012, it may be worth to visit the city during the Olympic Games that will be held from 27 July to 12 August.
Sports fans should not miss the Wembley Stadium which is the home of the FA Cup Final and England’s home internationals. The current stadium was built in 2007, while the original one that was the site of the 1948 Olympics was demolished. Nevertheless, the new Wembley Stadium with the capacity for 90,000 spectators is most certainly worth visiting. It is located in the Wembley Park in the North-West London.
Football is the number one sport in London. Although the London football clubs were overshadowed by clubs from north west England such as Manchester United and Liverpool for quite some time, two London clubs have ended the tradition and established themselves as two of the top four clubs of the Premier League – Arsenal and Chelsea. They ended as first and second in the season of 2004-05, respectively, and repeated the success in the 2004-05 season (this time with Chelsea on the first place and Arsenal on the second). In 2009-10 season, three of Premier’s League top four were London clubs – the Tottenham Hotspur next to Arsenal and Chelsea, and thus the UEFA Championships League saw three London clubs in the 2010-11 season. Arsenal fans can visit their stadium (the Emirates Stadium) in Holloway, while Stamford Bridge in Fulham is home to Chelsea. The Tottenham Hotspur play at White Hart Lane in Tottenham.
Rugby is very popular sport in London as well, while four London clubs play in the Aviva Premiership – the Wasps, Saracens, London Irish and Harlequins. The first three clubs play outside the Greater London (but within the metropolitan area), while the Harlequins play at Twickenham Stoop. This ground should not be confused with the Twickenham Stadium which is the second largest stadium after the Wembley Stadium. The Twickenham Stadium is home to the Rugby Football Union and is the site of the Six Nations Championship. In 1991, it hosted the Rugby World Cup.
The last but most certainly not the least important is The Championship, Wimbledon commonly simply referred to as Wimbledon. One of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments is the oldest and by many considered the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. The tournament is held at the All England Club in the suburb of Wimbledon since 1877 and is the only Grand Slam that is still played on grass surface. If you would like to join London sightseeing by visiting Wimbledon, plan your trip to London between the Monday that falls between 20 and 26 June, and the following 13 days.