Talk:London

Megacity

Does it deserve the megacity yet? The urban has over 10 million despite the London's proper 9.8 million?

Capital City and megacity on top of the infobox ~2026-28467-08 (talk) 11:32, 6 July 2026 (UTC)

Reason: Mexico City is called a megacity even Mexico City's proper has less than London's. ~2026-28467-08 (talk) 11:37, 6 July 2026 (UTC)

So put Capital city and megacity' on top of infobox. ~2026-28467-08 (talk) 11:38, 6 July 2026 (UTC)

Capital of England

The sentence London is the capital ... of England by convention needs a source. The next inline source does not establish this, but it is a statement that needs to be sourced, as it has been reverted in the England article. It does seem to have been England's capital in the past, but is it now? Tony Holkham (Talk) 00:11, 19 July 2026 (UTC)

I am surprised that it needs a source as surely it is obvious. But Encyclopaedia Britannica will do:

'England is a highly urbanized country with several major cities. London stands out as the capital, the nation’s financial center, and a cultural hub.'

https://www.britannica.com/place/England Dgp4004 (talk) 08:19, 19 July 2026 (UTC)

Interestingly, there is no consensus regarding the reliability of Encyclopaedia Britannica, but it is a start. Tony Holkham (Talk) 08:40, 19 July 2026 (UTC)

...I am aware that this has been discussed at length before, but my principal interest is the feeling that the London and England articles should agree, if that is possible. Tony Holkham (Talk) 00:26, 19 July 2026 (UTC)

I'm also surprised at the ongoing doubt about this. When did it ever stop being the capital of England? And why do we need a source to state what is obvious? Roger 8 Roger (talk) 09:15, 19 July 2026 (UTC)

And I'm surprised you should ask the questions. I don't personally have any doubts about what is the capital of where, but this is Wikipedia, and if we say something is too obvious to need a source, where does that end up? ;o) Tony Holkham (Talk) 09:29, 19 July 2026 (UTC)

I imagine it can only come from doubts about England's status. Some might argue that the capital of the Kingdom of England was London, but since England no longer has its own government, how can it have a capital. Others are obsessed by legislation; if it isn't written down in law then it isn't true.

I'm unpersuaded though. There is a consensus on Wikipedia that England is a country and your man on the Clapham omnibus would certainly say that England's capital is London. Dgp4004 (talk) 09:31, 19 July 2026 (UTC)

A capital does not need legislation or be the site of govt to be a capital. Why was there never any doubt about Edinburgh being the capital of Scotland? The Dutch have made it clear in writing that Amsterdam is the capital, presumably to stop similar ongoing doubt, although in the Dutch case The Hague would have a slightly stronger case than any place in England would have outside London. I agree, the doubt probably comes from (over thought) reasoning about England's status, but see my mention Scotland's status. I do think a source is only needed if there is any possible doubt about the city's status as capital (eg Amsterdam-The Hague). Even if England is not a country, its area is within the UK, whose capital is London, so we end up back where we started. (BTW, I know you know London is England's capital!) Roger 8 Roger (talk) 09:58, 19 July 2026 (UTC)

Capital of Wales?

Following the above section about England, there is very little discussion about the Welsh capital. Unless I am overlooking something, Cardiff is just assumed to be the capital, and I think a strong case could be made for calling London the actual capital of Wales. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 09:15, 19 July 2026 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 23 July 2026

"During the Troubles in Northern Ireland, London was hit from 1973 by bomb attacks by the Provisional Irish Republican Army." Change "was hit from 1973 by bomb attacks" to "was hit by bomb attacks in 1973". Raillair (talk) 13:59, 23 July 2026 (UTC)

Partly done: The previous wording was using "from" in the sense of "starting in" (the following sentence makes it clear that the bombings continued after 1973), but I agree that the wording was still confusing, so I tweaked it to make it hopefully a bit clearer. DrOrinScrivello (talk) 16:59, 23 July 2026 (UTC)

Thanks. Raillair (talk) 02:11, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

The search for a more updated lead image

Hello, while the current lead image is very nice and high quality, it is now a decade old. I have searched for a bit to look for a replacement image that is of a similar quality, depicts many of London's recognisable landmarks and is more current, but I have not found one. If someone does find one, may they please replace the current lead image?

In my opinion such a lead image should feature many of the following landmarks:

The River Thames, The London Eye, Tower Bridge, The Shard, Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament, The Gherkin, St. Paul's Cathedral or the Tower of London

Likewise if someone has a high quality camera and is able to take such a photo, please do so. Gauzecard (talk) 09:31, 13 August 2026 (UTC)