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The following is a timeline of the history of London in the 21st century, the capital of England and the United Kingdom.
Timeline
London's timeline in the 21st century.
The skyline of the City of London, Thames, and Tower of London in June 2022. Taken from City HallA view of London from the Arcelor Mittal Orbit, which was completed in 2012, in August 2022. Some of London's iconic buildings, including The Shard and St Paul's Cathedral, can be seen in the distance.The Shard, which was completed in 2012, taken from London Bridge station in August 2022. The train in the foreground, a BR Class 465 bound for London Charing Cross, is just arriving at the station.A view of the O2 Arena, Canary Wharf, and the Thames at twilight in November 2020. Taken from the IFS Cloud Cable Car, which at the time was sponsored by Emirates Airline.The former City Hall for the Greater London Authority between July 2002 and December 2021, with Tower Bridge in the background. Taken in April 2023.A couple of early morning BA flights at London City Airport at sunrise. Taken in April 2023.
25 February: 8-year-old Victoria Climbié is murdered after she was tortured and neglected by her guardians, her aunt Marie Therese Kouao and Kouao's partner Carl Manning; Brent and Haringey social services departments will be severely criticised for their shortcomings in the case.
20 July: Rioting breaks out in Brixton following the fatal shooting of Derek Bennett, a 29-year-old black man, by armed police in the area. 27 people are arrested, and 3 police officers are injured.
7 November: Millennium Dome raid: The theft of £350 million worth of diamonds from the Millennium Dome is foiled by police.
27 November: Damilola Taylor, a 10-year-old schoolboy originally from Nigeria, is stabbed to death on his way home from school in Peckham. In 2006, at a third trial, two brothers, aged 12 and 13 at the time of the killing, are convicted of manslaughter in the case.
2 September: 8 Canada Square begins to be used by HSBC staff.
BedZED (Beddington Zero Energy Development), the country's first large-scale zero energy housing development, of 99 homes in Beddington, designed by Bill Dunster, is completed.
May: Transport for London sets up a Directorate of Traffic Operations to run road traffic management (including London Streets Traffic Control Centre), with some functions being transferred from the Metropolitan Police.
Redevelopment of Trafalgar Square is completed, the management of the central area becomes a responsibility of the Mayor of London, and the feeding of pigeons here is prohibited.
29 September: Children and staff are evacuated after a fire breaks out at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital following a gas cylinder explosion in the cardiac wing.
12 October: The Evening Standard becomes a free newspaper in central London.
9 November: Transport for London officially opens its new Surface Transport and Traffic Operations Centre (STTOC) at Palestra, Blackfriars Road to bringing together London Streets Traffic Control Centre (LSTCC), London Buses Command and Control Centre (CentreComm), and the Metropolitan Police Traffic Operation Control Centre (MetroComm).
27 March: United Kingdom Census 2011. 22.1% of the London population (1,730,000) have a tongue other than English as their first language, with Polish being the most widely spoken. Statistics also show that the city becomes the 2nd most densely populated city in the UK after Portsmouth in Hampshire.
The Georgian Orthodox Cathedral Church of the Nativity of Our Lord is established in the former Agapemonite Ark of the Covenant, which was later known as the Church of the Good Shepherd, in Upper Clapton.
November: Vivarail purchase 156 driving motor cars and 70 carriages of ex London Underground D78 Stock for conversion into the British Rail classes 230 and 484. (Some of these are taken over in February 2023 by Great Western Railway after Vivarail go into administration.)
March: The London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study, which was commissioned by the Department of Transport (DfT), is released and lays out potential plans for Thameslink 2. If approved, this would see improved connectivity for London's growing economic hub in the Docklands and for Gatwick Airport as well as the growing travel demand between London, Gatwick and the south coast being met. This has an estimated cost of around £10,000,000,000 and would be completed by 2043.
3 June: The 2017 London Bridge attack takes place, in which 3 terrorists cause fatal injuries to 8 people on London Bridge and in Borough Market in a vehicle-ramming attack and stabbings before being shot dead by police.
14 June: Grenfell Tower fire: A fire engulfs a 24-storey block of flats in North Kensington with 71 fatalities eventually officially confirmed.
19 June: The Finsbury Park attack takes place, a vehicle-ramming attack on Muslims leaving Tarawih prayer meetings in Finsbury Park with 1 fatality at the scene.
September: A small part of the London Post Office Railway reopens around the Mount Pleasant Sorting Office as part of the Post Office museum in Bloomsbury.
21 November: St Francis at the Engine Room in Tottenham Hale is the first new purpose-built Anglican parish church in London for 40 years opens, and it is intended as the first of 100 new churches in the diocese.
18 December: Sarah Mullally is appointed as first woman Bishop of London; she is enthroned 12 May 2018 in St Paul's Cathedral.
24 December: The District line celebrates 150 years of service since first opening as the District Railway.
2019
2 April: Plans for London's newest skyscraper, The Tulip, are approved, with work to start as early as 2020 and a scheduled completion date of 2025. These are rejected by Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London on 15 July.
10 August: A major power cut hits London and the South-East, with the principal railway termini and TfL network being greatly affected with many severe delays and cancellations.
12 February: The first case of COVID-19 in London is confirmed in a woman recently arrived from China. By 17 March, there are almost 500 confirmed cases and 23 deaths. On 23 March, London goes into a nationwide lockdown with the rest of the UK.
5 November: The city joins the rest of the UK in a nationwide lockdown that lasts until 2 December in an attempt to reduce the number of cases.
8 December: 81-year-old Lyn Wheeler is the first person to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at Guy's Hospital outside of trials as a national programme begins rollout.
15 December: By this date, there have been almost 211,000 confirmed cases and more than 7,400 deaths in London hospitals.
16 December: The Greater London area and some regions surrounding it move to the Tier 3 (very high) level of restriction under the "all tiers regulations". From 20 December, it moves up to new Tier 4.
2 January: Schools in London are to remain closed after a government U-turn in their decision to keep primary schools open.
4 January: Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces that London, along with the rest of the UK, will go into a third nationwide lockdown to control the new variants of COVID-19 from 6 January, which will last until at least the Spring.
8 January: The Mayor of London declares a 'major incident' as medical services in London face being overwhelmed.
January: NHS Nightingale Hospital London is returned to operation in ExCel London for recuperating patients. It is closed again by April after cases in London kept dropping.
22 February: Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces plans to bring the UK, including London, cautiously out of lockdown, with plans for restrictions to be fully lifted by 21 June.
23 March: London residents commemorate the first anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdown with a candlelight vigil to remember those who lost their lives during the pandemic along with the rest of the UK.
14 June: Plans to end COVID-19 restrictions are delayed by 4 weeks to 19 July due to a sharp rise of the Delta variant.
19 July: COVID-19 restrictions in England, including London, come to an end after Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirms this on 12 July.
1 January: Thousands complain to the BBC that the fireworks and light show on some of London's landmarks to bring in 2021 are too political.
3 February: Some of London's icons light up the colours of the Union flag to commemorate the death of 100-year-old war veteran Captain Sir Tom Moore, who died on 2 February and raised more than £32 million for the NHS in 2020.
3 March: 33-year-old Sarah Everard is kidnapped on Clapham Common, with her remains being found a week later near Ashford, Kent. 48-year-old Wayne Couzens, a Metropolitan Police officer, is charged with her murder and is found guilty on 9 July before being sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order at the Old Bailey on 29 September.
September and October: Insulate Britain protests: Insulate Britain protesters block various junctions of the M25 motorway (London orbital) multiple times as well as causing chaos across London and the rest of the UK.
11 September: 67 candles are lit in London on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City to remember the 67 British victims who died.
2 December: The Greater London Authority vacate City Hall and relocate to The Crystal in Newham.
8 December: Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces plan B of COVID-19 restrictions due to a sharp increase of the Omicron variant, and Mayor Sadiq Khan declares a 'major incident' in London on 18 December.
30 December: 2 boys die after being stabbed in separate incidents in London, which brings the total teenage homicides in the capital this year to 30 and surpasses the 2008 peak of 29.
Uber Boat by Thames Clippers start services towards Gravesend and Tilbury.
2022
1 January: After extensive restoration work, Big Ben bongs for the first time since 21 August 2017 alongside the other New Year events to bring in 2022.
9 January: The Marble Arch Mound closes after a string of controversy and disappointment, and is dismantled in the weeks following.
15 January: The Bank branch of the Northern line closes for major upgrade work, which then reopens on 16 May.
26 January: COVID-19 pandemic in London: Plan B measures for COVID-19 restrictions across the UK, including London, come to an end after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces this on 18 January following a decline in the Omicron variant.
10 February: Cressida Dick announces her resignation as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis just hours after denying her intention of doing so, officially stepping down on 10 April with her replacement to be announced in due course.
18 February: Part of The O2 Arena's roof is damaged as a result of strong winds during Storm Eunice, reaching up to 90mph (145kmh). 2 people are also injured by debris in Streatham and Waterloo.
24 February: Prime Minister Boris Johnson removes the last of the COVID-19 restrictions (compulsory isolation with a positive test) in London and the rest of the UK.
30 March: Large areas of London suffer from a power cut due to a sub-station catching fire.
7 April: The Jubilee line is the first Underground line to have a 4G mobile network between Westminster and Canning Town following a successful trial, with other lines to follow suit in the following years.
1 June-18 September: Over 20,000,000 seeds are sown in the moat of the Tower of London for the Superbloom exhibition as part of the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II. On 28 October, the Tower of London announces that the flowers will return in the summer of 2023 due to its success this year.
Summer: A heat wave affects London and the rest of the UK:
19 July: The UK's temperature reaches 40°C (104°F) at Heathrow Airport for the first time in the country's and city's history. Also for the first time its history, London is one of the hottest places on Earth, with major fires breaking out across outer London.
22 July: A cooling system trial for the deepest Tube lines, set up at the abandoned platform at Holborn tube station, begins in response to the extreme heat.
12 August: A drought is officially declared in the south of England, including London, during the second heatwave of this year, with a hosepipe ban being introduced on 24 August.
2 July: Over 1,000,000 people attend the LGBTPride march to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pride London, which closely follows the original 1972 route and is the largest turnout in the event's history.
12 July: An electrical fire breaks out under Regent Street; it is extinguished around an hour after the first calls come in.
7 August: Around 70 firefighters battle a huge fire that breaks out near Heathrow Airport after an ‘explosion’ was heard. Although some flights are diverted, there is no serious damage to any property.
8–12 August: The Swedish sailing ship Göteborg, the world's largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship, visits London as part of the history of the East India Companies and the adventures of the original ship exhibition.
11 August: Children between the ages of 1 and 9 are offered a polio vaccine after 116 samples of the vaccine-like poliovirus have been detected in the sewage water in 8 of London's boroughs between February and July of this year.
17 August: A fire near London Bridge station severely disrupts rail services in the area.
1 September: The Swedish technology firm IFS is announced as the new sponsor for the London Cable Car, which started the following month.
8 September: Buckingham Palace announces the death of Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle at the age of 96, with Charles, Prince of Wales succeeding her as monarch to become King Charles III at age 73. Various buildings across London, including the BT Tower, light up in black to commemorate her life, several memorials are set up around the city, and in the days following, tributes from world leaders pour in.
24 September: At dusk, over 150 boats decorated with white lights celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II on the river as part of the Totally Thames festival.
September to late 2023: Victoria station undergoes a £30,000,000 renovation to improve station capacity alongside resignalling work.
14 October: The shopping centre inside the renovated Battersea Power Station opens nearly 40 years after it was decommissioned, with a food hall expected to open in 2023.
24 October: Bond Street Elizabeth line station officially opens.
1 November: Plans are announced for the Wonder of Friendship exhibition to take place in London in May 2023 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney Pictures.
2 November: A fully electric version of the BorisRoutemaster bus is unveiled by Transport for London (TfL), with passengers expected to travel on it by December.
6 November: The Elizabeth line connects its central section to the rest of its network to provide a direct service from Reading and Heathrow Airport in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. A peak service of 24 trains per hour at Whitechapel will be introduced on 24 May 2023 to fully complete the project 14 years after its construction began.
9 November: Nurses in some of London's major hospitals vote to strike around Christmas, making it their first strike since 1916.
10 November: Greenwich Park announces plans to restore a set of giant grass steps dating back to the 17th century as part of a wider restoration project due to be completed in 2025.
16 November: Gravesend's town pier, the world's oldest surviving cast iron pier, is purchased by Uber Boat by Thames Clippers, with plans to establish a ferry service to London by 2025.
4 December: The Museum of London closes its doors for the last time before its move to its new location in Smithfield as The London Museum.
11/12 December: Heavy snowfall during the night causes chaos on London's transport system in the days following, with numerous cancellations on the railways, Tube and buses.
14 December: The pedestrianisation in The Strand is completed and opened for public use.
December: Floods across London due to the snow cause hundreds of people to evacuate, continuing into January 2023.
1 January: The New Year fireworks return to London after being cancelled for 2 years due to COVID-19.
10 January: Transport for London (TfL) announce a series of activities throughout 2023 to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the London Underground. Mayor Sadiq Khan also meets up with 4 employees of TfL who have a combined total of 160 years of service.
December 2022: The King Edwards Crown is removed from the Tower of London for resizing.
February: The Queen Mary's Crown is removed from the Tower of London for resizing and modification for Queen Camilla, making it the first time a queen is crowned using another consort's crown since 1727.
5 April: The official invitation for the coronation is sent to around 2,000 guests.
14 April: The official commemorative range for the coronation is released by Royal Collection Shop.
27 April: A map is released of the road closures for the precession on 6 May. Some TfL roundels have also been redesigned as the 'crowndel', which bears the likeness of the St Edward's Crown.
17 April–3 May: Thousands of military personnel come together on the streets of London at night to practice the ceremonial support for the coronation.
4 May: It is announced that the Type 45 destroyerHMS Diamond will be based on the Thames during the coronation to defend the King from attacks.
5 May: Ireland's president Michael D. Higgins meets King Charles III the night before the coronation, with many other world leaders attending a reception on the same night.
6 May: The coronation of King Charles III and Camilla takes place in Westminster Abbey. During the event, anti-Monarchy protests take place.
6–7 May: Tower Bridge, London Bridge, the Guildhall and Mansion House are illuminated in red, white and blue on these evenings.
17 May: Big Ben stops chiming for the second time in a month despite the recent renovations.
21 May: The Elizabeth line is officially completed, which now sees a total of 24 trains per hour passing through the central tunnels between Reading and Heathrow Airport in the west, and Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. There are also plans to increase this number to 32 trains an hour as well as extending the trains from the current 9 carriages to 11 carriages.
22 June: It is confirmed that a food hall will open in Battersea Power Station in July following the success of its first branch on Tottenham Court Road.
22 July: Plans are announced to phase out the London day travelcards, which currently sees Transport for London (TfL) lose £40,000,000 each year. After discussions between TfL, train operators and the Government on 24 October, it is announced that they will be retained with a fairer share going to TfL.
29 July: The High Court of Justice rules that Mayor Sadiq Khan's plan to expand the ULEZ zone to London's suburbs is lawful.
31 July: London’s Jewish Museum in Camden closes after almost 30 years.
2 August: A Jubilee line train accidentally enters the closed Charing Cross platforms with passengers due to a miscommunication.
8 August: Hyde Park is voted the best park in the UK.
9 August: London Underground drivers vote to continue striking for another 6 months alongside mainline railway drivers.
29 August: The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expands to cover the entirety of London. By doing this, the city becomes the world's largest pollution charging area.
8 September: Plans are announced to expand the 4G and 5G mobile network to more of the London Underground network, including the recently completed Elizabeth line.
12 September: Earth Clipper becomes the first of three battery-powered ferries to be operated by Uber Boat by Thames Clippers. With zero tailpipe emissions, it produces 90% lower CO2 emissions compared to the other Thames based high speed catamarans.
9 October: London is voted as the best city in the world for the eighth year running.
12 October: The Football Association (FA) are branded as "spineless" for refusing to light up Wembley Stadium's arch in the colours Israel's flag.
13 October: The Disney100 exhibition opens at ExCeL London and runs until 21 January 2024 (inclusive).
14 October: A Pro-Palestinian group targets the BBC's London headquarters with red paint during a protest following Israel's attack on Palestine and Gaza.
15 October: Beavers are released in Ealing's Paradise Fields, making them the first beavers to be in London for 400 years.
7 November: Transport for London offer auditions for buskers on the Tube for the first time since 2017.
14 November: A list of 10 buildings in London are added to the 'at risk' list, which brings the total to 599.
2 December: An arson attack on a tube train leaves one of its carriages damaged.
26 December: Central London sees a 10.6% increase in footfall and sales compared to 2022.
30 December:
A shooting star is visible from London as well as Birmingham and Kent.
London's mainline railway services continue to be affected as the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) rail strikes continue into this year.
2024
2 January:
It is announced that the Rotherhithe Tunnel could close until early 2025 due to urgent repairs.
A roof hatch on the London Eye blows off due to the high winds of Storm Henk.
November: The Elvis Evolution, an immersive concert experience, will premiere in London using AI and holographic projection following the success of ABBA Voyage.
A revamped Olympia reopens with a new music venue, theatres, hotels and bars.
1 Undershaft could start construction around this time, with completion expected to be around 2029. If completed, it would become the 2nd tallest building in London after The Shard.
2026 – Projected
The Museum of London reopens as The London Museum in Smithfield.
The MSG Sphere, a concert venue based inside a giant globe, could open in Stratford. If approved, it would be an exact copy of the Sphere in Las Vegas.
Thomas Allen; Thomas Wright (1839). "Account of the Companies of the City of London, Alphabetically Arranged". History and Antiquities of London, Westminster, Southwark, and Parts Adjacent. Vol. 2. London. pp. 376–429. hdl:2027/hvd.hwh1uq.
J. Willoughby Rosse (1859). "London". Index of Dates ... Facts in the Chronology and History of the World. London: H.G. Bohn. hdl:2027/hvd.32044098621048 – via Hathi Trust.
Robert Donald, ed. (1907). "London". Municipal Year Book of the United Kingdom for 1907. London: Edward Lloyd. pp. 5–47.
Howarth, Osbert John Radcliffe; Ingram, Thomas Allan; Wheatley, Henry Benjamin (1910). "London" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 938–968, see pages 945 and 951. IV. Population, Public Health, &c. & VII. Government
