LONDON (BP)--On a crisp October day in London's Trafalgar Square, the solemn marble monuments of Great Britain's former empire gaze upon a curious scene:
It's "Simcha on the Square," a celebration of 350 years of Jewish life in London. Thousands gather -- and not just English Jews and gentiles eager to enjoy some kosher food and traditional music. The crowd includes people of nearly every conceivable appearance and background: turban-wearing Sikhs, Indians, Chinese, Africans, Rastafarians, hipsters, bikers. They dance or tap their toes to the beat of performances by "the Jewish Elvis" and "K-Groove," a Klezmer-reggae-jazz band.
Multicultural bliss, at least for an afternoon.
Welcome to the new London. Bowler-hat London no longer exists. Nor does the London of Shakespeare, of Charles Dickens or even the 20th-century London of the Beatles. Sure, millions of tourists still visit the great sites of the old city. They still ride the double-decker red buses and flock to watch the queen and the changing of the guard.
But London is no longer really an English city; it is a world city. Set to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, it now proclaims itself the "capital of the world."
'A WORLD IN ONE CITY'
With a population of some 8.5 million people (estimates range as high as 14 million for the greater metro region), London vies with Paris as the largest city in Western Europe. Much of the world's high-powered finance flows through its gleaming office towers and great investment houses. Read More
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