ABSTRACT
As the new century started, London was generally perceived as being one of a group of six leading world cities, the other members of the elite group being New York, Tokyo, Paris, Moscow and Beijing. Of the two Western European cities, it was widely accepted that London had the more prominent role in the world economy (Sassen 2001). By 2007, there was a lively debate as to whether or not London had overtaken New York in the world ranking, with a report in the New York Times in March 2007 (Mcgeehan 2007). London’s success in winning the 2012 Olympic Games bid against its French rival was seen as the culmination of London’s return to the world stage. This success reflected well on the role of Ken Livingstone, the London Mayor who had campaigned so strongly for the Olympics, bringing on board the country’s initially reluctant Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
