The West End and Piccadilly Circus, 51°30′36″N, 0°8′4″W.

Piccadilly Circus is a famous road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly. A road junction is a location where vehicular Traffic going in different directions can proceed in a controlled manner designed to minimize accidents London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The West End of London is an area of Central London, England, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions businesses headquarters and the commercial The City of Westminster ( is a borough of London with city status. Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London 's West End. Piccadilly is a major London street running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east In this context a circus, from the Latin word meaning a circle, is a circular open space at a street junction. ^[1] It now links directly to the theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue as well as the Haymarket, Coventry Street (onwards to Leicester Square) and Glasshouse Street. For the racehorse see Shaftesbury Avenue (horse Shaftesbury Avenue is a major street in London, England, Haymarket is a street in the St James's district of the City of Westminster, a London Borough Coventry Street is a short London street within the City of Westminster, running from Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square. For the British guitarist see Lester Square. Leicester Square (ˈlɛstɚ is a Pedestrianised square in the West End The Circus is close to major shopping and entertainment areas in a central location at the heart of the West End. The West End of London is an area of Central London, England, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions businesses headquarters and the commercial Its status as a major traffic intersection has made Piccadilly Circus a busy meeting point and a tourist attraction in its own right. The Circus is particularly known for its video display and neon signs mounted on the corner building on the northern side, as well as the Shaftesbury memorial fountain and statue of an archer popularly known as Eros (sometimes called The Angel of Christian Charity, but intended to be Anteros). A neon lamp is a Gas discharge Lamp containing primarily Neon gas at low Pressure. Anthony Ashley Cooper 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (28 April 1801 &ndash 1 October 1885 styled Lord Ashley from 1811 to 1851 was an English Politician and In Greek mythology, Anteros (Αντέρως Antérōs was the god of requited love literally "love returned" or "counter-love" and also the punisher It is surrounded by several noted buildings, including the London Pavilion and Criterion Theatre. The London Pavilion is a building located on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street on the north-east side of and facing Piccadilly Circus in The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. Directly underneath the plaza is Piccadilly Circus London Underground station. Piccadilly Circus tube station is the London Underground station located directly beneath Piccadilly Circus itself with entrances at every corner The London Underground is a Metro system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire

History

Piccadilly Circus in 1896, with a view towards Leicester Square via Coventry Street. For the British guitarist see Lester Square. Leicester Square (ˈlɛstɚ is a Pedestrianised square in the West End London Pavilionis on the right, and the Shaftesbury memorial fountain on the left.

Piccadilly Circus in 1896, with a view towards Leicester Square via Coventry Street. For the British guitarist see Lester Square. Leicester Square (ˈlɛstɚ is a Pedestrianised square in the West End London Pavilion is on the left, and Criterion Theatre on the right. The London Pavilion is a building located on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street on the north-east side of and facing Piccadilly Circus in The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building.

Piccadilly Circus connects to Piccadilly, a thoroughfare whose name first appeared in 1626 as Pickadilly Hall, named after a house belonging to one Robert Baker, a tailor famous for selling piccadills or piccadillies, a term used for various kinds of collars. Piccadilly is a major London street running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east Robert Baker may refer to Robert Baker (football player (b 1976 former professional football player most recently with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian A piccadill or pickadill is a large broad collar of Cut-work Lace that became Fashionable in the late 16th century and early 17th century In Clothing, a collar is the part of a Shirt, Dress, coat or Blouse that fastens around or frames the Neck. The street was known as Portugal Street in 1692 in honour of Catherine of Braganza, the queen consort of King Charles II of England, but was known as Piccadilly by 1743. Catherine Henrietta of Braganza (25 November 1638 &ndash 31 December 1705 was a Portuguese Infanta and the Queen consort of Charles II of A queen consort is the title given to the wife of a reigning king. Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Piccadilly Circus was created in 1819, at the junction with Regent Street, which was then being built under the planning of John Nash on the site of a house and garden belonging to a Lady Hutton. Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London 's West End. John Nash ( 18 January 1752 – 13 May 1835) was an English Architect responsible for much of the layout of Regency The circus lost its circular form in 1886 with the construction of Shaftesbury Avenue.

The junction has been a very busy traffic interchange since construction, as it lies at the centre of Theatreland and handles exit traffic from Piccadilly, which Charles Dickens, Jr (Charles C. West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London 's "Theatreland" Charles Dickens Jr, born Charles Culliford Boz Dickens ( 6 January 1837 – 1896 was the first child of the Novelist B. Dickens, son of Charles Dickens) described thusly in 1879: "Piccadilly, the great thoroughfare leading from the Haymarket and Regent-street westward to Hyde Park-corner, is the nearest approach to the Parisian boulevard of which London can boast. Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London 's West End. Hyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city "

The Piccadilly Circus tube station was opened March 10, 1906 on the Bakerloo Line, and on the Piccadilly Line in December of that year. Piccadilly Circus tube station is the London Underground station located directly beneath Piccadilly Circus itself with entrances at every corner Events 241 BC - First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark Blue on the Tube map. In 1928, the station was extensively rebuilt to handle an increase in traffic.

The intersection's first electric advertisements appeared in 1910, and from 1923 electric billboards were set up on the facade of the London Pavilion. The London Pavilion is a building located on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street on the north-east side of and facing Piccadilly Circus in Traffic lights were first installed in August 3, 1926 at the junction. Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

At the start of the 1960s, it was determined that the Circus needed to be redeveloped to allow for greater traffic flow. In 1962, Lord Holford presented a plan which would have created a "double-decker" Piccadilly Circus, with a new pedestrian concourse above the ground-level traffic. William Graham Holford Baron Holford ( 22 March 1907 &ndash 17 October 1975) was a British Architect and town planner This concept was kept alive throughout the rest of 1960s, before eventually being killed off by Sir Keith Joseph and Ernest Marples in 1972; the key reason given was that Holford's scheme only allowed for a 20% increase in traffic, and the Government required 50%. Keith Sinjohn Joseph Baron Joseph, CH, PC ( 17 January 1918 &ndash 10 December 1994) was a British Barrister (Alfred Ernest Marples Baron Marples (9 December 1907 &ndash 6 July 1978 was a British Conservative Politician, who served as Postmaster General

The Holford plan is referenced in the short-form documentary film "Goodbye, Piccadilly", produced by the Rank Organisation in 1967. Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt in one fashion or another to " Document " reality The Rank Organisation was a British Entertainment company formed in 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Piccadilly Circus has since escaped major redevelopment, apart from extensive ground-level pedestrianisation around its south side in the 1980s.

The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain in Piccadilly Circus was erected in 1893, to commemorate the philanthropic works of Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. Anthony Ashley Cooper 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (28 April 1801 &ndash 1 October 1885 styled Lord Ashley from 1811 to 1851 was an English Politician and During the Second World War, the statue atop the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, The Angel of Christian Charity, was removed, and was replaced by advertising hoardings. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Shaftesbury is a Town in North Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 Miles west of It was returned in 1948. When the Circus underwent reconstruction work in the late 1980s, the entire fountain was moved from the centre of the junction at the beginning of Shaftesbury Avenue to its present position at the south-western corner.

Piccadilly Circus in 1949.

A panoramic view of Piccadilly Circus from the southern side in front of Lillywhites. Lillywhites is a Sports retailer based at Piccadilly Circus, London, United Kingdom.

Location and sights

Piccadilly Circus is surrounded by several major tourist attractions, including the Shaftesbury Memorial, Criterion Theatre, London Pavilion and several major retail stores. Anthony Ashley Cooper 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (28 April 1801 &ndash 1 October 1885 styled Lord Ashley from 1811 to 1851 was an English Politician and The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building.

Neon signs

Neon signs of Piccadilly Circus by day.

Neon signs of Piccadilly Circus by night.

Piccadilly Circus used to be surrounded by illuminated advertising hoardings on buildings, starting in the early 1900s, but only one building now carries them, namely the one in the north-western corner, between Shaftesbury Avenue and Glasshouse Street. The site is unnamed (usually referred to as Monico after the Café Monico which used to be on the site); its addresses are 44/48 Regent Street, 1/6 Sherwood Street, 17/22 Denman Street and 1/17 Shaftesbury Avenue, and has been owned by property investor Land Securities Group since the 1970s. Land Securities REIT ( is the largest property company in Europe and the leading British property development and investment company headquartered in central London

The earliest signs used incandescent light bulbs, these were replaced with neon lamps, as well as moving signs (there was a large Guinness clock at one time). The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is a source of electric Light that works by Incandescence, (a general A neon lamp is a Gas discharge Lamp containing primarily Neon gas at low Pressure. Guinness (ˈɡɪnɪs is a popular Dry stout that originated in Arthur Guinness ' brewery at St From December 1998 digital projectors were briefly used for the Coke sign [1], while the early 2000s have seen a gradual move to LED displays. A video projector takes a Video signal and projects the corresponding image on a Projection screen using a lens system The number of signs has reduced over the years as the rental costs have increased.

As of 2008, the site has six illuminated advertising screens above three large retail units, facing Piccadilly Circus on the north side, occupied by Boots, and GAP and a mix of smaller retail, restaurant and office premises fronting the other streets. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common This article is about a former British company which has now merged to form Alliance Boots, as a result information on this page may be out of date The Gap Incorporated ( is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco California, and founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher A Burger King located under the Samsung advert which had been previously a Wimpy Bar until the 1980s had closed in early 2008 and is presently covered by a mock giant on-off switch. Burger King ( often abbreviated to A switch is a mechanical device used to connect and disconnect an electric Circuit at will

Coca-Cola have had a sign at Piccadilly Circus since 1955. Coca-Cola is a carbonated Soft drink sold in stores restaurants and Vending machines in more than 200 countries The current sign dates from September 2003, when the previous digital projector board and the site formerly occupied by Nescafé was replaced with a state-of-the-art LED video display that curves round with the building. Nestlé is a multinational packaged food company founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland The former Nescafé advert site had also been occupied by a neon advertisement for Fosters until about 1999 and for three months in 2002 between the display of the Nescafé advert and the enlarged Coca Cola advert this part of Piccadilly Circus had featured the quote "Imagine all the people living life in peace" by the late Beatle John Lennon. Foster's Lager is an internationally distributed Australian brand of 4 The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (born This was paid for by his wife Yoko Ono who spent an estimated £150,000 to display an advert at this location. born in Tokyo on February 18 1933 is a Japanese Artist and Musician. [2]

Sanyo's sign is the oldest out of the six, the current incarnation having been installed in the late 1980s and remaining unchanged ever since. () is a major Japanese electronics company and member of the Fortune 500 whose headquarters is located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan However, earlier Sanyo signs with older logos have occupied that position since at least 1980.

TDK replaced the space formerly occupied by Kodak in 1990. formerly, is a Japanese company that manufactures electronic materials Electronic components and recording and data-storage media, and markets them globally Eastman Kodak Company ( is an American multinational Public company which produces imaging and photographic materials and equipment Their sign has remained almost unchanged since, although in 2001 the colour of the background lamps were changed from green to blue, and the words 'Audio & Video Tape' and 'Floppy Disks' under the logo was removed.

McDonald's added a sign in the mid-1980s, replacing one for BASF. BASF SE () is a German chemical company and the largest chemical company in the world In 2001 the sign was changed from neon to an animated LED screen.

Samsung replaced a sign for Panasonic in November 1994 [3], and the sign was upgraded from neon to LED in 2005. The Samsung Group ( Korean:, Samsung Guerup) is South Korea 's largest company or Chaebol and the world's largest conglomerate

Piccadilly Lite was added on 3 December 2007, placed under the Samsung and McDonald's signs. Events 1800 - War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Hohenlinden, French Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. This is an LED screen that allows other companies to advertise for both short and long term leases, increasing the amount of advertising space but using the same screen for multiple brands. [4]

The British mobile telephony company Vodafone used to have a neon sign installed on the roof of Coventry House, which diagonally faces Piccadilly Circus. Vodafone is a Mobile network operator headquartered in Berkshire, England, UK. In addition to the logo of the company, the sign displayed personal messages that could be submitted on a special website and displayed at a certain time and date. As of February 2007, this has been replaced by a new, larger LED video-advertising display for LGE, the British arm of South Korean electronics group LG. The new display also incorporates a scrolling ticker of Sky News headlines. A news ticker (sometimes referred to as a "crawler" is a small screen space on News Television networks Sky News is a rolling TV news channel providing 24 hour news coverage including the latest breaking news

On special occasions the lights are switched off, such as the deaths of Winston Churchill in 1965 and Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 On 21 June 2007 they were switched off for 1 hour as part of the Lights Out London campaign. ^[2]

Shaftesbury Memorial and Eros

Piccadilly Circus memorial fountain, with Anteros, popularly referred to (wrongly) as either The Angel of Christian Charity, or Eros, one of the first statues to be cast in aluminium. In Greek mythology, Anteros (Αντέρως Antérōs was the god of requited love literally "love returned" or "counter-love" and also the punisher Eros (Ἔρως in Greek mythology, was the primordial god of lust, Love, and Intercourse; he was also worshipped as a fertility WikipediaNaming

At the south-western side of the Circus, moved after World War II from its original position in the centre, stands the Shaftesbury Monument Memorial Fountain, erected in 1892-1893 to commemorate the philanthropic works of Lord Shaftesbury, who was a famous Victorian politician and philanthropist. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Anthony Ashley Cooper 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (28 April 1801 &ndash 1 October 1885 styled Lord Ashley from 1811 to 1851 was an English Politician and A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person Philanthropy is the act of donating money goods services time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause with a defined objective and with no financial or material

The monument is topped by Alfred Gilbert's winged nude statue of an archer, sometimes referred to (inaccurately) as The Angel of Christian Charity and popularly (also inaccurately) known as Eros after the mythical Greek God of Love -- although he is intended to be Eros' twin Anteros. This is an article about the sculptor see also Alfred Carlton Gilbert for the inventor and toymaker In Greek mythology, Anteros (Αντέρως Antérōs was the god of requited love literally "love returned" or "counter-love" and also the punisher The statue has become a London icon: a graphical illustration of it is used as the symbol of the Evening Standard newspaper, and appears on its masthead. The London Evening Standard is an English Tabloid regional local newspaper published and sold in London and surrounding areas of southeast A newspaper is a written Publication containing News, information and Advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called Newsprint.

The use of a nude figure on a public monument was controversial at the time of its construction, but it was generally well-received by the public. The Magazine of Art described it as, ". . . a striking contrast to the dull ugliness of the generality of our street sculpture, . . . a work which, while beautifying one of our hitherto desolate open spaces, should do much towards the elevation of public taste in the direction of decorative sculpture, and serve freedom for the metropolis from any further additions of the old order of monumental monstrosities. "'

The statue was the first in the world to be cast in aluminium and is set on a bronze fountain, which itself inspired the marine motifs that Gilbert carved on the statue. WikipediaNaming Bronze is any of a broad range of Copper alloys, usually with Tin as the main additive but sometimes with other elements such as Phosphorus

The statue is generally believed to depict Eros, but was intended to be an image of his twin brother, Anteros - a fact that is confirmed by the contemporary records of Westminster City Council. In Greek mythology, Anteros (Αντέρως Antérōs was the god of requited love literally "love returned" or "counter-love" and also the punisher The sculptor Alfred Gilbert had already sculpted a statue of Anteros, and when commissioned for the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, chose to reproduce the same subject, who as 'The God of Selfless Love' was deemed to suitably represent the philanthropic 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. This is an article about the sculptor see also Alfred Carlton Gilbert for the inventor and toymaker In Greek mythology, Anteros (Αντέρως Antérōs was the god of requited love literally "love returned" or "counter-love" and also the punisher Anthony Ashley Cooper 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (28 April 1801 &ndash 1 October 1885 styled Lord Ashley from 1811 to 1851 was an English Politician and Gilbert described Anteros as portraying 'reflective and mature love, as opposed to Eros or Cupid, the frivolous tyrant. In Greek mythology, Anteros (Αντέρως Antérōs was the god of requited love literally "love returned" or "counter-love" and also the punisher ' The model for the sculpture was Gilbert's studio assistant, a 16 year-old Italian, Angelo Colarossi (born 1875)^[3]. Colarossi was the studio boy/assistant to the sculptor Alfred Gilbert and aged 15 modelled for Gilbert's most famous statue 'Anderos' (1891 in Piccadilly Circus. The fountain, when originally placed, was meant to have Anteros pointing his bow south towards Wimborne St Giles in Dorset, which was the Earl's country seat. See also Wimborne St Giles (hundred Wimborne St Giles is a village in east Dorset, England, situated on Cranborne The archers arrow was also aimed so as to bury its shaft in Shaftesbury Avenue.

When the memorial was unveiled, there were numerous complaints. Some felt it was sited in a vulgar part of town (the theatre district) and others felt that it was too sensual as a memorial for a famously sober and respectable Earl. Some of the objections were tempered by renaming the statue as The Angel of Christian Charity, which was the nearest approximation that could be invented in Christian terms for the role Anteros played in the Greek pantheon. But the name never became widely known, and the original name came back, erroneously under the shortened form Eros, signifying the God of Sensual Love; quite inappropriate to commemorate the Earl, but just right to signify the carnal neighbourhood of London, into which Soho had developed.

Criterion Theatre

Main article: Criterion Theatre

The Criterion Theatre, a Grade II* listed building, stands on the south side of Piccadilly Circus. The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance Apart from the box office area, the entire theatre, with nearly 600 seats, is underground and is reached by descending a tiled stairway. Columns are used to support both the dress circle and the upper circle, restricting the views of many of the seats inside. A column in Structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural

The theatre was designed by Thomas Verity and opened as a theatre on March 21, 1874, although original plans were for it to become a concert hall. Thomas Verity (1837&ndash1891 was an English Theatre Architect during the theatre building boom of 1885&ndash1915 Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. Year 1874 ( MDCCCLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common In 1883 it was forced to close to improve ventilation and to replace gaslights with electric lights, and was reopened the following year. The theatre closed in 1989 and was extensively renovated, reopening in October 1992.

London Pavilion

Main article: London Pavilion

On the north-eastern side of Piccadilly Circus, on the corner between Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street, is the London Pavilion. The London Pavilion is a building located on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street on the north-east side of and facing Piccadilly Circus in The London Pavilion is a building located on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street on the north-east side of and facing Piccadilly Circus in The first building bearing the name was built in 1859, and was a music hall. Music hall is a form of British theatrical Entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960 In 1885, Shaftesbury Avenue was built through the former site of the Pavilion and a new London Pavilion was constructed, which also served as a music hall. In 1923, electric billboards were erected on the side of the building.

Facade of the London Pavilion in 2002.

In 1934, the building underwent significant structural alteration, and was converted into a cinema. Cinemaaustraliajpg|thumb|A movie theater in Australia ]]A movie theater, movie theatre, picture theatre or cinema is a venue In 1986, the building was rebuilt, preserving the 1885 facade, and converted into a shopping arcade. A shopping mall or shopping centre is a building or set of buildings that contain Retail units with interconnecting Walkways enabling visitors In 2000, the building was connected to the neighbouring Trocadero Centre, and signage on the building was altered in 2003 to read "London Trocadero. For the origin of the term Trocadero, and other uses of the word see Trocadero (disambiguation. " The basement of the building connects with Piccadilly Circus tube station. A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the Ground floor. Piccadilly Circus tube station is the London Underground station located directly beneath Piccadilly Circus itself with entrances at every corner

Major shops

The former Tower Records flagship store, now acquired by UK-only re-branded name 'zavvi' (originally known as Virgin Megastore), can be found at Number 1 Piccadilly, on the west side between Regent Street and Piccadilly, directly facing Piccadilly Circus. Tower Records was a Retail music chain based in Sacramento California, USA Zavvi (also known as zavvicouk) is an Entertainment retail chain in the UK and Republic of Ireland, originally Virgin Megastores Virgin Megastores is an international chain of Record shops founded by Sir Richard Branson on London 's Oxford Street in January or February Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London 's West End. Piccadilly is a major London street running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east There is a direct exit to the Underground station on the basement level. Rival store His Master's Voice also has a branch inside the London Trocadero. His Master's Voice, today usually abbreviated to HMV, is a famous Trademark in the music business and for many years was the name of a large record label

Lillywhites is a major retailer of sporting goods located on the south side, next to the Shaftesbury fountain. Lillywhites is a Sports retailer based at Piccadilly Circus, London, United Kingdom. Sports equipment is a general term for any object used for Sport or Exercise. It moved to its present site in 1925.

Underground station and the Piccadilly Line

Inside Piccadilly Circus tube station.

Main article: Piccadilly Circus tube station

The Piccadilly Circus station on the London Underground is located directly beneath Piccadilly Circus itself, with entrances at every corner. Piccadilly Circus tube station is the London Underground station located directly beneath Piccadilly Circus itself with entrances at every corner Piccadilly Circus tube station is the London Underground station located directly beneath Piccadilly Circus itself with entrances at every corner The London Underground is a Metro system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire It is one of the few stations which have no associated buildings above ground and is fully underground. It is itself a Grade 2 listed building. A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance

The station is on the Piccadilly Line between Green Park and Leicester Square, and the Bakerloo Line between Charing Cross and Oxford Circus. The Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark Blue on the Tube map. Green Park tube station is a London Underground station located on the north side of Green Park, close to the intersection of Piccadilly and the pedestrian Leicester Square is a station on the London Underground, located on Charing Cross Road, a short distance to the east of Leicester Square itself The Bakerloo line is a line of the London Underground, coloured brown on the Tube map. Charing Cross tube station is a London Underground station at Charing Cross in the City of Westminster with entrances located in Trafalgar Square Oxford Circus is a London Underground station serving Oxford Circus at the junction of Regent Street and Oxford Street, with entrances on

Metronet, one of the three private operators of the London Underground under a public-private partnership arrangement, is investing some £14 million to refurbish Piccadilly Circus station. Metronet Rail is a brand within the Transport for London group that is responsible for the maintenance renewal and upgrade of the infrastructure on nine London Underground The London Underground is a Metro system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire Public-private partnership ( PPP) describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more Work began in March 2005 and was completed in spring of 2007. Major improvements included new floor and wall finishes, a new CCTV system, new help points, a new public address system, new electronic information displays and clocks, improved platform seating, waterproofing measures, measures to assist visually impaired passengers and improved lighting. Escalators were also replaced.

Piccadilly Circus in popular culture

Painting of Piccadilly Circus

The phrase "it's like Piccadilly Circus" is commonly used in the UK to refer to a place or situation which is extremely busy with people. It has been said that a person who stays long enough at Piccadilly Circus will eventually bump into everyone they know. Probably because of this connection, during World War II, "Piccadilly Circus" was the code name given to the Allies' D-Day invasion fleet's assembly location in the English Channel^[4].

Piccadilly Circus has inspired artists and musicians. Piccadilly Circus (1912) is the name and subject of a painting by British artist Charles Ginner, part of the Tate Britain collection. Charles Ginner (1878-1952 was born in Cannes. He settled in London in 1910 and was a key member of the Camden Town Group. Tate Britain is a part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. Sculptor Paul McCarthy also has a 320-page two-volume edition of video stills by the name of Piccadilly Circus. Paul McCarthy (born August 4[[ 945]] in Salt Lake City Utah) is a Contemporary artist who lives and works in Los Angeles California.

"Piccadilly Circus" is the name of Swedish singer Pernilla Wahlgren's hit song from 1985. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Pernilla Wahlgren, Pernilla Nina Elisabeth Wahlgren, born 24 december 1967 in Gustavsberg, Värmdö kommun, is a Swedish Northern Irish punk band Stiff Little Fingers had a different song of the same name from their 1981 album Go for It, a true story about a friend of theirs migrating to London to escape The Troubles of Belfast only to be stabbed by strangers in Piccadilly Circus. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of Stiff Little Fingers are a punk band from Belfast, Northern Ireland, formed in 1977 Go For It is the third album by Stiff Little Fingers, released in 1981 (see 1981 in music) Belfast ( is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of government in Northern Ireland. A compilation album from the British pop/rock band Squeeze released in 1996 was titled Piccadilly Collection and showed a picture of Piccadilly Circus on its cover. Squeeze are an English band that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the New Wave period of the late 1970s and continued recording successfully

The Dire Straits song "Wild West End" is about the area around Piccadilly. Dire Straits was a British rock band, formed in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals his brother David Knopfler (guitar The Morrissey song "Piccadilly Palare" from the album Bona Drag recounts the life of male prostitutes by employing the use of "palare" (alternatively spelled 'polari'), argot used by this subculture and by gay men generally. Steven Patrick Morrissey (ˈmɒɹɪsiː born May 22, 1959) known primarily as Morrissey, is a British Singer and Lyricist Polari (or alternatively Parlare, Parlary, Palare, Palarie, Palari, Parlyaree, from Italian parlare Argot ( French, Spanish and Catalan for " Slang " is a Secret language used by various groups—including but not limited A lost verse: "Around the centre of town/is where I belong/am I really doing wrong?" Jethro Tull mention Piccadilly Circus in "Mother Goose" on the album Aqualung: "And a foreign student said to me/was it really true there are elephants and lions too/in Piccadilly Circus?"

Bob Marley makes mention of Piccadilly Circus in his song "Kinky Reggae" on the album Catch A Fire. Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967-1968 Their music is marked by the distinctive vocal style and lead Flute work of front man Aqualung is the fourth studio album by the rock band Jethro Tull, released in 1971. Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley OM (February 6 1945 – May 11 1981 was a Jamaican Musician, Singer-songwriter and Rastafarian Catch a Fire is the major-label -debut album for Jamaican Reggae band The Wailers, released on Island Records in 1973 The Sundays mention Piccadilly Circus in their song "Hideous Towns" on their 1990 album Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. Reading Writing and Arithmetic is the first album by The Sundays.

Stormbreaker, the first novel in the bestselling Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, featured many major landmarks in London, one of them Piccadilly Circus. Alex Rider is a series of spy novels by English author Anthony Horowitz about a young spy named Alex Rider. Anthony Horowitz (born 5 April 1956 is an English Author and Screenwriter. The main characters race down the circus on horseback.

In the film Wayne's World 2, Wayne and Garth made a trip to London and were disappointed to find out that Piccadilly Circus was not an actual circus. Wayne's World 2 is a 1993 Comedy film starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as hosts of a cable access television show A circus is most commonly a traveling company of performers that may include acrobats, Clowns trained animals trapeze acts Hoopers, tightrope walkers

In the film Austin Powers, Piccadilly Circus is the location of Dr Evil's lair during "the swinging 60s". Sir Austin Danger Powers, KBE, is a Fictional character from the Austin Powers series of films Austin Powers confronts Dr Evil at the "The Electric Pussycat" nightclub which hides a rocketship in the shape of a Big Boy statue on the rooftop a Piccadilly Circus building.

Piccadilly Circus was the final action scene in John Landis' 1981 werewolf classic, An American Werewolf in London. An American Werewolf in London is a comedy / Horror film released in 1981, written and directed by John Landis David Naughton's character, David Kessler aka the werewolf, makes his final transformation in an adult theatre in Piccadilly Circus and shortly after, chaos erupts when he escapes the theatre and sets off a chain reaction of car crashes.

Piccadilly Circus is an area in the PC game Hellgate: London

Piccadilly Circus is also mentioned in Satyajit Ray's book Londone Feluda

Piccadilly Circus Is featured in Bend it Like Beckham

See also

• Oxford Circus
• Cambridge Circus, London
• Shaftesbury Avenue

References

Books

• Mills, A. D. Dictionary of London Place Names. Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-19-860957-4.
• Harris, C. M. What's in a name? The origins of the names of all stations in current use on the London Underground and Docklands Light rail with their opening dates. Midas Books and London Transport, fourth edition, 2001. ISBN 1-85414-241-0.
• Lange, D. The Queen's London: A Pictorial and Descriptive Record of the Streets, Buildings, Parks and Scenery of the Great Metropolis. Cassell and Company, London, 1896.
• Dickens, Charles, Jr [1888, 1879] (1993). Charles Dickens Jr, born Charles Culliford Boz Dickens ( 6 January 1837 – 1896 was the first child of the Novelist "Piccadilly (online copy)", Dickens's Dictionary of London, 1888, facsimile, Devon: Old House Books. Charles Dickens Jr, born Charles Culliford Boz Dickens ( 6 January 1837 – 1896 was the first child of the Novelist ISBN 1-873590-04-0.  
• Greater London Council, Piccadilly Circus: From Controversy to Reconstruction. 1980. ISBN 0-7168-1145-6.

Articles

• Hadley, P. Piccadilly Circus, How a typical 1906 London tube station was built, Underground News 412, April 1996.
• Jacob, S. Review: Piccadilly Circus, Icon Magazine, November 2003.

Web sites

• Piccadilly Line. Homepage of the London Underground on the Piccadilly Line. The London Underground is a Metro system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire Retrieved February 25, 2005.
• "London lights out for environment", News. BBC. co. uk, 22 June 2007

External links

• Theatre History
• This is London theatre guide to Criterion Theatre.
• Metallurgical study of the statue of Eros following restoration in 1990.
• Map from www.streetmap.co.uk.
• Aerial photo from maps.google.com.