Should we be proud of London? Of course we should. But being Londoners we’re loathe to. We’d rather complain about the weather. Or the tube. Or the pigeons. Of course, if we had the constitution of New Yorkers, we would be yelling from the rooftops about what a great city London is. But, then, we wouldn’t be Londoners.

Think about it: we take for granted London’s mix of cultures, languages and ideas. We casually overlook the fact that London is a city that not only accepts but celebrates difference. We are spoilt for museums, restaurants, theatres, world class stadiums, music venues, libraries, fashion houses, universities, markets, Royal parks, sporting events, shopping and history. We could go on, but, being Londoners, we’re not ones to brag. And yet, shouldn’t we? Shouldn’t we celebrate this great city? Bring to its population’s attention all the little (and big) things that make it the best place to live in the world? Yes, Paris is for lovers, New York is for insomniacs (personally, we like a city that sleeps), Rome is for romance, but, did you know that London has twice as many bookshops as NYC, more museums than Paris, and it rains more in Rome? (The Olympic committee seemed to agree that it is a very special place.) Yes, London doesn’t always work the way we want it to and it’s unwieldy, complicated, resistant to explanation, full of oddities, and sometimes baffling. But it’s ours. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.