section_path: Culture/Leisure and entertainment
section_name: Leisure and entertainment
paragraph_text: Leisure and entertainment
  
  Leisure is a major part of the London economy. A 2003 report attributed a quarter of the entire UK leisure economy to London at 25.6 events per 1000 people. The city is one of the four fashion capitals of the world, and, according to official statistics, is the world's third-busiest film production centre, presents more live comedy than any other city, and has the biggest theatre audience of any city in the world.
  
  Within the City of Westminster, the entertainment district of the West End has its focus around Leicester Square, where London and world film premieres are held, and Piccadilly Circus, with its giant electronic advertisements. London's theatre district is here, as are many cinemas, bars, clubs, and restaurants, including the city's Chinatown district (in Soho), and just to the east is Covent Garden, an area housing speciality shops. In 1881, the West End's Savoy Theatre, which was built to showcase the plays of Gilbert and Sullivan, was fitted with the incandescent light bulb developed by Sir Joseph Swan to become the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity. The city is the home of Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose musicals have dominated West End theatre since the late 20th century. Agatha Christie 's The Mousetrap, the world's longest-running play, has been performed in the West End since 1952. The Laurence Olivier Awards –named after Laurence Olivier –are given annually by the Society of London Theatre. The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Royal Opera, and English National Opera are based in London and perform at the Royal Opera House, the London Coliseum, Sadler's Wells Theatre and the Royal Albert Hall, as well as touring the country. London was the centre of music hall, with the Hackney Empire, host to many music hall stars, among the best-surviving Edwardian era variety theatres.
  
  Islington 's 1 mile (1.6 km) long Upper Street, extending northwards from Angel, has more bars and restaurants than any other street in the UK. Europe's busiest shopping area is Oxford Street, a shopping street nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) long, making it the longest shopping street in the UK. It is home to vast numbers of retailers and department stores, including Selfridges flagship store. Knightsbridge, home to the equally renowned Harrods department store, lies to the south-west. One of the world's largest retail destinations, London frequently ranks at or near the top of retail sales of any city. Opened in 1760 with its flagship store on Regent Street since 1881, Hamleys is the oldest toy shop in the world. The Camden Town shoe retailer of Dr. Martens footwear was a favourite haunt of punk musicians. Madame Tussauds wax museum opened in Baker Street in 1835, an era viewed as being when London's tourism industry began.
  
  London is home to the designers John Galliano, Stella McCartney, Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo, among others; its renowned art and fashion schools make it one of the four international centres of fashion. Mary Quant designed the miniskirt in her King's Road boutique in Swinging Sixties London. In 2017, London was ranked the top city for luxury store openings. London Fashion Week takes place twice a year, in February and September; exhibitions have included Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims, the first collection by Alexander McQueen. Londoners on the catwalk have included Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne.
  
  London offers a great variety of cuisine as a result of its ethnically diverse population. Gastronomic centres include the Bangladeshi restaurants of Brick Lane and the Chinese restaurants of Chinatown. There are Chinese takeaways throughout London, as are Indian restaurants which provide Indian and Anglo-Indian cuisine. Around 1860, the first fish and chips shop in London was opened by Joseph Malin, a Jewish immigrant, in Bow. The full English breakfast dates from the Victorian era, and many cafes in London serve a full English throughout the day. London has five 3- Michelin star restaurants, including Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea. Many hotels in London provide a traditional afternoon tea service, such as the Oscar Wilde Lounge at the Hotel Café Royal in Piccadilly, and a themed tea service is also available, for example an Alice in Wonderland themed afternoon tea served at the Egerton House Hotel, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory themed afternoon tea at One Aldwych in Covent Garden. The nation's most popular biscuit to dunk in tea, chocolate digestives have been manufactured by McVitie's at their Harlesden factory in north-west London since 1925.
  
  There is a variety of annual events, beginning with the relatively new New Year's Day Parade, a fireworks display at the London Eye; the world's second largest street party, the Notting Hill Carnival, is held on the late August Bank Holiday each year. Traditional parades include November's Lord Mayor's Show, a centuries-old event celebrating the annual appointment of a new Lord Mayor of the City of London with a procession along the streets of the city, and June's Trooping the Colour, a formal military pageant performed by regiments of the Commonwealth and British armies to celebrate the King's Official Birthday. The Boishakhi Mela is a Bengali New Year festival celebrated by the British Bangladeshi community. It is the largest open-air Asian festival in Europe. After the Notting Hill Carnival, it is the second-largest street festival in the United Kingdom attracting over 80,000 visitors. First held in 1862, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (run by the Royal Horticultural Society) takes place in May every year.