White City is a district in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and forms the northern part of Shepherd's Bush. Today, White City is home to the BBC Television Centre 
C White City, and Loftus Road stadium, the home of football club Queens Park Rangers FC.
The area now called White City was level arable farmfields until 1908, when it was used as the site of the Franco-British Exhibition
and the 1908 Summer Olympics. In 1909 the exhibition site hosted the Imperial International Exhibition and in 1910, the Japan-British Exhibition.
The Imperial International Exhibition was a world's fair held in White City, London in 1909. It was opened in May 20[by the Duke of Argyll
and closed in October.
This was the second of five exhibitions to be held at London's White City (following the Franco-British Exhibition and preceding the Japan–British Exhibition) and retained many of the 1908 exhibitions but on larger grounds and with additional amusements including an alpine railway.
This gave the opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the three members of the recently agreed Triple Entente.
As part of this France displayed a Dahomey (now Benin) village; and Russia a Kalmuk camp.
Austria, China, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and Persia also participated.
The final two exhibitions to be held there were the Latin-British (1912) and the Anglo-American (1914), which was brought to a premature end by the outbreak of the First World War.
During this period it was known as the Great White City due to the white marble cladding used on the exhibition pavilions, and hence gave its name to this part of Shepherd's Bush.
The White City Stadium in the north of the area, known as the Great Stadium and seating 66000, was officially opened by King Edward VII
on 27 April 1908 for the Olympics. After the Olympics, it continued to
be used for athletics until 1914, and was later turned into a greyhound racing track, although it was also used for short periods by Queens Park Rangers
football club, and for other sports. In 1931, a 440yd running track was
installed for the Amateur Athletic Association Championships, held
there from 1932 to 1970. It hosted one match during the 1966 World Cup.White City Stadium in London was used for a single game from Group 1, between Uruguay and France. The game was scheduled for a Friday, the same day as regularly scheduled greyhound racing at Wembley. Because Wembley's owner refused to cancel this, the game had to be moved to the alternative venue.
The stadium was demolished in 1985 to make way for the BBC White City
building. Today, the 1908 Olympics are commemorated with a list of
athletes inscribed on the side of the BBC Broadcast Centre Building, and
the athletics finish line is marked in the paving outside the building.
The Marathon from these London Olympics played an important part in the development of the modern marathon race. In the early years of competitive international sport, the long distance marathon race did not have a standard set distance. The distance run at the first seven Olympics from 1896 to 1920 varied between 40km and 42.75 km. The starting point of the race at the 1908 Olympics was at Windsor Castle
creating a distance of 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km) to the finishing line at White City stadium. In 1921 this was adopted as the standard distance.
To house the growing population of Shepherd's Bush, a five-storey housing estate
was built in the late 1930s, which also took the name of the White
City. Streets were named after countries that had featured in the
exhibitions.
In 2008 English Heritage announced its recommendation to list parts of TV centre as an excellent example of 20th-century architecture.
Imperial College London purchased the BBC Woodlands site for 28 million pounds in 2009. Imperial College is currently developing a seven acre campus on the site (Imperial West).
Schools in the area include Burlington Danes Academy and Phoenix High School
C White City, and Loftus Road stadium, the home of football club Queens Park Rangers FC.
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and the 1908 Summer Olympics. In 1909 the exhibition site hosted the Imperial International Exhibition and in 1910, the Japan-British Exhibition.The Imperial International Exhibition was a world's fair held in White City, London in 1909. It was opened in May 20[by the Duke of Argyll
and closed in October.This was the second of five exhibitions to be held at London's White City (following the Franco-British Exhibition and preceding the Japan–British Exhibition) and retained many of the 1908 exhibitions but on larger grounds and with additional amusements including an alpine railway.
This gave the opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the three members of the recently agreed Triple Entente.
As part of this France displayed a Dahomey (now Benin) village; and Russia a Kalmuk camp.
Austria, China, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and Persia also participated.
The final two exhibitions to be held there were the Latin-British (1912) and the Anglo-American (1914), which was brought to a premature end by the outbreak of the First World War. During this period it was known as the Great White City due to the white marble cladding used on the exhibition pavilions, and hence gave its name to this part of Shepherd's Bush.The White City Stadium in the north of the area, known as the Great Stadium and seating 66000, was officially opened by King Edward VII
on 27 April 1908 for the Olympics. After the Olympics, it continued to
be used for athletics until 1914, and was later turned into a greyhound racing track, although it was also used for short periods by Queens Park Rangers
football club, and for other sports. In 1931, a 440yd running track was
installed for the Amateur Athletic Association Championships, held
there from 1932 to 1970. It hosted one match during the 1966 World Cup.White City Stadium in London was used for a single game from Group 1, between Uruguay and France. The game was scheduled for a Friday, the same day as regularly scheduled greyhound racing at Wembley. Because Wembley's owner refused to cancel this, the game had to be moved to the alternative venue.
The stadium was demolished in 1985 to make way for the BBC White City
building. Today, the 1908 Olympics are commemorated with a list of
athletes inscribed on the side of the BBC Broadcast Centre Building, and
the athletics finish line is marked in the paving outside the building.The Marathon from these London Olympics played an important part in the development of the modern marathon race. In the early years of competitive international sport, the long distance marathon race did not have a standard set distance. The distance run at the first seven Olympics from 1896 to 1920 varied between 40km and 42.75 km. The starting point of the race at the 1908 Olympics was at Windsor Castle
creating a distance of 26 miles 385 yards (42.195 km) to the finishing line at White City stadium. In 1921 this was adopted as the standard distance.To house the growing population of Shepherd's Bush, a five-storey housing estate
was built in the late 1930s, which also took the name of the White
City. Streets were named after countries that had featured in the
exhibitions.In 2008 English Heritage announced its recommendation to list parts of TV centre as an excellent example of 20th-century architecture.
Imperial College London purchased the BBC Woodlands site for 28 million pounds in 2009. Imperial College is currently developing a seven acre campus on the site (Imperial West).
Schools in the area include Burlington Danes Academy and Phoenix High School
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