London - A sporting capital

London loves sport. Playing it. Watching it. Supporting it. There are few cities where sport is so much a part of the culture, spirit and lifestyle.

Sport in the city can mean many things, from a prestigious World Cup final to a kick-around in a park. That's because sport isn't just something we watch, it's something we do.

Take the London Marathon, for example. Around half-a-million people lining the city streets to watch, 40,000 actually running the race (although 80,000 apply to compete) and 7,000 more volunteering to help and support. It's one of the biggest days in London's calendar.

Sport has a long and rich history in London. Several of the world's oldest events began here. Some of the world's most famous venues are here, and some of the newest - with Wembley falling into both categories. And some of the world's most fanatical, knowledgeable and generous supporters are here too.

It's impossible to list everything that sporting London offers. Instead, for a flavour, take just one corner - the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

In summer months you'll find the London Archers practising in Kensington Palace Gardens. They form one of the capital's biggest archery clubs. Across the road is the Albert Hall, site of many famous boxing bouts and, in 1991, sumo's first grand basho outside Japan in 1,500 years. It also hosts tennis tournaments, and, once, a display by Olympic ice-skating gold medallist John Curry.

Within walking distance is Chelsea Football Club's 42,500-capacity Stamford Bridge stadium, plus two major public sports centres, offering local residents everything from swimming to squash, trampolining to table tennis.

And through the borough runs the River Thames, venue for rowing meets, including the world-famous University Boat Race, which has been staged since 1829 and is now watched by an estimated global TV audience of 400 million.

One thing links all these sports and venues: enthusiasm. Whether as competitors or spectators, officials or volunteers, amateurs or professionals, Londoners' passion for sport is clear.

伦敦人热爱体育，我们热爱运动，关注比赛并为运动员加油。世界上很少有其他城市可以象伦敦这样将体育与城市文化、精神和生活方式如此完美的融合。

对于一个城市而言，体育可以有很多不同的含义，它既可以是重要的世界杯决赛，也可以是公园里大家随意的开球。因为体育不仅仅是一种观赏性的运动，我们每个人都可以参与其中…

拿伦敦马拉松比赛为例，每年都有几十万人列队站在伦敦的大街上观看比赛，四万人参加比赛（虽然一般有八万人报名），还会有七千多志愿者为比赛提供帮助。比赛举行的日子是伦敦体育篇章中最重要的一笔。

伦敦拥有悠久和丰富的体育历史。一些世界上最古老的运动创始于此。诸多世界上最著名的体育场馆也座落于此，也有一些最新建设的场馆，如温布利体育场就既著名又是重建的。世界上最出色，最知识丰富和热情的体育迷也在伦敦大有人在。

伦敦在体育方面的优点一言难尽。为了让大家有所感受，让我们只说说其中一角吧，即肯辛顿和切尔西区。

在夏季的几个月里，你会在伦敦肯辛顿宫花园看到射箭手们在练习，他们组建了伦敦最大的射箭俱乐部。肯辛顿宫花园的马路对面是阿尔伯特厅，那里是著名的拳击场，1991年在这里举行了相扑的basho晋级赛，这是1500年来首次在日本以外的地方举行此类比赛。这里还承办过网球锦标赛，奥运会花样滑冰冠军John Curry还曾在这里举行过表演。

切尔西足球俱尔部可以容纳42,500观众的Stamford Bridge体育馆就在左近，此外还有两个主要的公共运动中心，为当地居民提供游泳，壁球，跳弹床和乒乓球等游戏设施。

然后穿过这个区，你就来到了泰晤士河边，这里是赛艇的场地，世界著名的从1829年就开始大学划船赛每年都在此举行，全世界近四亿观众都乐于观看这项赛事。

而联系这些运动和场馆的纽带就是人们对体育的热爱之情。无论是运动员，还是观众，官员还是志愿者，业余选手或专业选手，伦敦人对体育的热情有目共睹。