This is a sponsored article on behalf of the City of London Corporation.
Imagine getting a certificate, signed by the Mayor of London, acknowledging YOU as the Ultimate Londoner. That's one of many amazing prizes at The Ultimate Londoner Quiz, a free event to be held online on Sunday 6 September (7pm).
The quiz, hosted by comedian Dane Baptiste, will test your knowledge about the city, and also set a few creative challenges (tip: have some craft material to hand).
The winner will be crowned Ultimate Londoner, and receive a stay for two at swanky City hotel The Ned, where the prize includes afternoon tea on arrival and breakfast the following morning. Other prizes will be announced on the night. We've seen the list; it's impressive.
The event will raise money for the Mayor's #PayItForward campaign, which is helping small businesses get through the Covid-19 crisis. The quiz is being organised by Our City Together (the City of London Corporation's cultural platform) and Visit London, with Londonist's support.
To whet your appetite, and warm you up for the main event, here are 15 questions about London. Get all 15 correct and we'll be very impressed.
15 Fiendish Questions About London
1. The statue of which English king, near Charing Cross, marks the official centre of London?
2. Which century saw the most executions in the grounds of the Tower of London?
3. What’s the only street name within the City of London that ends in the word ‘Road’?
4. On which Tube line will you find the abandoned ghost stations of Down Street and Brompton Road?
5. Which city farm holds an annual Oxford/Cambridge Goat Race, on the same day as the more famous boat race?
6. What feature was added to the map of London in the soap opera’s opening title sequence on 1 January 2012?
7. Which Tube line crosses underneath the Thames the most times?
8. Which London football club is the only one in the top four divisions to begin with five consonants?
9. Name the London opera singer who had four foodstuffs named after her.
10. The City of London Police remain the Olympic champions in which defunct sport?
11. George Michael says he came up with the main riff to which song, during a ride on the number 32 bus (Edgware to Kilburn)?
12. Which Thames-side settlement was first recorded in Anglo-Saxon times and has a name meaning ‘cheese farm’?
13. The Shard is almost exactly the same height as how many Nelson’s Columns?
14. One of the most momentous thoughts in human history occurred in Russell Square on 12 September 1933. Hungarian Leo Szilard was waiting to cross the road when he witnessed a car crash and suddenly envisioned what world-changing idea?
15. Name three Tube stations with birds in their names.
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The Ultimate Londoner Quiz takes place on Sunday 6 September from 7pm. A YouTube link will be sent to all participants. Entrance is free, though you may want to consider donating to your favourite small business at the #PayItForward crowdfunding campaign. Oh, and our questions may be tougher than those used in the live quiz... where the emphasis will be on having a laugh, learning a thing or two, and getting creative.
Now, about those answers...
1. Charles I, who was executed nearby on Whitehall.
2. The 20th, which saw more executions than all other centuries put together. Nearby Tower Hill was used for the vast majority of executions in earlier centuries. Only a handful of noble and royal prisoners met their end within the Tower precincts, among them Anne Boleyn and Jane Grey. However, 11 German spies were executed there during the two world wars.
3. Goswell Road (but only the eastern side). Before a boundary change in 1994, there were no 'roads' in the City.
4. Piccadilly Line.
5. Spitalfields.
6. Olympic Stadium.
7. Jubilee line (four times).
8. Crystal Palace. (Though some would argue the 'y' is serving as a vowel here.)
9. Dame Nellie Melba (Melba toast, Peach Melba, Melba Sauce and Melba garniture, all created by Savoy chef Auguste Escoffier).
10. Tug-of-War, which they won at the Antwerp 1920 Games. It has never been restaged.
11. Careless Whisper.
12. Chiswick.
13. Six. (Nelson’s Column is 51.6 metres, the Shard is 310 metres.)
14. The nuclear chain reaction (which led to nuclear power and nuclear weapons).
15. Any of Canary Wharf, Goldhawk Road, Hendon Central, Finchley Central, East Finchley, West Finchley, Finchley Road, Ravenscourt Park and Cockfosters.
