London: Best Year Ever

London's theatres enjoyed their most successful year on record in 2007, with attendances exceeding 13 million for the first time. The Society of London Theatre's annual report said that box office takings last year rose to almost £470m, but the number of plays opening was down by a third on the previous year. The report said two-thirds of tickets sold were for musicals. According to SOLT's annual report, residents of Greater London purchased about one third of London theatre tickets last year. Theatre-goers from the rest of the UK bought another third, with the remainder snapped up by visitors from overseas. The Society of London Theatre represents the producers, theatre owners and managers of the major commercial and grant-aided theatres in London. The trade association has been collating box office data since 1980.